Increasing sales conversion

The best propositions will achieve greatest success when directed to the right customer at the right time - but who are they, what propositions and when should they be sent?

Analysis of conversion rates needs to take each element into consideration:

• Which customers were sent the proposition, how were they identified and why were they chosen?
• How did the proposition relate to the target audience, why would they wish to make a purchase, what was the rationale?
• Why were they sent the communication at that specific time, why then rather than some other point in time?

Behind all these decisions, will be supporting data analysis. As with all marketing activities, there is a need for testing, measuring the performance of each activity or marketing programme will provide a guide to future performance.

Analysis may emanate from the need to sell a product or service, or could be focused on customer purchasing habits, targeting specific propositions.

If the need is to sell a product, the first analysis task is to identify customers who already purchase the the product or a similar one. The analysis then needs to understand why those customers made their purchases:

• Did they buy it in combination with other products? If so, what were they?
• Was it a single purchase? What price did they pay? Was it on offer?
• Are they a frequent customer? What discounts were applied?
• What demographic sets them apart from other customers?
• Was there a common timing factor involved in their purchases?

These trains-of-thought analyses will aid identification of the best customers to target for the product proposition.

The alternative approach, is to start viewing propositions from a customer perspective:

• Which are the most valuable customers? What do these customers have in common; purchasing behaviours, demographics, interests?
• Are there similar customers based on demographics and interests, who have not made the same combination of purchases?

The benefit of this customer centric approach, is that propositions can be developed to meet know customer behaviours. Information Drivers provides a Business Opportunity Assessment service to help its clients discover these opportunities and build appropriate propositions.