Hyatt Legal Plans, a MetLife company, the largest provider of group legal plans in the United States was looking to improve the user experience of their website. With the help of Metrics Marketing Group, a complete redesign of the Hyatt Legal Plans website was executed taking into account usability testing and best practices for information architecture, layout, design and functionality. Upon finishing the website redesign, Hyatt Legal plans saw a 25% increase in website traffic and 17% more Contact Us form completions.

Challenge 

Hyatt Legal Plans wanted to improve its website user experience for all of its target audiences – plan members, human resource personnel and benefit executives. 

Solution 

Legal Plans Homepage and Request for Proposal Form

 A complete redesign of the website was proposed, taking into account usability testing and best practices for information architecture, layout, design and function. Metrics Marketing built the new site from the ground up, leveraging an easy-to-use content management system so that Hyatt Legal Plans could make future updates themselves.  In addition, the number of tracked conversions was increased from three to nine, the most important of which was a new Request a Proposal form. These new conversion points allowed sales leads to be differentiated from member use.  It also provided insight into member behavior on the website.

Results 

After implementing the recommendations and completing the website redesign Metrics Marketing Group was able to measure the success of the newly designed site. When comparing the three month period prior to launch to the three months following launch: 

• 25% increase in website traffic
• 17% more Contact Us completions
• Over 2,000 tracked interactions
• 2011 Interactive Media Award ‘Best in Class’ Winner 

Learn more about Metrics’ website development and usability testing by visiting www.metricsmarketing.com.

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Complimentary Webinar Series from Metrics Marketing Group      MEET THE PRESENTERS   Magento eCommerce Elevation: A Checklist to Take Your Site to the Next Level Wednesday, February 15, 2012 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST Is optimizing your Magento eCommerce website a goal for 2012? Metrics has developed an optimization checklist to help take your Magento site to the next level. During this webinar, our expert will discuss redesign and enhancement do’s and don’ts and reveal untapped opportunities, in areas such as SEO/SEM strategy tactics, third-party solutions integration, and mobile and tablet strategies. Presented By: Steve Kidwell eCommerce Practice Director at Metrics Marketing         Steve Kidwell eCommerce Practice Director at Metrics Marketing REGISTER NOW

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Are your interactive marketing goals aligned with the industry’s 2012 trajectory? Our experts assembled a list of the top ten interactive marketing trends for 2012 based on experiences with clients and research from our partners such as Forrester, ExactTarget and Magento. 

Our experts predict that 2012 will be the year for true integration for mobile, social and local. More than ever consumers are using multiple devices to access the Internet, social media, peer review sites and more to gain insights on which products to buy, places to eat, cities to visit, etc. It’s no wonder that interactive marketing spend is predicted to increase in 2012 in these major areas: social media, online advertising and website development: 

*Source: Marketing Budgets for 2012 Expose a Fear of Commitment. Forrester Research, Inc.: December 5, 2011.

Strengthen your 2012 marketing plan with our top 10 interactive marketing trends and tips: 

1.)    Email – The top priority is to ensure that users are engaged.  Create a preference center where users are able to update their preferences at any time.  Leverage your customers purchase history. Honor your subscriber and deliver on what you promised! 

2.)    HTML5 – Has new developments which include embedding in web experience without sending users to a landing page. It is important to understand the share of audience and what percent is using these different browsers that enable HTML5.  Test features and functionality before making the transition to provide HTML5 to your users. 

3.)    Loyalty – Is that really an Interactive channel?  Yes, the implication for loyalty online is undeniable.  Promotions will fade as major drivers of customer loyalty and engagement will increase.  Engaging and building long term loyalty shift from transaction based rewards to experiential rewards and benefits.    

4.)    Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – SEO becomes more and more dependent on social media.  New social sites such as Pinterest are all about sharing links where link building tactics will soon become more dependent on viral content.  This means marketing teams (i.e. SEO and social media experts) need to be integrated and holistic with an understanding of how each department’s efforts affect another’s and how to leverage each other.   

5.)    Paid Search (PPC) – Pay-per-click attribution reporting and bid management tools contribute to the return of ad budget to display advertising.  Wider adoption of real-time bidding allows for better audience targeting capabilities so marketers can reach relevant audiences, refine who they are marketing to improve ROI.    

6.)    Social Media – Social media is the new telephone. Customers want a reply when they voice a concern to a company’s social media site.  If customers don’t get a response- the repercussion can be severe- ranging from not doing business with the organization anymore to bashing the brand to their social community. Having a company-wide social media strategy can help mitigate  brand attacks.     

