E-commerce for Associations

Adam HigginsMarTech Consultant

Agenda Where Does E-Commerce Fit in MarTech Stack Website Fundamentals E-Commerce Systems Tracking E-Commerce Transactions in Marketing

Automation Platforms

E-CommerceWhere does E-Commerce Fit in Marketing Technology Stack

E-commerce Buying and Selling of Your Products Via Your Website Integrated Systems Working Together

Website > Shopping Cart System > AMS > Bank > General Ledger Automated Collection of Payment

Marketing Technology Stack

Marketing’s RoleMarketing’s Role is to generate activity and leads to generate a sale online.

1. Create Contextual Content for the Audience

2. Attract the Right Audience

3. Generate User Impulses to React

Marketing TriangleCreating specific content for a specific audience to generate a specific result.

RESULTS

CONTENT AUDIENCE

Marketing Triangle with Ecommerce• E-commerce is the Result• Purchase History• Personalize Content• Contextual Content• Audience Segmentation

RESULTS

CONTENT AUDIENCE

Buyer’s JourneyConsider the Buyer’s Journey with E-Commerce and Converting a Lead to a Customer

1. Lead Consume Content2. Lead Lands on Product

Page3. Adds Product to Cart4. Purchases Product5. Lead Converts to

Customer

The Buyer’s Journey is Not Linear There are Several Touchpoints Before the Buyer

Purchases Marketing Automation Programs Tracks the Touchpoints Trigger Contextual Content Based on the Touchpoints Context Drives the Purchase

Buyer’s JourneySEOImagine I do a search for fundraising advice and tips. Fundraising advice and tips

Buyer’s JourneyBlogI stumble upon a couple articles on your website.Great articles and get good insight.Then, I went about my day to meetings, responding to emails, and work.

Buyer JourneyRe-Targeting AdsAt lunch, I go onto YouTube. While watching a video, I see an ad for “200 Ideas: Raising Revenue". I click the ad, and view the product detail.

Looks like its exactly what I need at the moment. But I jump back to YouTube to finish watching the video.

Buyer’s JourneyEmailAn hour later, I get an email "Fundraising Resources for You". In the email, is a coupon for “200 Ideas: Raising Revenue".

I click the link, and purchase the book.

Omni-Channel Marketing The Marketer Used Several Channels to Convert the

Lead SEO Blogs Re-Targeting Ads Email Landing Page Shopping Cart

Life of the LeadCapture all touchpoints throughout the life of the lead that converts the lead to a customer.

Get Past the Vanity Metrics

Vanity• Open• Clicks• Page Views (Hits)

Insights• Conversion Rate• Campaign Revenue• ROI

Website BasicsLet’s Establish the Fundamentals Web Design and Development

Front End Vs. Back End DevelopmentFront End • Design• Look and Feel• HTML + CSS + JavaScript

Back End• Development• Processing• SQL + Coding Language

Front End Components HTML

Structure CSS

Aesthetics JavaScript

Interactivity

HTML - FramingSimilar to building a house.

The HTML is the foundation and studs to the house.

The HTML sets the layout of the webpage

• Structure• Fluid vs Fixed• Single Column• Two Column• Sections

• Header• Navigation• Body• Footer

CSS – The DesignAdd your personal design to the structure.

Most sites have a similar structure, but CSS gives each site its own personality.

• Aesthetics• Colors• Fonts• Spacing

JavaScript - Interactivity• JavaScript is an advanced web

programing language.• Most powerful language out of

HTML and CSS• JQuery is JavaScript's most

popular library.• JQuery simplifies JavaScript for

developers

• Interactivity• Hero Slides• Modal Popup• Dropdown• Single Page Applications• Web Tracking

Backend Development Most websites are Built on Content Management Systems

(CMS) CMS use SQL Databases to store content Coding Languages Help the Databases Communicate to the

HTML pages. PHP Cold Fusion ASP

Shopping Carts SystemsLet’s Build on the Web Basics, and Discuss How Shopping Cart Systems Work.

Association Management SystemsAssociation Management Systems that track member activity and demographics.

Member Activity can include product and membership purchases

Popular Systems• Aptify• Abila NetForum• iMIS• Microsoft CRM• Personify• SalesForce

AMS Ecommerce SystemsAMS systems have proprietary web facing shopping carts to automatically integrate to the AMS.

Open Source Ecommerce SystemsSome Association use open source CMS.

These CMS’ have add-on shopping carts.

Then integrate the Shopping Cart with the AMS.

