eDR Site News

eDigitalResearch Helps Autotrader Improve Offer and Add Customer Value

2011-03-09T10:57:00.000-08:00

Research and insight specialist eDigitalResearch is playing an important role in the success of the UK’s leading automotive website.

Trader Media Group is one of Europe’s largest multi media groups and providers of market leading websites and their associated magazines. Its flagship website Auto Trader is most people’s first port of call when buying or selling a car, boasting more than ten million unique visits every month. Of the 16,000 trade dealers of all sizes in the UK, almost 10,000 advertise on autotrader.co.uk on a regular basis, with private sales accounting for 20% of vehicles on the site.

Recognising its responsibility to both advertisers and buyers, the publisher consistently aims to increase its Customer Satisfaction Index by continuously improving service and value. Two essential elements of this are ensuring a fully optimised site for its users, and providing unique, added value services for its advertisers. Trader Media Group’s research partner, eDigitalResearch, has helped to achieve both over the last seven years.

Up to ten surveys every month take several forms, depending on specific objectives and segmented into buyers, browsers and sellers. Respondents are surveyed on whether they are trade or private, buying or selling, other methods of doing business and a range of other subjects. Site rating and ranking questions determine their experience of and success with using Auto Trader. The insight gained is used to create a scorecard which goes out to the entire business in order to make ongoing improvements for the benefit of both sellers and buyers.

Contributing to Auto Trader’s positioning as the ‘voice of the customer’, Trader Media Group also uses eMysteryShopper to provide manufacturers and retail groups with unique website usability and customer experience ratings. The insight provided by eDigitalResearch is fed back to the advertisers by Market Research Director Nick King, and the results presented at the group’s prestigious Click Awards gala dinner. Most participants act on this insight and increase the quality of their online presence and hence their ‘Click’ rankings year by year.

eCommerce is a also major revenue stream for Trader Media Group. The publisher hosts a quarterly insight event specifically for media agencies, regularly attended by some 70 of the top 100 agencies. Again, the insight produced by eDigitalResearch helps to maintain the publisher’s brand awareness and quality positioning.

Nick King comments: “As the automotive sector’s leading channel, we need to be able to offer a huge amount of value. We’ve been with eDigitalResearch for the last seven years and have remained so because they understand our business, are very proactive in helping to create the surveys, provide very fast turnaround and represent good value for money.” He adds “I get approached regularly by other suppliers but I am happy to stay with eDigitalResearch.”

eDigitalResearch is one of the best places to work, in the Sunday Times Best Small Companies to Work For awards

2011-02-28T02:18:00.000-08:00

While the market-leading online research specialist is helping its clients to find out how they look from the outside, the company is looking good from the inside too. eDigitalResearch is celebrating being awarded one of the top prizes at the Sunday Times Best Small Companies to Work For 2011 awards.

The 41st overall place in the 100 Best Small Companies category as well as the highest 3 star accreditation reinforces Hampshire-based eDigitalResearch as one of the UK’s top employers in the market research sector and comes after yet another record breaking year for the company. An increasing number of clients in the retail, finance, media, travel, utilities and other sectors are benefiting from a market-leading range of research and insight solutions including surveys, panels, communities and HR appraisal tools.

The company ranked seventh for creating a stimulating workplace and very highly for individual personal growth. Employees also valued the work ethic, most saying that colleagues go out of their way to be helpful to one another, generating a real sense of ‘family’.

A delighted Chris Russell, Founding Director of eDigitalResearch comments, “This is a fantastic achievement. We wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all the ground breaking accomplishments that we have in the past several months without the dedication and commitment of our staff. We always try and reward effort and the fact that we’ve now been rewarded by the team is just incredible, so a big thank you to everyone.”

Russell continues “The great thing about this accreditation is the fact that it’s completely independent and voted for by the staff. We’re extremely proud to have been placed in the top half of the table and will work hard throughout 2011 to improve even further for next year. It also helps us to continue to attract top quality talent across the business.”

Founded in 1999 by Russell and fellow Founding Director Michelle Fuller, eDigitalResearch has grown to become one of the UK’s leading market research specialists with a 60+ strong work force providing clients with the insight to develop their online and multichannel offerings.

This is the first time the company has entered the Best Small Companies to Work For accreditation process, which this year saw entries from over 500 small businesses. It has also held Investors in People accreditation since 2007.

eDigitalResearch helps Totaljobs Group maintain leading position

2011-02-17T02:11:00.000-08:00

eDigitalResearch is helping the UK’s leading online recruitment business to further improve its attraction and engagement with both recruiters and jobseekers.

