By Jim Buchanan

Findings from the new Conversion Rate Optimization Report 2011 from RedEye & Econsultancy show most companies are not happy with their online conversion rate. Just 25% say they are satisfied and, worryingly, this figure is dropping. Similarly, there has been a 5% drop in conversion rate improvement in just 12 months.

As the world of digital becomes more competitive, and more tools and methods are introduced, it seems it is becoming harder to improve conversion rates. What this new research is showing, is while companies are implementing more methods, it not so much what you do, but how you do it that counts.

Dissatisfaction with conversion is a growing problem, yet companies are slow on the uptake. Mark Patron, CEO at RedEye explains: “This research shows there are major opportunities for key executives to focus on the bottom line – generating business – it’s just not being done effectively. With a clear CRO (conversion rate optimisation) strategy and best practice procedures in place, and implemented intelligently, companies can see a serious uplift in sales. Just a few per cent improvement in conversion makes a significant difference to revenues generated.

“What we have learnt is people and processes are key. This report highlights just how important employing a structured process is. Companies that had a structured approach to conversion were twice as likely to have seen a large increase in sales. Yet only 31% had a structured process – a major reason satisfaction is so low.”

Coupled to this low satisfaction is the fact that 54% of marketers don’t target basket abandoners at all. Having spent significant budget driving traffic to their site, the majority of ecommerce brands are ignoring these so-nearly-customers. The stats are clear: 70% of companies who target abandoners have increased sales.

In addition, brands are not adapting to the different communication channels. 84% of companies are not designing their marketing emails for mobile devices, and 70% are not designing their websites for mobile either. In this fast growing segment, particularly in retail, tablets and handhelds should not be ignored.

Econsultancy Research Director, Linus Gregoriadis, said: "Satisfaction rates may be decreasing partly because there is a greater awareness within businesses about the opportunities they may be missing without the right tools and processes in place. Companies will need to increasingly focus on improving conversion rates during 2012, by ensuring they have a structured approach to online optimisation to improve the bottom line.

"The tools for gathering insight and for carrying out tests are becoming more user-friendly and accessible, but organisations must have the right knowledge and expertise around CRO to complement this, both in-house or within their agencies."

Mark Patron adds: “Companies need to act to confront conversion rates head-on, develop an optimisation strategy or they will see rates dropping further. It’s a real competitive advantage for today’s marketers – get it right and you will make a lot more money from your website”.

Having run this report for three years, and using its extensive industry experience, RedEye regularly sees companies with increasingly sophisticated ecommerce operations. This produces a flood of customer data that is ever more difficult to interpret. That is why a clear strategy is essential to enable them to prioritise the key areas to focus on to meet their conversion objectives.

For a copy of the full report please visit: http://econsultancy.com/reports/conversion-rate-optimization-report.

Based on the findings of this report RedEye has released a new white paper explaining how to implement a structured process to improve online conversion. This white paper can be downloaded from www.redeye.com.

The research is based on a survey of more than 700 client-side and agency digital marketers carried out in July and August 2011.

About the author and RedEye

Jim Buchanan is PR for RedEye, a leader in behavioural email. RedEye has been helping online companies improve conversion since 1997, providing an integrated service of email marketing, web analytics and website usability. In 2001 RedEye launched the first behavioural email campaign for William Hill. Behavioural email integrates web analytics with email marketing to produce highly targeted emails based on online user behaviour. In 2010 RedEye launched Behavioural Email on Demand, a self-service solution enabling online companies to run basic behavioural email campaigns such as basket abandonment. RedEye currently has 4 European offices (London, Milton Keynes and Crewe in the UK and Dusseldorf, Germany) and has just launched its first US office in New Jersey. RedEye clients include Skype, Ford, French Connection, Haven Holidays, Hotel Chocolat, ASOS, Monarch, Butlins, HSBC and Ted Baker. http://www.redeye.com  

About Econsultancy

Econsultancy is a global independent community-based publisher, focused on best practice digital marketing and e-commerce, and used by over 240,000 internet professionals every month. Its hub has 105,000+ members worldwide from clients, agencies and suppliers alike with over 90% member retention rate. The company helps members build their internal capabilities via a combination of research reports and how-to guides, training and development, consultancy, face-to-face conferences, forums and professional networking. Contact: +44 (0)20 7269 1450 (London) or +1 212 699 3626 (New York).

http://econsultancy.com/uk