retention - Internet Marketing News and Blogs

In 2009 many companies will struggle against a tide of negative consumer sentiment, driven by the economic downturn. It’s looking like the days of free and easy spending are over, for now.

In startupland the losers will most likely be those with low reserves of cash, but what about the established e-commerce heavyweights? Which e-commerce companies will fare better than others, and which ones will be hardest hit? And what can they do about it?

The use of email marketing to drive customer acquisition is in significant, and terminal, decline.

Lenstore.co.uk is a fast-growing etailer of contact lenses that was founded late last year. 

The company aims to target consumers who buy their lenses online and go to their opticians for professional care -  a trend that is apparently less prevalent in the UK than other countries, such as the US and Sweden.

We asked director Mitesh Patel how he is looking to change that, as well as where he sees the brand going.

Retention is high on the agenda for companies struggling to make money from cash-strapped consumers, but their words and deeds are not always in tune.

Research from analytics company SPSS suggests that customer retention tops the concerns of executives, with 34% claiming it is their number one priority.

This compares with 8% rating acquisition as their top concern; a remarkable turnaround from last year, when acquisition was rated most important by 40% of participants.

Developing a new digital strategy can be a daunting experience, especially considering the lack of case studies and benchmarks out there.

We spoke to Sharon Shaw, e-commerce manager at Standard Life, and Avenue A/Razorfish's Adrian Gans about their experiences of strategy creation, including budgets, KPIs, incentives and structures. 

Martin Newman is the head of e-commerce at fashion chain Ted Baker and is one of the few UK retailers to have been selling on the web for over ten years. He has experience across all aspects of e-commerce, as well as retail, direct mail, web kiosks and mobile.

We talked to Martin about the opportunities for retailers in the multi-channel arena, as well as challenges such as integration and conversion tracking.