• Wordpress WooCommerce• Drupal Commerce

Enterprise Ecommerce SystemsThere are also enterprise systems that Associations can integrates to CRM or AMS.

• Shoptify• Magento• Big Ecommerce

Product Catalog Product catalog stores all your products Holds all data points to display product detail on web

pages In some cases, keeps track of inventory

Shopping Cart JourneyAll Shopping Carts have these four standard pages.

As a marketer, you want to track the leads activity across the four pages.

1. Product Page2. Shopping Cart3. Purchase Page4. Confirmation

1. Product PagesThe product landing page. Details all the information related to the product.• Cost• Description• Reviews

The pages has a clear call to action to add the items

2. CartThe cart uses JavaScript to save items in the cart in that web session.

The cart also totals the amount of the total purchase.

3. PurchaseThe lead is now committed to purchasing, and has to enter payment information

4. ConfirmationThe site confirms payment received from the payment processor.

The processor sends the funds to the merchant account.

As a marketer, this page converts the lead to a customer.

Tracking Customer PurchasesHow to Use the Purchase History for Marketing Automation

Transaction Saved in AMS or CRM The E-Commerce site saves the transaction inside the

AMS Gives Marketer Insight Data Hard to Make the Data Actionable and Usable When

Only in the AMS or CRM

Save Transactions in Marketing Platform Integrate Purchase History Data Real Time in the Marketing Automation

Platform Use Tracking Scripts to Capture Activity Gives You Insight into Marketing Campaign Performance Makes Data Actionable

Predictability Trigger Automation Campaigns Persona Development

How? JavaScript Conversion CodesJavaScript is the technology framework that allows

marketers to retrieve web analytics and track conversions.

Marketing automation platform use tracking scripts on your websites.

Tracking scripts send information to the marketing automation platforms.

Anonymous Users and Cookies Anonymous users are web visitors that have never

filled out a form or clicked a link in an email. Marketing Automation platforms use cookies to identify

the contact viewing the webpage E-Commerce systems capture the email address on

purchase step in the shopping cart journey. The email address captured identifies the customer.

What is a cookie? Cookies stores information on your computer or phone

by a website you visit. Cookies are browser specific

Where it Stored? Browsers store the cookies in their sub folders. Cookies are small text files. Some browsers store in one long file. Some browsers store each cookie separately

What is in the Cookie? Cookie Name Website Value Duration

How Long do Cookies Last?Session Cookie

• Temporary• Only stores the cookie

while you visit the site.• Cookie deletes once you

leave the website

Persistent Cookies

• Permanent• Website specifies the

duration of time for the browser to keep the cookie

Cookie Help Identify Users Marketing Automation Platform (MAP) stores identity

cookies on your computer The identity cookie is a unique key The key opens the door to your data stored in the MAP

MAP Web Activity Script Name

Marketo• Munchkin

Act-On• Beacon

Hubspot• Tracking Code

HighRoad Marketing Cloud

Tracking Code

Where does the Script go?The scripts go in the bottom of page before the ending </body> tag.

How does the script work?

1. User visit web page2. JavaScript runs3. JavaScript Identify User4. JavaScript Sends Web

Activity to MAPJavaScript sends information to the Marketing Automation Platform (MAP) real-time.

Identify Anonymous UsersForm Submit

• Lead fills out form with contact information• MAP stores the cookie• MAP associate cookie with

contact information

Web Visit via an Email

• Contact clicks link in email• MAP stores cookie• MAP associate the cookie

with the email address.

Track the Buyer Journey1. Searched Google2. Read Blog3. Clicked Ad4. Read Email5. Click CTA in Email6. Viewed Product Page

7. Added Product to Cart8. Viewed Payment Form9. Submitted Payment

Form10.Viewed Confirmation

Page11.Lead Converted to

Customer

ContextLook for opportunities where personalization is more than “Hello <First Name>”:

• Purchased more than 2 products in the last 6 months?• Registered as an early-

bird for the past 3 years?• Upcoming membership

renewal?

Abandoned Shopping CartCapture Audiences in the don’t make it to the confirmation step.

Send reminder email with context.

Capture InterestUse Tracking Code to Capture Overall Interest

Use Interest to deliver Intelligent Contextual Email (I.C.E)

Lead ScoringAttribute E-commerce Activity on a Weighted Scoring System.

Find your Highly Engaged and Least Engaged for Predictive Analytics.

Attribute Revenue from EmailGoing beyond the click, and determine if the email generated revenue.

• Email Campaign Generated $1400.• Email Types of Fundraising

Generated $20,000 over the last Year

Questions