Web Hints - Copy Creation for Selling Internationally

Just in case you hadn’t already noticed, global online retailing by both larger and smaller brands and independents is growing at an alarming rate.  This should of course be a no-brainer - ‘have website = can sell anywhere’ but, and this is a huge but, you have to put a bit of extra concentration in and get it right for the specific domain into which you want to market.

Classy pictures and clear navigation will work everywhere, and wherever you ship you need to be aware of the delivery options from standard to high speed, duty or sales tax and whether it will be applicable or not and make your returns procedure absolutely clear and as easy as possible.

One thing that many European online retailers, even some large ones, do not focus on is good copy.  If you’re a UK site selling into the US you can get away with well written ‘English’ copy unless you’re going to take it really seriously, in which case a US centric website will undoubtedly convert better and you will need to take in all the language differences, such as Autumn = Fall, Clothing = Apparel, Delivery = Shipping, Lingerie = Intimates (most of the time), Trousers = Pants.  You need to get to know them all.

The other thing of course that you need is a currency converter.  Whatever currency you are aiming at needs to be the currency that shows.  Most overseas customers, unless they are ex-pats, will not want to be bothered with turning pounds into dollars, or euros into anything else.  They will simply leave the confusion and go off to somewhere that does it for them, quickly and efficiently.

The area of overseas selling that seriously causes me a problem is the copy.  Having looked recently at no less than three major German online fashion retailers wanting to sell to both the US and the UK I have been astounded, no - quite simply flabbergasted by the totally appalling lack of attention to detail within the copy, even on the home page.  And no I am not, again, going to name and shame.  The message is clear for wherever you are;  make sure that the person who is writing your copy for an overseas market is from that country and can write colloquially in that language.  Then get it properly edited, again from a correct language speaking person who understands website copy.

If you don’t you will quite simply have a reduced conversion rate and find it hard to be taken seriously.  Lazy copy is a serious mistake and a trap which so many retailers fall into.  Ouch.

 

This has been a crazy week with three days worth of meetings in London and kids going off everywhere.  I now have surround sound in my gym courtesy of one son and no camera courtesy of the other and I have just had to send John Tovey’s quick hollandaise recipe to the daughter who is down in Cornwall when sent a ‘MUM I NEED IT RIGHT NOW’ message.  I must learn to get the priorities right………………

Roll on my summer holiday…………………………………….

Three Fabulous Early Fall Dresses

If anyone else is, like me, just ever so slightly tired of all the summer dresses on the sale rails both on or offline and blanching at the thought of all the ‘luxurious’ camel we’re supposed to be wearing this fall (I know, I’ve been spending too much time in the US - Autumn, I mean) then take a look at these three beauties, two in red and one in next season’s body-con colour-block mode.

Going back briefly to camel, I have a perpetual hate of that deep yellowish/beige shade that was my school coat for so long.  Admittedly I did buy a very pale (very pale) camel (or beige) short belted cashmere blend coat from Whistles for a trip to Paris earlier this year but on the whole I will be steering clear.  If you’re tempted be aware the wrong shade can wash you out in a split second, so don’t get caught out.

 

I’ll freely admit that given the choice I would have all three of these, although I suspect they’re all quite hard to wear, with the DvF on the left with its ruching at the front being the easiest.  The colour-block is a must-have - so now, so sleek and so reasonably priced at Karen Millen, and the Reiss on the right?  Now what wouldn’t I give to look great in that - it’s back on the step at the gym I fear, probably for a good couple of years.

Oh dear………………………………………………………………………………

Travel in Style

The next time you’re in an airport - in the departure lounge, dropping people off, in the Admiral’s Lounge (lucky you), have a look around and see what people are wearing. Most of the time, particularly with long haul travel we dress for comfort, not caring what we look like when we arrive, ready to go off as fast as possible to home/hotel/friends house or whatever and refresh.

Recently I flew to Dallas and was determined to arrive looking my best as I would be going straight out - not easy as I’m sure you’ll agree after ten hours in a plane at the back (actually from this point of view it doesn’t really matter where you sit, you’re still going to potentially end up creased, hot and bothered).