Totaljobs Group comprises seven recruitment job sites, between them carrying over 125,000 jobs, attracting over four million jobseekers and generating three million applications every month. These include totaljobs.com, cwjobs.co.uk, caterer.com and retailchoice.com. The group had previously used a number of online survey providers to help it ascertain from recruiters and jobseekers how it can add value and match employers to the right candidates. Previous systems used have fallen short of requirements for a variety of reasons, including a lack of control or flexibility to create customer surveys, and poor reporting capabilities.

Requiring a more collaborative and flexible approach, Totaljobs Group engaged eDigitalResearch in 2008. Its key objectives were understanding satisfaction levels of both jobseekers and recruiters and the needs, behaviours and perceptions of specific audience types, as well as helping to aid development of new products and sales and marketing strategies across all brands. The business now runs multiple tracking surveys across all seven brands, regular profiling surveys, and numerous ad hoc studies to fuel content and PR activity.

Recruiter surveys enable a deep understanding of the specific recruitment needs and challenges of the respective sectors and individual companies within them. Some are used to gather market intelligence to improve knowledge, attend networking events and introduce new services and other key strategies. Others are used to gauge and improve the usability of the site from a recruiter perspective.

Jobseekers are profiled in order to demonstrate to recruitment advertisers the level of information held on potential candidates that pass through its job websites. They are then regularly polled on subjects such as employment aspirations by brand, what other recruitment channels they use, topical employment issues and how satisfied they are with their experience of Totaljobs Group and the usability of its sites. Other eDigitalResearch methodologies are currently being trialled in order to conduct more in-depth discussions with respective audiences.

Marketing Director Michael Robinson commented: “As an online business that is constantly changing, it is important that we fully understand our audiences' needs and behaviours. Having this insight enables us not only to develop our products and services, but also drive content and communications to jobseekers and recruitment advertisers who use our websites.”

“eDigitalResearch was chosen for two reasons,” Robinson adds. “Firstly, it had an impressive client list of blue chip brands, many of them online, and clearly demonstrated its technical ability in providing a full suite of research tools in the digital space. Secondly, it has the research expertise, helping Totaljobs Group to frame questionnaires correctly, an important consideration given that we do not have our own research department.”

Figleaves.com rated as top e-commerce site over the Christmas shopping season

2011-02-10T05:57:00.000-08:00

figleaves.com, the ultimate online destination for men’s and ladies’ Intimates, nightwear, shapewear, loungewear, swimwear, active, gifts and accessories has been rated the top performing e-commerce site in a study covering the Christmas shopping season by eDigitalResearch.

The eRetail Benchmark Study from the company found that the site’s exceptional customer service was the key differentiator. Despite experiencing the same delivery problems as many retailers in the run up to Christmas, figleaves.com managed to maintain a high level of customer contact, keeping shoppers updated with dispatch details and tracking options and boosting overall satisfaction.

The site was also commended for its engaging website, offering stylish and informative product pages, as well as an intuitive shopping basket. Each season the site launches thousands of new items and ideas, with over 1.2 million customers visiting each month.

Across the nine criteria used in the study, figleaves.com was the top performer followed by Amazon, Boots, Ryman and Javari. The site was also commended for its email customer service, where it scored highest with 81.6 percent overall, and a 76.9 speed of response.

It is a sign that the site continues to maintain high levels of online customer satisfaction, whilst many are still plagued with poor customer service scores, even in the face of unprecedented obstacles such as snow effected deliveries and operations in the run up to Christmas.

Julien Shirley, figleaves.com Head of Digital Marketing, says ‘We are absolutely delighted to have come first in eDigitalResearch’s study, customers are at the centre of everything we do and it proves figleaves.com sets the industry best practise for first class customer service’.

Customer service remains crucial for retailers

2011-02-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

The latest eRetail Benchmark results show that exceptional customer service remains a key differential for top performing retail websites, as pure play ‘etailer’ Figleaves tops the overall league table with outstanding telephone and email customer contact. Despite experiencing the same delivery problems as many retailers in the run up Christmas, Figleaves managed to maintain a high level of customer contact, keeping shoppers updated and boosting overall satisfaction.

The study, from eDigitalResearch, assesses the entire end to end customer journey, and found that the majority of retailers are maintaining high levels of online customer satisfaction, but many are still plagued with poor customer service scores.

