April 2008
Table of Contents
Featured Article: Communicating Through Product ListingsBy Jake Sabey - Education Specialist, Doba Communication is the foundation of any relationship, especially the relationship between the retailer and customer. In this article I will discuss how communication through product listings can affect the relationship between you and your customer. Being an online retailer, you are voluntarily offering something more than a product for a price; you are essentially creating a relationship opportunity by setting up a booth in a location of your choice, and welcoming anyone who might be interested through promoting and advertising. Once someone walks up to your booth, you have one chance to leave a first impression. This is where marketing your product and business comes into play. Whether you are listing products in your own webstore or an auction marketplace, what and how you communicate through your product listings will determine if that first impression was a success. Auction Listings Higher traffic flow is a huge advantage when listing products in an auction marketplace, having your competition on both sides of you is not. Chances are someone is only going to visit your product listing once, that is why leaving a positive and lasting first impression is so important. Use that opportunity to communicate emotion and feeling through the overall listing presentation. It is the feeling they receive from the listing presentation that will be the deciding factor if they will buy or not. Here is an example of an eBay
listing for the product Rock
Band Bundle X360 that communicates a lot, by not saying much at
all.
Unfortunately this listing leaves a very negative impression. It is evident that not a lot of time was spent in listing this product. The lack of personality, stock image and description, and bland overall presentation definitely gives you an idea of what your overall purchase experience will be like. With a little extra time, creativity, personality, and effort, an
entirely different impression can be communicated. This eBay
listing, for the same product (Rock
Band Bundle X360), does an excellent job at connecting with the
customer's senses through the listing presentation.
Concentrating on the customer's wants and needs, this listing completely informs the customer of the product's highlights and features eliminating any product specific questions the reader may have. Although color could have been added to create extra personality, the organized listing layout is formatted for smooth viewing and easy reading, eliminating any possible distractions from the featured product. The informative custom product description, and multiple creative images paints a visual picture and helps make the dream of being a rock star become a reality. The overall unique listing presentation assists in creating a "Rock Band" experience for the customer by placing the customer on stage with instrument in hand in front of a sell out crowd. And, "Free Shipping" is communicated in listing title—who doesn't love free shipping? These two examples are proof of what a little time and effort can accomplish. Using your imagination and creativity will help you leave a lasting impression and better your chances for a relationship with your customers. Webstore Listings Listing products through an online store isn't too different from doing so in auction marketplaces; more effort is required to get traffic to your store, and your competition isn't right next to you on the same site. But, the same principle of communication within the listings to leave a positive impression applies. Here is an example of the type of feeling you can get from a website
listing for the same product discussed above.
Like the first example of the auction product listings, this leaves a negative impression. The image is nice and large, but it is the same stock image that can be found in many other product listings. No effort to stand out or connect with the customer is evident through a custom product description. Also, the store categories on the left hand side are inconsistent with some being in all caps and others not. The overall presentation does not symbolize effective communication within the listing. Once again, with a little extra time, effort, and attention, a positive
impression can be communicated, such as in this example.
This listing uses effective colors and formatting to create emotion through a theme. Added features of this listing such as 13 different images, custom-edited description, customer reviews, and product specifications all add to the professional organized presentation. The customer review section lists the pros and cons from people who have used this product, creating more of an opportunity to connect and relate with potential customers. Whether in an auction marketplace or on a webstore your product listings symbolize who you are as a business. Effective communication through your product listings will help your business stand out in a competitive market. For more information on how to create effectively product listings, check our these Doba articles:
About the Author:
Jake Sabey is an eBay Certified Consultant and an Education Specialist for Doba. Jake's educational strategies and methodologies help online retailers meet and exceed their business-related goals. Prior to working for Doba, Jake was a team leader, supervisor, and trainer for Toys R Us, Sinclair Oil, SBC, and AT&T. Partner Highlight
3XP Websolutions Marketplace Spotlight: Doba Feedback LinkBy Jeff Knight, Vice President of Marketplace On every single product information page in the Doba Product Catalog there is a link labeled ‘Leave Feedback’. This month, I want to discuss the link and set expectations for what happens when you send feedback. The feedback link was created for a variety of reasons. Primarily, the link helps the retailer communicate with the supplier and gives the supplier visibility to issues with their products. However, it also allows Doba marketplace personnel to monitor and be on the lookout for ‘red flags’—that is, bugs, data problems, inconsistencies, and other small issues that require attention. Several larger issues have proactively been solved by attentive retailers alerting suppliers and Doba to problems via the feedback link. However, more often then not, the feedback received is not actionable and therefore just noted without any result.When a retailer sends a feedback, it is routed to the supplier’s management section of Doba. The supplier is able to quickly view, sort, filter, and forward feedbacks that need attention. Suppliers are forwarded the feedback but they are not required to read, respond, or act upon them. Majority of suppliers do closely monitor their feedback, but very few respond directly to an individual request. The supplier is generally more likely to change copy, add a