Which seriously got me thinking about travel, by car, train or plane, and how it might be possible to arrive with style no matter how tired you might feel, and still feel comfortable during the journey. Track pants and t-shirts are fine for travelling provided you don’t mind how you look at the other end, and if you travel with young kids this is almost certainly not for you, but for a comfortable journey and chic arrival this is my list;

Firstly just a couple of things; if you’re on a plane don’t drink alcohol. This is so very boring I know, and so many times I’ve ignored it, however having travelled long haul on American Airlines a couple of weeks ago where you had to pay for drinks at the back, and not bothering to get out my card, I did feel soooooo much better when I arrived just having drunk water all the way. And my did I need that margarita then!

Also if you wear contact lenses, as I do, take them out. This whole dehydration thing going on in the air is for real. I take my specs, cope with the fact that I can’t see long distance (and why would I need to?) and hate hate wearing glasses but when I put them in when I arrive my eyes are not dry and my lenses work perfectly.

Then…………………………………….

1. Invest in a pair of high quality jersey pants. Me & Em offer a seriously upmarket version (on sale at time of writing) and Eileen Fisher’s wonderful stretch crepe trousers may seem expensive, but the pair I bought about eight years ago are still perfect and machine wash perfectly. If buying from M & S make sure that you’re not buying pure cotton, but a jersey pair with lycra and please ignore the velour……………..aren’t we just so over all that?

The beauty of these is that they won’t crease, they’re extremely comfortable and you can wear them with flip-flops or trainers on a flight (I always go for the former if I’m going to end up somewhere hot) and change into the pair of heels you have tucked away in your cabin bag when you arrive. They should not be ‘baggy’ in any way but sleek and fluid - this is why you need the extra stretch in the fabric.

2. Travel with a cashmere wrap or pashmina - again this has a double use, firstly as a blanket if you’re chilly, and secondly as a luxurious accessory on arrival when most airports have air conditioning and even in the hottest places you may need something round your shoulders on arrival that you can slip off easily when you’re out in the heat.

3. Wear a high quality, simple t-shirt with lots of stretch in it. The best by far are by Wolford and again they may seem expensive but last forever and never fade. Marks & Spencer’s Autograph also have some very good ones. The key is to make sure that there is plenty of lycra/spandex/elastane for a good fit.

4. Buy a draped cardi such as this one from Kew - in jersey, silk and cotton or a fine wool mix - smarter than an ordinary cardigan and less inhibiting than a jacket yet these can take you from meeting to dinner with ease.

If Jean Muir, who specialised in this kind of relaxed, luxurious elegance, was still in business I would be recommending that you buy just a couple of pieces from her timeless collection, which always stayed pristine and lasted for years. Sadly she is not, however this is a look that never dates, wears perfectly in pretty well any situation and most travellers will envy you for, both in transit and on arrival. Trust me, I know these things.

All you need is a perfect pair of heels, a cuff and some statement earrings tucked away in your cabin bag to sling on when you get there and you’ll travel and arrive dressed for anything.

Oh yes, and a travel toothbrush and toothpaste, essential for arrivals and one of Trish McEvoy’s handbag size planners which I’ve written about before (If she’s not online at Selfridges yet check the brand out here then call Selfridges to order on 0207 318 3861 . Tuck compact foundation, powder, blush, lip gloss, liner and mascara in one of these and refresh your make-up before landing (or any other type of arriving).

I’ve learnt through trial and error that if I’m better to dress for a smart arrival than casual travel as planes, trains and ferries are frequently late, I may just may not have time to change before going out for that margarita and you never know who you’re going to want to impress, now do you?

Web Hints - Merchandising your Virtual Space

This is one I promised to write some time ago but seemed to get sidelined, and which to me is of extreme importance particularly to smaller retailers.

Those who have a huge number of SKUs will probably not be interested as long as they’re covering all the bases - they’re going to be far more concerned right now about offloading all that extra spring/summer stock and if in fashion particularly anything in lime green, dusty pink or pale coral - colours which never sell and which always get left on the sale rails.  Don’t ask me why they keep reappearing - I really have no idea.  The 80/20 rule applies everywhere but so many seem to ignore it.