Derek Eccleston, Research Director at eDigitalResearch explains, ‘This year, retailers faced unprecedented obstacles as snow effected online deliveries and operations in the run up to Christmas. What sets apart those that performed well in our study is their customer service, and our results emphasise the importance of not only having an engaging and functional website, but also established backend systems and procedures.

During peak retail periods like this, it is crucial that retailers ensure they are providing helpful and responsive customer contact, reassuring shoppers and updating them on their order. Our feedback clearly highlights that consumers were generally sympathetic and understanding of the situation last December, providing that retailers made an effort to stay in contact, providing dispatch details and tracking options where available.’

The overall delivery results truly highlight the severe disruption that retailers faced in the run up to Christmas. Only four out of the 51 sites benchmarked managed to score 100% for on time deliveries, compared to 38 retailers who managed to achieve the same in the autumn.

Figleaves topped the email contact league table and came a close second for telephone contact, setting industry best practice. They provide responsive and helpful telephone and email customer service, in conjunction with an engaging website that offers stylish and informative product pages, as well as an intuitive shopping basket.

Keyword search and navigation remains the highest performing online sections throughout the study, as retailers begin to incorporate search engine and predictive text and technology into their sites, with 1 in 4 retailers now already offering this.

Derek continues, ‘As we witness the emergence of MEcommerce where consumers are now firmly in control, it is essential that retailers become customer centric, ensuring that the entire end to end journey is seamless and provides everything a customer now expects, including continued investment in online technology, backend operations and emerging platforms.’

Full results and presentation available from here https://ecustomeropinions.com/survey/survey.php?sid=531384686 or login to the benchmarking area of the eDigitalResearch website: www.edigitalresearch.com/benchmarking

Marks and Spencer top mCommerce league as customer satisfaction with their mobile site increases

2011-01-28T04:54:00.000-08:00

Multichannel retailer Marks and Spencer has topped the overall league table in the second ever mCommerce benchmark study, providing consumers with a functional yet stylish mobile site to compliment their online offering.

The study, undertaken by eDigitalResearch, assessed the shopping process on both optimised and non-optimised sites, looking at first impressions through to product delivery. Results show that general customer satisfaction with the end to end mobile journey is starting to increase as retailers invest heavily in the channel. However, mComemrce still has a considerable way to go to rival more established online platforms.

Derek Eccleston, Research Director at eDigitalResearch, explains, “With the popularity of smart devices set to continue growing, more and more retailers are now developing mCommerce sites to facilitate shopping on the move.

As we continue to witness a MEcommerce revolution, where people are now able to dictate to retailers how, where and when they shop, it is essential that browsing and shopping via a smart device is quick and simple, yet provides the same functionality and design as a retailers standard website accessed via a PC”.

Marks and Spencer offer mobile consumers a practical mCommerce site, gaining an overall score of 88.8%, improving on their second place 86.8% in the initial study back in September 2010. Their keyword search allows users to refine and filter results quickly and easily, whilst their product pages offer a condensed and compacted version of the standard web pages.

Feedback conclusively shows whilst shoppers prefer the usability of a mobile optimsied site, they still favour the design, style and appeal of a standard website. First impressions was the worst performing section with an average score of 76%, highlighting the continued investment and development needed from retailers in order to match their online counterparts.

Derek continues, “It is encouraging that after our first study retailers are already learning from recent mistakes, adapting their mobile strategies in order to meet the expectations of mobile savvy shoppers. However, it is essential that as smart device ownership continues to increase, brands continue to invest in the platform in order to encourage purchases and increase brand advocacy”.

Worryingly, some retailers, such as Waitrose, are confusing and complicating the mobile journey and limiting shoppers to certain product ranges, despite developing an mCommerce site.

The results highlight that retailers need to be offering consumers a seamless journey across all channels, including mobile platforms. Comments conclusively show that shoppers expect the same experience that they are accustom to online and on the high street.

To download the latest report, visit our website: https://ecustomeropinions.com/survey/survey.php?sid=340113959

Consumers embracing digital technology on the high street

2011-01-26T07:10:00.000-08:00

The latest eCustomerServiceIndex (eCSI) results from eDigitalResearch and IMRG in January 2011 show that consumers are using digital devices on the high street to give store feedback, check stock levels and check that they are getting the best deals.

