WHAT BENEFITS DOES THE INTERNET PROVIDE FOR THE MARKETER?advances would incur a high advertising cost. Following an eCommerce Review by Opportunity Wales,
the company decided to tackle the issues by implementing search engine optimisation (SEO – see
Chapter 8) and a site re-design which included:
Improved graphic design– this was to be changed to a more professional and up-to-date look.
Best, featured and latest products– the introduction of a dynamic front page to entice customers to
re-visit the site on a regular basis. The contents of this page would feature the best sellers, and latest
or featured products.
Reviews and ratings– to provide confidence to consumers and allow some kind of interaction with
them, which would allow users to review products they have purchased and give them a star rating.
Cross-selling– when customers view a product there may be other products or categories that may
be of interest or complementary, hence there was a proposal to allow staff to link products and
categories so that these would be displayed.
Segmentation– the site would be split into two sections emphasising the segmentation of product
lines into military wear and outdoor wear sectors, thus being less confusing, and easier to use for the
respective users (see Figure 1.8 under ‘Best, featured and latest products’).
Navigation by sub-categories– as the product range had expanded, the additional pages created in
each category made it harder for customers to find specific items or have to browse many pages
before finding a suitable product. The introduction of sub-categories would provide a clear link to the
areas of interest and contain fewer pages to browse thus helping the customer to make a choice more
easily and more quickly. A new search tool and order tracking were also seen as important parts of
the online customer experience (Chapter 8).
Figure 1.8North West Supplies Ltd site (www.northwestsupplies.co.uk)
Source: Opportunity Wales