7.)    2D Barcodes – Examine your current offline efforts in direct mail, in-store signage, magazines,  or any physical product offline that you invest in that engages your audience and consider utilizing Microsoft Tags.  These popular 2D barcodes provide more flexibility than older formats and have the capability to link to consumer data allowing for better online experiences. 

8.)    Mobile Commerce – As the use of mobile devices continues to expand, mobile commerce will experience a surge.  Mobile commerce has become a mainstream method of shopping.  Create a mobile experience that eases the user from browsing to buying and satisfies the real-time need.  Create a clean guided shopping experience to encourage customers to come back for more.  

9.)    Tablets – Tablets are now mainstream.  The 2011 holiday shopping season proved that the iPad & Kindle Fire were the leading gifts. And even more Christmas shopping was completed on a tablet than in a store this holiday season. Test the design and usability of your tablet apps or website to ensure it is user friendly. 

10.)   Multi-Channel Marketing – The 2012 consumer is connected 24/7.  Their attention span will continue to be further divided across multiple marketing mediums.  Break through the marketing silos and ensure consistency across all devices and channels.

Want more information on these trends?  Watch our recorded webinar, Top 10 Interactive Marketing Trends for 2012 or Contact our business development managers, Tiffany Olson or Adrienne Embery-Good.

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If customers cannot find your products or make it through the checkout funnel, they cannot buy your products.  Increase your conversion rates by increasing your site’s usability. Often, making just a few updates can make a significant impact on the ROI for an eCommerce site.   A simple tool such as the Conversion Rate Calculator can help put a tangible value on improving the usability of a website. These basic calculations open the door for a discussion to quantify what small improvements can mean to an eCommerce site.

Conversion Rate Calculator

The Conversion Rate Calculator estimates the value of improving the customer experience of a website based on;

- Average number of visits per month

- Average number of transactions per month

- Average transaction size dollar amount

While basic, this tool demonstrates the idea that a slight improvement in the customer experience of a website can be significant.  It does this by multiplying the individual impact across the size of the average cart and the number of users who can now complete the conversion process. A site with a seamless checkout process can help relieve abandoned shopping carts.

User research experts take a deeper look into an eCommerce website and can obtain insights that can provide an even higher ROI. For example, consider a behavior-cased usability study that identifies areas of opportunity by qualitatively examining where users struggle. By pinpointing where users struggle and making those changes can more than make up the cost of the initial investment. Ideally, companies who are considering improving customer experience can use this tool as a rough estimate or starting point.

Metrics Marketing Group’s Research and Customer Experience Vice President Cathleen Zapata comments that, “From experience, I’ve seen that incorporating usability research and testing early and throughout the project timeline can have a huge pay off.” She continues “Estimating ROI not only gives marketers peace of mind that they’re correctly allocating their marketing budget, it also shows the value of each enhancement.” To learn how Metrics Marketing can help maximize your site for ultimate conversion through usability studies and customer research, visit www.metricsmarketing.com/Lab for more information.

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The Metrics Marketing Research & Customer Experience Manager will work on projects for a variety of clients providing user research, market research and information architecture expertise. This position will be charged with assisting with growing the Research & Customer Experience practice and service offerings. The candidate must be detail oriented, focused on delivering high quality deliverables, have a passion for the field of usability and research, and possess customer empathy with a drive to create outstanding customer experiences.

Position Objectives

• Leverage professional experience and skills in an effort to increase efficiencies of Metrics Marketing’s customer experience processes and methods “tool box.”
• Utility player mindset: maintain flexibility to be used in a variety of other roles (including some potential administrative duties) to support the team with a “whatever it takes” to get it done attitude.   
• Support the sales process by providing work estimates and assisting with creating sales materials and conducting client-facing presentations where appropriate.
• Acting as the project manager for customer experience projects as assigned; manage Metrics Marketing resources (where appropriate) to meet client needs.
• Work closely and foster relationships with internal account managers, creative, development and analytics when creating outstanding customer experiences.
• Demonstrate professionalism in both demeanor and appearance and foster client relationships in this client-facing role.
• Work effectively with account managers to meet expectations on time and on budget.
• Produce deliverables with exceptional accuracy and quality.