The emergence of MEcommerce has seen the consumer taking control and having the power to shop when they want, where they want and how they want. The latest study shows that consumers are using phones and PCs as well as the high street and now expect a seamless shopping experience from brands across all channels.

The study has also shown that 25% of smartphone users have been in a high street store and used a barcode scanner on their smartphone to scan items within the store and see if they can order cheaper elsewhere. This illustrates that the high street stores need to ensure that they differentiate this channel of shopping by offering excellent customer service and ensuring stock is available and queues are kept to a minimum.

40% of people surveyed had given feedback digitally about a high street store after seeing a survey URL in a store or on a receipt, of those people 88% gave their feedback via a PC whereas only 7% have utilised their smartphones to give immediate feedback.

High street stores and their staff are also starting to embrace the digital link up with staff using digital devices to check stock levels for consumers. The study has shown that 39% of people surveyed have had staff in a high street use a smartphone, tablet, PC or kiosk to check stock levels for them.

Derek Eccleston, Research Director at eDigitalResearch, comments, "We are seeing the dawn of MEcommerce with digital now truly coming to the high street with consumers using technology to provide feedback and check prices with suppliers whilst the staff within stores are utilising the digital technology to offer the consumer excellent customer service by checking stock levels".

David Smith, Managing Director at IMRG, said: "Developments in mobile-commerce have led to the phenomenon of the ever-connected consumer, who can access multiple retailer channels concurrently, while instantly comparing and contrasting with similar offerings on competitor sites. Although only 7% have provided immediate feedback to the store, people do update their friends on Facebook about being stuck in a long queue, receiving negative customer service or poor hygiene conditions. The need for high standards is more important than ever, as any individual retailer store is now a potential showroom for millions".

Survey information
The eCustomerService Index (eCSI) survey of 2,138 UK consumers was conducted between the 10th and 12th January 2011, using a nationally representative sample from a consumer omnibus.

Retailers more than double their following on social media sites

2011-01-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

The popularity and uptake of retail brands on social networking sites shows no signs of slowing down with the majority retailers more than doubling their following on various social media platforms over the past six months.

New research from leading market research specialists, eDigitalResearch shows that Facebook remains the most popular site for retailers to connect with online users, with Topshop now actively engaged with well over 1 million customers via the site.

Assessing 72 of the UK’s leading retail brands with their Social Media Benchmark, eDigitalResearch found that fashion retailers still have a significantly stronger presence across all social media platforms than other retail sectors. Looking at Facebook pages alone, established high street favourites Topshop and River Island maintained their leading positions taking the top two places, with New Look, Next and Amazon completing the top 5.

When looking at Twitter the study found that Topshop had taken the top spot again, whilst companies across other retail sectors made significant improvements. Pure-play ‘etailers’ ASOS and Amazon have taken significant advantage of their online customer base to come second and third, investing heavily in the platform with numerous branded pages dedicated to various aspects of the business, including customer service.

Derek Eccleston, Research Director at eDigitalResearch, comments, “Given the increase in online and mobile activity over recent months, it’s no surprise that the popularity of social media sites has increased. Our research clearly shows that consumers are increasingly using the platforms to communicate issues and ideas to retailers, and with ASOS set to open Europe’s first Facebook store, it is vital that brands have a strong presence on these sites. What retailers need to ensure, however, is that they are making the most of these loyal and dedicated online users to gain feedback, insight and create brand advocates with an innovative and effective social media strategy, which is constantly monitored”.

Encouragingly, the study also found several retailers who had no social media presence in the last study have now have established Facebook or Twitter campaigns. Supermarket Sainsbury’s has rapidly increased its following on both sites, with an innovative and effective social media campaign, providing industry best practice for others to follow suit. Fostering interaction with recipe ideas and exclusive content, the grocery store also actively invites users to give feedback through discussions and quick polls, gaining insight and understanding the wants and needs of their online customer.

Worryingly some retailers still have limited or no presence on social media sites. The majority of fashion retailers aimed at an older demographic or home and leisure brands all scored particularly low. The challenge for these brands going forward will be to find engaging content that will encourage their core target market to actively log on and get involved.

To download the Social Media benchmark presentation, please complete this short survey https://ecustomeropinions.com/survey/survey.php?sid=117631622

Westminster City Council double employee engagement with digital survey

2011-01-11T02:49:00.000-08:00

During a time when local government and public sector organisations are going through a fundamental change and crucial restructuring, Westminster City Council are ensuring that staff views and opinions are still being counted whilst significantly increasing engagement with the help of leading market research specialists eDigitalResearch.