Offline the serious discounts are well away - having been in the retail business and knowing just how much margin is left once 70%+ is reached as a discount it hurts to see how much there is still to shift both online and off.  The online sales are soooooo much better in my opinion than those in the stores - no messy rails, no fag-ends (or if they are you don’t know that) and no crowds of people.  The original pics still show the pristine products and you just check to see what’s left.  Bliss………………

When building a website or managing an existing one, it’s too easy to think that you have to cover all the categories and to forget that range and choice will be major drivers affecting sales.  When I’m reviewing individual websites I will always say if you have very few products in a category don’t just leave it like that - take the category down and cross reference the products elsewhere.

One of the things you always have to remember is the incredibly short amount of time people are going to be spending on your website - a gnat’s blink and they’ll be gone if they don’t see what they like.  A decent number of products to browse and you may get them to hang around, provided you’ve got them past your home page, of course.

So the answer is consolidate your product categories if necessary and never offer a category with a very sparse range however much you want to, it simply won’t work and you’ll end up putting prospective customers off your site.  Ideally you’ll have a good range within every category with a good mix of products and prices.  Choice choice choice is the name of the game here - and what customers want to see.  It will make your website more ‘sticky’ - and browsers will be more likely to buy.

Coming up next…………………….Returns - the bane of every online and catalogue retailer.  Biting the Bullet!

 

Aaaaaaaand………………the younger son goes off to Ghana on Friday.  The older son gets back from the US tomorrow.  The daughter goes to Cornwall next week.  Some time in the middle of all of this there may be a few days of peace and fewer loads of laundry.  I do hope so.

Dined with my famous journo friend yesterday evening at the Sir Charles Napier, in Chinnor, one of the nicest restaurants for miles around.  Great food in a tranquil atmosphere away from the crowds.  Bring it on.

If you would like to contact me to have your website independently reviewed for www.thesiteguide.com, please click here send me an email.

Web Hints - Fast Delivery or Snail Mail?

Now that we're firmly lodged in the online era with online shopping reaching its highest growth rate for two years (source: IMRG/Capgemini) what is it about the very basics of internet retailing that some retailers just do not seem to be able to grasp?

I'm well aware that this is a constant moan of mine but I am continually staggered by some of the activities (or lack of them) perpetrated by some really quite large online sellers.

To give you an example; I recently placed an order with one such (who I'm not going to name), but a very large international retailer who failed to deliver their goods to me within two weeks. I called them and cancelled it, asking if I would receive a confirmation by email, which they said I would. And of course I did not - I hope they reply to me soon.

Theirs is a major example of how not to offer service, and then what not to do when it goes wrong! And if you ask my privately I will tell you who they are..............and if you know who you are you need to get your act together fast, or you deserve to fail.

In this fast growing market-place you cannot afford to think that you can get away with not offering a top level service and not making it absolutely clear to your visitors and customers that you do so. That means shouting about it from your home page and on every page of your website.

The more delivery options you can offer, the more sales you will make. It's as simple as that.

Essential are standard delivery (preferably free) and an express service, with express being next day with a cut-off time. Also if possible offer Saturday delivery.

If you are not in a price competitive market (ie offering branded goods that are price sensitive because so many others are offering them) such as electronics, cameras and the like, but are offering one-off products, then test building your basic postage rate into your price and see what happens - and if you do this announce it everywhere.

Otherwise test free delivery anyway. You may well be surprised by the results.

What you must do is offer an express service. We as online consumers now expect this. If you do not, then we may well go somewhere else because we may need delivery tomorrow, and if you can't supply you can be sure someone else can, and will, and will welcome our order with open arms.

Then (and this gets worse), we will remember that you didn't offer us the service we were looking for and we most likely won't return.

If this seems a small matter for the online retailer believe me it isn't. The competition is only going to hot up and you have to get every single detail right to be in there with a chance. Don't complain to me that you are short staffed and can't cope with having to go to the post office every day. You want to be part of this amazing, fast-growing marketplace? You have to take the pain with the gain and there is huge gain to be had.

