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FutureNow Post
Friday, Jul. 3, 2009 at 3:35 pm

Hardee’s b-holes — do they sell?

July 3rd, 2009

I recently viewed this Hardee’s Ad and thought, “Can this be real?” It seems Hardee’s now sells little breakfast items that compete with donut holes. And this ad takes a blind taste-test theme, wherein the participants choose between the “A-holes” and the “B-holes”. (I swear, I’m not kidding)

YouTube Preview Image

Now I’ll be the first to admit: normally this sort of humor is right up my alley — I’m the one in the FutureNow office who sees “giggle-value” every time a new iPhone…

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FutureNow Event

Will We See You At Any Of These Events?

July 3rd, 2009

Next week, July 8th, I’ll be in Philadelphia at the Web Analytics Wednesday event doing a presentation, if you are in the area I would love to connect with you.

August 10th-14th, I will be at Search Engine Strategies in San Jose. On top of my advisory board responsibilities, I will be doing a few sessions including an Extreme Makeover Session with my buddy Ethan Giffin from GrooveCommerce. You should enter to win a free makeover if you are planning on attending.

September 14th,…

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FutureNow Post
Thursday, Jul. 2, 2009 at 11:03 am

They Did It, Did You?

July 2nd, 2009

shutterstock_lightbulbToo many marketers think that great marketing comes from that “fabulous” idea or from the next shiny new object that captures people’s attention. The truth is,  occasionally it does happen. However, just as Thomas Edison tried 10,000 times to make his “fabulous” idea work before it finally did, great marketing takes persistent, continuous execution and experimentation.

On June 18th, I posted a conversion rate exercise on this blog. Two simple exercises to help others understand why they should do business with you. Several…

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FutureNow Post
Thursday, Jul. 2, 2009 at 10:44 am

Top 10 Online Retailers by Conversion Rate: May 2009

July 2nd, 2009

Here are the top 10 converting websites for May 2009*. These are based on Nielson Panel data and are calculated by user to final conversion. Conversion-rate data is based on visitor conversion rates, not session conversion rates: i.e., No. of unique customers/No. of unique visitors.

1. ProFlowers 38.6 2. Office Depot 28.0 3. Online Retail Total 25.6 4. Vitacost.com 25.0 5. Quixtar 23.4 6. ;Blair 23.4 7. Roamans22.6 8. 1800Flowers 20.5 9. Woman Within19.6 10. Spiegel 18.20

*Source: Nielsen Online / Marketing Charts

Benchmarks according to the FireClick Index

Fireclick_Index-20090702-105116

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FutureNow Post
Wednesday, Jul. 1, 2009 at 9:32 am

Shopping Cart Abandonment Woes

July 1st, 2009

Last week, Brendan tackled how to answer the 5 unanswered questions customers face in the shopping cart (other than shipping costs). According to a recent study by PayPal and comScore, 45% of US online shoppers had abandoned shopping carts multiple times in just three weeks.

Why were shoppers abandoning their carts?

46% of online shoppers said high shipping charges were a “very important reason” for emptying carts. Is free shipping a must in this economy? Have you tested personalized shipping offers based on location?

Other reasons for…

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FutureNow Post
Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2009 at 8:20 am

Billy Mays: If All You Remember is the Voice, You’re Missing Out.

June 30th, 2009

HE HAD A VOICE NO LIBRARIAN COULD LOVE – CAUSE HE ALWAYS TALKED LIKE THIS.  But look past the booming voice and easily parodied stage persona of the late Billy Mays and you’ll find an extraordinarily gifted pitch-man, worthy of his own TV show.

A pitch-man whose fame and success made him the target of more pitches than he ever gave.  Pitches made by desperate inventors looking for him to save them after they’d already mortgaged the house, spent the kids’ college…

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FutureNow Post
Monday, Jun. 29, 2009 at 9:18 am

For Every Optimization, There’s a Pyramid, So Get Started

June 29th, 2009

We at FutureNow sometimes wonder why more companies aren’t busy optimizing their websites and online marketing, or why those who are “on board” with the concept don’t always commit the right amount of resources towards the effort.

I’m not a mind-reader, but I think it’s due in part to an all-or-nothing mentality where nothing short of a full optimization ‘project’ is worth putting effort into.  Most companies are more interested in redesigning their websites all at once instead of incrementally, even though incremental…

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FutureNow Post
Friday, Jun. 26, 2009 at 10:58 am

The Best Product Image On A Website

June 26th, 2009

As consumers you and I see many product images (both on ecommerce and B2B) on websites weekly. How do you make a product image stand out from all of those? What I want to highlight are the best, the most persuasive, the unforgettable ones. Who has them? Do you have a favorite?

Here are a couple of my favorites:

This one is from Harry and David:

Here is one that shows an ordinary product like paper, that is hard to distinguish, in an…

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FutureNow Post
Thursday, Jun. 25, 2009 at 9:19 am

Christmas Shopping Begins in the Next 4 Weeks…

June 25th, 2009

What will you do to be prepared for it?

This is not the Emergency Christmas described by John Stewart from the Daily Show. However, with the pressure of the economy people will probably be spending more time planning, considering, saving and looking for amazing deals sooner rather than later in the year. What are you going to DO NOW to make sure you get their limited attention and dollars? Will your business and website be optimized for this interesting holiday season?

The Daily Show…

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FutureNow Post
Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2009 at 10:55 am

Beware Marketing Automation Without Data Clarification

June 24th, 2009

We marketers are very busy people. In today’s challenging economy, with its rapid digital pace and customers empowered like never before, the demands are never-ending. So, we love things that make our job easier. Or at least appear to.

The Words ‘Marketing Automation’ are Like Music To Our Ears

According to one definition:

Marketing automation is the use of software to automate marketing processes such as customer segmentation, customer data integration (CDI), and campaign management. The use of marketing automation makes processes…

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Marketing Optimization Blog
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