note, and/or clarify a description then they are to respond directly back to the retailer. That said, every feedback left on Doba is reviewed. In addition to the feedback being routed to the supplier; they are also sent to the Marketplace team (including me). The marketplace team reviews and categorizes every feedback. We provide guidance on the feedback trends to both retailers and suppliers based on what we see. That said, generally, we will also not respond directly to many of the supplier feedbacks. At this point, the question you may be asking is, “Great, you have a feedback mechanism for sending messages to suppliers – except the supplier isn’t required to respond, and even Doba doesn’t answer the questions. Thanks for nothing.” Hold on, the feedback means more then you think it does – it just isn’t an efficient way to provide support nor is it a good forum for arguing price. What is it good for? It is good for providing transparency to the questions and concerns of the retailer and therefore, ultimately consumers. Don’t kid yourself that a manufacturer doesn’t care or note your concerns. When the manufacturer suddenly receives feedback asking whether a TV stand is brown, black, or maroon – there is a good chance that the next generation of images will be shot differently. In addition, feedback, whether good or bad, tells the supplier that there is interest and with some modifications, they can expect sales. Remember, everything a supplier does is geared towards getting the retailer to buy. When they don’t act or respond, it is only because either the feedback cannot be acted upon (e.g. if you sold these 53” LCD TVs for under $500, I could sell 10 immediately) or there isn’t enough return for the perceived cost of the action to happen immediately. One final note; a lack of feedback on a slow moving item is the worst
situation for the supplier. If a product isn’t moving and the
supplier isn’t receiving feedback – they don’t know
if the price is wrong, if it is merchandised incorrectly, mis-categorized,
or what the problem is (or if there is even a problem at all). Remember,
the supplier is often as isolated from getting details from the retailer
as in reverse, and feels just as the retailer feels concerning the lack
of action on feedback. All that said, Doba is committed to building
a transparent platform that will allow the marketplace to self-regulate
and help the exchange of information in a efficient manner. While the
marketplace may not be perfect yet, we are always working toward that
goal and the feedback helps and keeps the process moving forward. Have
a great month and thank you for your hard work. As the Vice President of Marketplace, Jeff Knight is responsible for
all aspects of the merchandising strategy, supplier acquisition, and
vertical category management and fulfillment operations of Doba's marketplace.
Prior to Doba, Jeff was Director of Merchandising for Overstock.com
where he developed the growth and management of the Computer and Home
Office category. Jeff's background includes merchandising and technology
leadership roles at DealDeal.com and BCI International. He earned Bachelor
and Masters of Arts degrees in Communication from the University of
Wyoming. Partner Highlight Doba members can receive a free a complimentary subscription to Website Magazine. Get free insider advice to the eCommerce industry. Claim your FREE subscription today! Member Q&A: Product ResearchBy Jake Sabey For this month's Member Q&A, I took a different approach. Normally I sift through the emails sent from Doba Members to the education@doba.com email address, and address one particular question. However, this month I am going to address multiple questions received through various channels and cover the topic of Product Research. Even though we have touched this topic before, I feel it is important to brush up on product research principles on a regular basis to keep up with the consistent change in the demand of shoppers, product supply, and market in general. The number one question on retailer's minds (and in my email inbox) continues to be, "What products should I sell?" The following are more concerns of a similar nature that seem to surface:
When conducting product research, there are more factors to consider than just price, such as marketing. As mentioned in the Featured Article of this eNewsletter, "Communicating Through Product Listings," affective marketing has just as much if not more of an impression on your customer than price. Knowing how to implement affective marketing into your business strategies will help you approach product research in a different light. Brush up on marketing and the basics product research principles by searching Doba's Knowledgebase by keyword. Here are a few articles to get you started:
We Want to Hear from You! Want to see your question featured in the eNewsletter Member Q&A? Well we want to hear from you! Please email education@doba.com if you have any non-account related questions or topics you would like us to write about. If you have questions concerning your Doba account, such as billing, product or order questions, please search our knowledgebase site content or contact our Customer Support. About the Author:
Jake Sabey is an eBay Certified Consultant and an Education Specialist for Doba. Jake's educational strategies and methodologies help online retailers meet and exceed their business-related goals. Prior to working for Doba, Jake was a team leader, supervisor, and trainer for Toys R Us, Sinclair Oil, SBC, and AT&T. Partner Highlight
e-onlinedata Supplier Information: New Suppliers Added to the Doba Product CatalogStarting an online business is relatively easy. Making it a success takes hard work and the right mix of products. To help you achieve your business-related goals, we recently added 11 new wholesale suppliers and manufacturers to the Doba Catalog (bringing the total number of Doba suppliers to 122), including: Renoir - Manufacture of high quality cabinets, entertainment centers, fireplaces, mantels, desks, furniture, and shelving. Platt - Major distributor of installation supplies and accessories to the satellite, broadband and structured wiring industries. DaVinnci - Manufacture of the Tie Saver Cumulus - Leading Manufacture of cost effective air filter units. Mayan - Manufacture of Silver Joe's premium coffee and accessories. Wicker - Manufacture of beautiful gourmet gift baskets, wine baskets, fruit gift baskets, cheesecakes and more. Apple - Manufacture of Giggles Computer Funtime for Baby™ software Beryl - Primary Distributor for the Connected 4d Phone™ for Skype Cocoa - Manufacture of delicious gourmet cookie gift tins and baskets Hope - Manufacture of Whee Cakes. Distributor of plus size women's appeal, prayer blankets, home furnishings, etc. Moulin - Distributor of plus, missy, and junior sized apparel and accessories. |
