Last month’s Nexus focused on utilizing a customer database to generate repeat sales. Since that issue, Nexternal has received numerous inquiries for techniques that can be used to capture additional email addresses. If you have an online store, you probably capture email addresses of customers who order, but what about potential customers that have not yet ordered? To entice such customers to volunteer their email addresses, you must offer something of value in return. The following are several techniques worth investigating:

1. Raffle/Giveaway – Offer a raffle or drawing for a free gift that would appeal to your customer’s interests, and be sure to follow through. Once you have selected a winner, send out an email announcing that winner so that your customers know it is real. This is also a good excuse to remind people that your online store remains open for business!

2. Mailing List – You might ask people to join your mailing list so that they can stay informed about new products and promotions. You might even send the customer an e-coupon just for joining your mailing list. Everyone likes a good deal!

3. Ezine – If you have the time and discipline, consider sending a weekly or monthly email newsletter related to your industry. Perhaps you sell home brewing supplies; consider sending out a monthly newsletter discussing a particular malt every month or a new beer recipe. Certainly some of your customers would find such information valuable and would be interested in your expert opinion.

4. Capture Addresses Offline - If you have a brick and mortar establishment, make a point to ask for your customers email address when they checkout. It can’t hurt to ask.

5. Offer free content - Some websites that offer compelling content for “free,” like the NY Times online (www.nytimes.com) require you to create a login account consisting merely of your email address and a site-specific password. You haven’t given any information other than your email address and in return you can view all of their content. If you are selling gourmet foods, perhaps you could make your customers register for free before viewing your recipe book.

Implementing one or several of these concepts does require work on your part; however, you will find that your customer list will increase faster than ever before!

If you frequently shop online, you will eventually come across a request for your Credit Card Validation Value, or CVV, when entering your credit card information. On most credit cards, the Card Validation Value is a 3 digit number located in the signature area on the back of the card. On AmEx cards, it is a 4 digit number located above the card number on the front. The CVV is never included on credit card statements and receipts, nor is it included on the magnetic stripe information gathered when the card is swiped at a terminal. Therefore, asking for the CVV can be an effective weapon against the very real problem of online fraud by virtually requiring the customer to have the card in hand when placing the order.

Unfortunately the CVV concept is not without serious drawbacks for the merchant. The Card Validation Value is relatively new, and is unfamiliar to most people. Merchants who do ask for this value often make a concerted effort to explain what it is; nevertheless, they can expect to lose orders from customers who are confused and/or impatient. Inconsistency in the naming of this field (CVV2 by Visa, CVC2 by MasterCard, CID by AmEx, etc.) adds to customers' potential confusion. Furthermore, older cards and non-US cards may not have a CVV at all. Therefore, the CVV's value in reducing fraud must ultimately be balanced against it's potential to turn away legitimate orders. It is worth noting that most of the largest eCommerce sites on the web (Amazon.com, Buy.com, etc.) do not ask for CVVs.

The best eCommerce software will leave it to the merchant to decide whether to ask for CVVs. If the merchant decides to require or even ask for CVVs, every effort should be made to explain the concept in detail to the customer (with diagrams to illustrate where to look for the value) to minimize confusion and maximize sales.

WebSideStory’s HitBox Professional Version 3 now offers affordable, turnkey e-commerce web analytics. HitBox Professional is a completely outsourced service that provides detailed insight into visitor and customer behavior. The solution requires no hardware or software investment, and can be activated within hours. All the information is collected in real time and made available on demand through a Web browser interface. Using the new e-commerce functionality, businesses with online stores can more easily optimize their marketing and e-commerce efforts to increase revenue.

HitBox Professional now provides:

1) Detailed information on which keyword purchases, e-mail, affiliate and other marketing campaigns generate the most revenue.

2) Real-time reporting on orders, revenue, and site browse-to-buy ratios.

3) Custom date ranges – Reports can be generated for any date range the user requires.

4) Scheduled reports – Pre-defined reports can be sent to various parts of an organization, such as marketing or Web development, on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

5) Exporting – Reports can be exported into Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word or comma-delimited text files.

In addition to e-commerce analysis, HitBox Professional also provides detailed information on where visitors originated; which content, products and services they prefer; which navigational paths they take through the site; what browsers or operating systems they have; and much more.

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Copyright 2009 Nexternal Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be republished in whole, or in part, without the express written consent of the publisher.