Just back from an amazing trip to Dallas, fantastic buildings, amazing food and stupendous margaritas, not to mention excellent company and interesting work. I'm looking forward to going back. And to have a chance to properly check out North Park Mall - Dallas's top level beautiful, huge shopping mall where Nieman Marcus and Nordstrom nestle invitingly beside Armani Exchange, J Crew, Bath and Body Works, Hollister, Bebe and ....................the list is huge.

For me, as a fully paid up shopaholic to only have had time to dive into Abercrombie and buy a pair of flip-flops for the daughter was, quite frankly, appalling.

Inevitably the kids managed to break the washing machine, which is no joke in this house but thankfully I managed to get fixed within two hours of my getting back. Now why couldn't they have done that? Just don't ask.

If you would like to contact me to have your website independently reviewed for www.thesiteguide.com, please send me an email.

Web Hints - Building Customer Trust

It seems to be the assumption of many online retailers that visitors will trust them from the get-go, and yet we know for a fact that the more e-commerce sites launch, the more disreputable people will be trying to get in on the act, the more horror stories there will be and the more the online buyer is going to be looking for reassurance.

Tomorrow I'm going to be giving a presentation at an IMRG event for a customer review platform for whom I have done some work in the UK. This is because the director who was supposed to be giving it is sick, so I have had to step in. The subject is the German online consumer and needless to say I have learnt a great deal, quickly. One of the most interesting things is the reluctance of the German customer to buy unless he is absolutely certain that the retailer he is buying from is safe.

So he looks for seals of approval from the German counterpart to ISIS (Internet Shopping is Safe) and other reputable bodies. Independent customer reviews and safe payment methods.

By law, in Germany, if you are an online retailer you have to clearly display your telephone number, full address and email address. In the UK at the moment you don't, but I hope and have little doubt that moment will come soon.

Independent customer reviews are becoming more and more prevalent - there are very few large, well organised online retailers who have not started to show what their customers think about them. Smaller retailers are beginning to follow and this will doubtless gain momentum as they realise that the competition will be between a retailer who offers reviews and one who doesn't and the one who does will be more likely to convert to a sale.

The huge difference between independent reviews and self managed reviews if that independent customer reviews cannot be manipulated and self managed reviews can. When you display reviews that are managed independently, everyone who visits your site knows that they can be trusted. It's going to become harder and harder to influence customers to buy with home-grown feedback, and even harder to get them to buy with no feedback at all.

The next time I update GlamourSleuth it'll be from Dallas, Texas, where I'm going to be spending a few days. What to wear has been a huge dilemma - I'll let you know how it goes....................

The Top Ten Long Haul Travel Gadgets

As anyone who knows me will tell you, I’m addicted to travel. Give me a good reason, business or pleasure to pack my bag and I’m away. You reach a stage when your kids don’t need you any more (and thank goodness they’re not around creating havoc all the time, but getting on with things) much of your work can travel with you and you’re free to go.

So I’m pretty much an expert traveller although I seem to be unable to travel seriously light - long ago I’m sure I went off to the US with just a carry-on bag but I simply couldn’t do that now.

I have a list of things that need to go with me, whether I’m away for a short weekend in Paris, a long one in Houston or a week in Santa Fe, and whether I’m staying with friends or in a hotel. So here they are. I’m well aware that I’ve written about some of these before, so apologies if you’ve already read about them, but I wanted to put them together in one place.

1. The indispensible Power Monkey.
The beauty of this charging gadget is that not only can you charge from the mains, or on the plane (provided you’ve charged it up first), but it will charge your speakers, iPhone, Blackberry and other small electronic items, just by changing the connector. I have had more of these pinched by friends and family than I care to admit, so guard yours well, and no. You’re not having mine.

2. xMini Speakers
It depends on where you’re travelling, many larger hotels now have ‘iHome’ docks so you can charge and listen to your nano while you’re there. Many don’t however, and particularly if you’re staying with friends but want some time out to listen to your music, rather than theirs, get a set of these. Once charged they last for hours and will never let you down. The sound is much better than you would expect from something so small as well.

