How well received is the concept of Web Optimization in Asia and what is driving this growth?
Seth Rosenblatt :(SR) We are just launching it now but from the customers we have talked to already; it has been incredibly well received.
In speaking to many companies in the region, it is clear that all of them face various challenges with their online presence. The costs of driving traffic to their site are going up while the expectations of their visitors who reach that site are increasing.
In Asia, search marketing is continually increasing its share of the budget, and there is a greater pressure on marketers to show a return on that ever increasing investment. Many companies have installed web analytics solutions, which have only highlighted how poorly some of their campaigns are performing and how low their website conversion rates are. They have quickly learned that just having all of this information doesn’t actually give you the ability to improve that performance.
Lastly, companies are hampered by the same politically-charged decision making processes within their organizations that don’t put the customers’ needs first.
All of these forces point to web optimization, as it puts the customers in the position to tell you what works on your web site, it makes analytics data actionable, and it provides a significant and measurable return to the bottom line.
What are the main challenges organisations are facing today with Content Management and Website Optimization?
SR: Many of these organisations have a content management system, but they don’t know how to best leverage it – to help decide what content to show customers.
With website optimization, they don’t even know where to start – they lack the expertise to decide what to test on a page and how to design a testing program. And they want to figure out how all of this works together – how can they “close the loop” by creating, delivering, and optimizing content to product the most engaging experience for their customers.
Could you elaborate more on the new Interwoven Optimization solution?
SR: Interwoven Optimost is a multivariable testing platform. It allows our clients to effectively turn every part of their page into a variable – this can include every element on a page, including the header, the main image, all text, graphical elements, layout, submit buttons, or any other content on that page.
Then, in real time, the system can deliver different permutation of these variables in a page viewed by the visitor. Potentially millions of different page versions can be simulated, and the system tracks each visitor’s behavior and can correlate their actions to the specific page version that they saw.
The web page is then optimized by finding the best performing page from potentially those millions of versions and display the best combination of content, layout, and design that most drives the company’s business objectives. Essentially, you let the customers make the collective decision as to what works, and in doing so, you maximize your online conversion rates!
How does the new Interwoven Optimization solution help marketers maximize their online investments?
SR: Companies spend an enormous and growing sum of money to get visitors to their site. However, they suffer with low conversion rates – often around 3% or less. So, for the average company, 97% of the money spent to drive traffic is effectively wasted! Even a small improvement in the on-site conversion rate makes a giant difference to the bottom line.
Therefore, the value proposition for our website optimization solution is very simple – maximize those conversion rates online. The client’s measure of conversion can be any action that the business is trying to drive the visitor toward, be it purchasing products, signing up for a newsletter, filling in a lead generation form, viewing an ad, or any combination of actions that drives their business.
The concept is to let the customers tell you, through their actions, what combination of content and presentation works best on a website. It takes the guesswork (and organizational politics) out of deciding what is the right offer, the right layout, the right image, the right message, etc. Best of all, results are clear with no ambiguity.
By testing multiple permutations of content on a web page, the business will be able to see exactly which combination of variables drives results. This will not only increase their online conversions, it will gain them great learnings as to what their customers like and don’t like. And they can go a step further – marketers can target their visitors based on audience characteristics (including both known and anonymous factors) to drive even higher conversions by finding the best combination of content for a particular audience segment.
Why was Singapore chosen as the first location to launch the Interwoven Optimization solution in Asia?
SR: We have chosen Singapore as the location to launch the Interwoven Optimization solution in Asia. We have a very strong client base here, and Singapore is our Asia Pacific headquarters where many of our regional clients are based. What is also important is the strength of our partnerships with interactive agencies here – who we are enabling to provide this solution to their clients.
Do you have plans to roll out the solution in other countries in other regions? If yes, which countries and when?
SR: Interwoven Optimost is the first solution we are delivering via software-as-a-service and is available throughout Asia Pacific. There is so much potential for the region – not many people know that Asia already contributes 39% of the world's total internet user population and has grown by 350% from 2000 to 2007.
Which industries do you see adopting Web Optimization more readily? Why?
SR: Web optimization is not very industry specific – we have clients across many business-to-consumer and business-to-business markets, including retail, financial services, media & entertainment, travel, technology, healthcare, non-profit, and many others. Generally, what is most important is that the business has a set of measurable goals for their web site – that could be selling more online, but it could also be generating more leads, more subscribers, or just having greater engagement with its visitors.
However, certain industries tend to be ahead of others, and in the U.S., the early adopters were financial services firms, retail sites, and any other site looking to generate leads on line. We seem to be also getting the same enthusiasm from those industries in Asia. |