Primary Responsibilities

• Help Metrics Marketing meet or exceed client expectations through effective delivery of customer experience projects.
• Manage and conduct customer experience projects utilizing the following methodologies (or other appropriate methodologies) within the research and customer experience discipline:
  • Formal (lab based), remote, iterative, comparative and competitor usability testing
  • Lab based, remote and completely mobile eye tracking studies
  • User Personas
  • One-on-One Interviews (IDIs), Focus Groups & Surveys
  • Heuristic Evaluations & Competitor Assessments
  • Information Architecture, Card Sorting & Task Analysis
  • Contextual Inquiries & Ethnographic Research
  • Online Research
  • Split Testing & Multivariate Testing
• Manage customer experience projects as assigned.
• Understand our client’s business needs and effectively identify and review appropriate methodologies in order to develop comprehensive and effective customer experience strategies.
• Help educate client and internal staff on usability, usability best practices, and be an advocate of the Research & Customer Experience Group.
• Serve as an expert within the research and customer experience discipline. Be able to clearly articulate Metrics Marketing’s key differentiators as it relates to user-centered design and customer experience and explain our approach.
• Support the sales process by providing work estimates, suggesting appropriate methodologies, assisting with creating sales materials, conducting client-facing presentations, and generating ideas and conducting research to support the sales process as assigned. Assist with billing and other client administrative tasks as assigned.
• Help build enhanced or more formalized Metrics Marketing customer experience processes and structure.
• Become knowledgeable with the breadth and depth of Metrics Marketing solutions.
• Stay abreast of the latest technologies and market trends.
• Help build Metrics’ research and customer experience processes, structure and service offerings.

Secondary Responsibilities

• Generate new business leads through the identification and cultivation of new client prospects.
• Provide occasional administrative support — if/when needed, such as
  • Billing coordination
  • Client meeting coordination

Additional Responsibilities

• Fit the Metrics Marketing culture: honesty; hard work; team-focused
• Gain “working knowledge” of technologies required to keep Metrics Marketing “leading-edge”
• Travel as necessary.

Reporting Relationship

This position reports directly to the Vice President, Research & Customer Experience.

Interested applicants should send their resume and cover letter to careers@metricsmarketing.com

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Complimentary Webinar       Top 10 Interactive Marketing Trends for 2012  Tuesday, January 31, 2012 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST   A new year calls for a new marketing plan. Are your 2012 interactive marketing goals aligned with the industry’s 2012 projected trends? In this webinar, we will specifically look at the top ten trends in interactive marketing such as eCommerce, search engine marketing, email and more.         Presented By: Tiffany Olson, Interactive Business Development Manager & Adrienne Embery-Good, Business Development Manager      Tiffany Olson, Interactive Business Development Manager at Metrics Marketing Group     Adrienne Embery-Good, Business Development Manager at Metrics Marketing Group

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The latest Twitter announcement regarding the addition of brand pages is leaving marketers to wonder, how will this change the way we use Twitter for business? I’d like to review the key features and high-level thoughts on how the new changes may impact the way you communicate your brand online.

 

Review of Key Features & Enhancements 

Among other features, the brand pages will give companies the capability to have a large banner above their twitter stream giving them an opportunity to highlight their logo or incorporate creative work samples. This banner will stand out above and beyond the personalized background that most companies have already adopted. In addition, companies will have the ability to stick or hold specific tweets at the top of their stream enabling them to have some control over what followers see beyond their ever-changing twitter stream. Lastly, is the discover feature, which sounds somewhat similar to clicking on a hash tag to explore relevant tweets, but will tailor the results to reflect the interest and location of the consumer…enabling a more personalized experience for tweeters. 

Metrics Marketing Twitter Brand Page

 For marketers and those who manage company twitter accounts this means that tweeting relevant and compelling content will make it even easier for consumers to discover companies they would want to follow. The discover feature seems to be the key piece in this announcement as social media companies make a push to provide more relevant content tailored for every user. The larger banner space will be a helpful feature in encouraging companies to activity update and stay connected with their twitter pages but will have relatively little effect on the increase of engaging conversation. Creating searchable relevant content that consumers want to read is a key element to gaining and keeping followers. 

Initial Feedback 

Twitter has become a great way for businesses to engage in a two way dialogue with their consumers. More companies are taking the lead in the online space by listening and reacting to consumer tweets. For marketers this means that while these new twitter enhancements are a great way to enhance the look and feel of their brand page, it is ultimately the content that makes brand pages a success. Consumers might think little about the enhanced banner and could possibly start to develop “banner” blindness to the first tweets in a company stream if they become too self serving. Similar to how users fail to actively see the paid results on a Google results page, we anticipate similar results with the enhancend banner in Twitter. If consumers embrace the discover feature, it will lie on the marketers shoulders to consistently Tweet relevant news and content to their company’s followers. 

The changes and enhancements to Twitter do not stop here, it is rumored that Twitter will continue to enhance and incorporate new features into their new design. 

Metrics wants to know…
What are your thoughts on Twitter brand pages? How will it change the way your organization uses Twitter for business? 