3. Sennheiser PMX60 Neckband Headphones
Now this is totally a matter of choice but I personally hate the headphones you stick in your ears. I’ve never been able to make them work for me. These are reasonably priced, offer extremely good sound and I use them for train, plane and the gym. They’re also very comfortable.

4. True Global Travel Plug Adaptor
The joy of this is that rather than having to use lots of different adaptors for different places, you just slide into place the connectors you need and everything stays together. Just don’t leave it behind.

5. New Generation iPod or Nano
I know that you’re going to tell me you’re all using iPhones now and so don’t need one of these, however I, being a Blackberry addict, definitely do. And in any case I like to have back-up for my music, which as you may have gathered goes with me everywhere. And you can’t listen to music stored on a Blackberry on a plane, now can you?

6. Sports Armband for Nanos and iPods
Amazingly well priced and incredibly useful if you run or go to the gym, this sports armband holder for 5th Generation Nanos (and there are those for iPod’s as well, of course) holds your music firmly in place. Mine goes with me everywhere.

7. Samsung Netbook N210
Light, reasonably priced and with an extra long battery last time Samsung netbooks are excellent travel companions. One of the very few problems is that there is no built in DVD drive, so you will also need:

8. Slimline USB External DVD drive
With your Samsung Netbook and this slim, lightweight USB DVD drive, you can play movies and load new software wherever you are. There are many on the market but this one is slim and light, reads and writes and is designed for both CDs and DVDs.

9. PocketHub Mini USB Port
Because if you take your laptop with you you may want to plug in also a USB mouse, charge up your speakers and your iPhone, this mini USB hub with four ports makes life easy and you can plug them all in at once.

10. Compressible Travel Packing Bags
These are not strictly gadgets I know, but I find them very useful for compressing ‘soft’ items in my case and totally necessary as I always carry too much. They’re really good for compressing your laundry as you go round the world as well. The problem is that they do create extra space so you can pack more. Oh well.................

You won’t be surprised, I know if I tell you that I’m off again this week, just for a few days, and I promise you I will be carrying all of the above with me on my trip so I can write, blog, listen to my music, go to the gym and generally feel totally at home wherever I am. The only problem I have right now is that the eldest son has pinched my headphones to take to the US with him and it’s too late to get them back as he’s currently up in the air. Amazon? Emergency Delivery? I need you right now!

Website Review - Coco Bay Beachwear

There are a lot of places you can find big brand swimwear online, many of whom have an excellent choice. For bikini wearers (and lovers of pretty kaftans and beach dresses) Coco Bay is a small, independent place to have a browse and one which you may well not have heard of. Brands include Banana Moon, Moontide, Seafolly and Bond-Eye but don’t expect to find the full range of each, this is a carefully edited, handpicked collection.

For non bikini wearers there are very good beach accessories, from the aforesaid kaftans to sarongs and maxi dresses, so don’t be put off. I fell in love with Banana Moon’s colourful black-based kaftan immediately, to wear over my impeccable black halter-neck one-piece.

I’m off again at the end of this week for some business and lots of fun in the US - only five days unfortunately but I seem to be unable to say no to any travel opportunities, jet lag or no jet lag and anyway, five days? Maybe I’ll make them all stick to my time. Fat chance!

So I’ve packed for the extreme heat I’m told I’ll encounter, which means boiling in the open air and freezing in the air-con but it’ll be worth it. Now do I need (as in NEED) a new handbag for this trip? I’m trying to avoid that question…………. I say to myself, ‘but you’re only going for five days’, but somehow that never seems to work very well. We’ll see. I may just manage to resist this time. Although I gather that they’re all going to be sooooooo chic.

Once more leaving the kids to look after the dogs, and the house, and everything else. But then I did say that this was going to be my travel year, and so far so very good.

We'll have a Special Offer from Coco Bay at thesiteguide.com from 6th July to 15th July so sign up now.