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Hyatt Legal Plans Website

Spirit of Blue Foundation Website

Metrics Marketing Group, an analytics-driven, database marketing and interactive services firm, announced today that it has been awarded by the Interactive Media Awards™ Best in Class in the Legal category for its work on the Hyatt Legal Plans Corporate Website and Outstanding Achievement in the Charity category for its work on Spirit of Blue Website. These top honors recognize that each project met and surpassed the basic standards of excellence that comprise the web’s most professional work.

Metrics’ received Best in Class, the Interactive Media Award’s highest honor, for its work on The Hyatt Legal Plans Corporate Website. The website underwent a complete end-to-end redesign which was fueled by the client’s desire to improve the site’s design, usability, content and features. Metrics performed a remote usability study to evaluate the site’s user experience and built the site leveraging a content management platform. The upgraded site features new interactive legal tools, content, as well as improved navigation, graphic design and a mobile site. 

“Our overarching goal was to improve user experience and information accessibility for our primary users, plan members as well as human resources and benefits executives,” said Marcia Bowers, Sales and Marketing Director at Hyatt Legal Plans. “We knew that Metrics was the right firm to execute this project and we’re honored to have the Interactive Media Council, a respected organization with a panel of esteemed industry experts, acknowledge our updated website.” 

Metrics also received Outstanding Achievement in the Charity category for its work on Spirit of Blue Website. The Spirit of Blue Website’s was designed to allow individual products to be sent to multiple vendors who would then fulfill their specific portion of the order. The website is able to manage the complexity of this process and keep the customer updated on the overall status and shipment of the order.

“Our site required a unique order fulfillment component which Metrics was able to develop without forsaking the site’s design,” said Melissa Parola from Spirit of Blue Foundation. “We are honored to work with Metrics and have our website recognized with this prestigious award.”

Interactive Media Award winners were judged on various criteria, including design, usability, innovation in technical features, standards compliance and content. In order to win this award level, the site had to meet strict guidelines in each area — an achievement only a fraction of sites in the IMA competition earn each quarter.

“This award further validates that Metrics is more than capable of developing and designing websites with complex features and functionalities leveraging the Magento eCommerce platform,” said Stephen Kidwell, eCommerce Practice Director of Metrics Marketing Group. “Our team’s diverse capabilities in development, usability, creative design and search engine optimization, help us achieve best-in-class eCommerce solutions for our clients.”

With more than 15 years experience in eCommerce development and design, Metrics Marketing provides best in class comprehensive eCommerce solutions focusing on the Magento Enterprise platform. Every Magento implementation is infused with search analytics and usability best practices, ensuring that your site is optimized for ultimate conversion. Both Magento development and creative is done in-house (U.S. based) by Metrics’ Zend and Magento certified developers and designers. Comprised of the best individuals that produce award-winning work, Metrics’ team is equipped to provide the best eCommerce solution for any retailer.

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Early in a website redesign process, marketers must consider usability for improved functionality and a seamless conversion path. A website enhanced with usability best practices can increase conversion, customer loyalty, retention, customer satisfaction, trust and productivity. However, one user is often overlooked during the redesign process: the search engine. This omission can result in significant revenue losses and lead to thousands of dollars in reworks post launch.

It’s important to remember that search engines are users, too, and ones that can have significant impact on whether other users ever see your website or not. Marketers can improve the visibility of a website within natural search engine results by streamlining access and developing keyword rich code and content through the process of search engine optimization.

Furthermore, collaboration between SEO and Usability improves elements such a category names and content migration/development because of the information available via keyword research tools and web analytics. In addition, technical site optimization will ultimately impact usability by adding alternate text for images (helps the visually-impaired user navigate a website), lightening code to make site pages load faster, and informing URL and breadcrumb structure, to help users understand where they are within the website.

Designing a site that is optimized for usability and search engines will result in greater visibility online and subsequent traffic increases and conversions. Interested in improving the usability and findability of your website? Give us a call at 877-332-9222. – Our experts are happy to help!

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Complimentary Webinar Series from Metrics Marketing Group      Share with friends:    MEET THE PRESENTERS Utilize Your Customers’ Online and Email Data to Increase Sales    Wednesday, December 7, 2011 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST   Are you interested in increasing overall customer engagement with your email campaigns and decreasing abandoned shopping carts? Metrics Marketing has created a solution by combining the power of the ExactTarget email platform with the strength of Magento’s eCommerce solution. In this webinar, learn how to better leverage your customers’ data to increase engagement and sales.             Presented By: Tiffany Olson, Interactive Business Development Manager & Adrienne Embery-Good, Business Development Manager    Tiffany Olson, Interactive Business Development Manager at Metrics Marketing Group        Adrienne Embery-Good, Business Development Manager at Metrics Marketing Group

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