Westminster City Council provided staff with an innovative and highly secure digital survey to provide their feedback and honest opinions on a variety of topics and subjects, including hotly debated departmental restructuring and reorganisation, with a method that saw response rates double when compared to last year.

Traditionally the council had used a ‘do-it-yourself’ survey system to monitor the mood of staff. However council leaders watched the response rate rapidly decline over recent years with employees becoming increasing more concerned with the confidentiality of the research whilst being completed in house. Although these fears were unfounded the decision was taken to use an independent research agency to respond to staff concerns, increase employee confidence and boost response rates to provide more detailed results.

Westminster City Council were keen to try new suppliers and took a comprehensive look at the market. With an in-house research department, Westminster required a research provider that offered a survey programme which was highly customisable and allowed for individual reporting of results, whilst still remaining extremely cost effective. eDigitalResearch were able to deliver on all criteria, and with HUB, an innovative next generation analysis and insight tool, Westminster City Council researchers were able to immediately look at the results in real time and highlight key trends, reporting back immediately to staff, who were keen to ensure their views and opinions were being monitored and suggested changes implemented.

Neil Wholey, Head of Research and Customer Insight at Westminster City Council commented, “By using an independent supplier, we have been able to increase staff confidence, and engagement with the survey and more than double our response rate. eDigitalResearch offered an attractive package and the quick turnaround of results meant that I was able to present findings from the research one week after the survey finished. The excellent response rate has also meant that for the first time in a long-while we have been able to cut the data and analyse results and implement changes departmentally, not just a council as a whole”.

Derek Eccleston, Research Director at eDigitalResearch stated, “During a time when budget and resource cuts will dramatically affect employee morale, it is important that government organisations and public sector bodies carefully monitor the mood of staff whilst remaining within these new strict budget constraints. eDigitalResearch have been providing alternative digital methods to traditional research for over 10 years now to a variety of private sector companies and businesses, and therefore have a wealth of experience and expertise which is now being implemented and shared across public sector organisations”.

meCommerce – Consumers in control

2011-01-06T09:20:00.000-08:00

Mobile commerce was the big news of 2010 with the smart phone technology catching up with the aspirations of the consumer allowing more functionality on smart phones. Our research in 2010 has tracked mobile phone usage and showed that by October 2010 over 40% of people surveyed had a smart phone with over 20% of those people shopping online for products.Research over the recent festive break has found that 22% of online users accessed the internet via their smart devices on Christmas and Boxing day further confirming the increased popularity and importance of mobile commerce for retailers.

2010 also saw the start of our mCommerce benchmark with Play.com topping the first study as users were familiar with the website and found that accessing the site on a smart phone gave them a similar functionality with a simple buying process that was easy to use. We are also continuing the next mCommerce benchmark over Christmas with the results available late January.

We also saw the start of a new age of meCommerce in 2010 – a fusion of mobile, high street and e-transactions which means that the consumers have the ability to shop however they want, not dictated by channel. For example, consumers may see an advert for a product on TV, check it out online, buy it on their mobile and collect in store. The consumer is now in control of the shopping experience and wants to interact with a ‘brand’ and expects the experience to be seamless across each of the channels.

It is certain that mobile commerce will continue to grow in 2011 and we’re looking forward to tracking these developments and monitoring the consumers use over the next year.

Internet use and online shopping on the up over Christmas

2011-01-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

A dramatic 86% of UK consumers logged onto the internet over Christmas day and Boxing day this year, an increase of over 10% when compared with figures from 2009.

The recent results from leading digital market research specialists eDigitalResearch also found that 22% of online users accessed the internet via their smart devices, confirming the increased popularity and importance of mobile commerce for retailers in the coming months as consumer behavior continues to change.

An impressive 30% of online consumers used the internet to shop online on Boxing Day as adverse weather conditions and Sunday trading regulations affected turnout on the high street. A staggering 62% of online consumers shopped for sale items and discounted products across the two days. A fifth of all consumers surveyed also planned to spend more in the after Christmas sales in the lead up to the New Year, given the impending rise in VAT.

Chris Russell, founding Director at eDigitalResearch comments, “It is unsurprising that internet use over this festive period increased. Given the imminent January VAT hike and unpredictable weather conditions this year, retailers began ‘after Christmas’ sales earlier online than in stores, enticing shoppers to log on and shop for discounts.

We would expect this figure to increase further in 2011, as internet use and particularly mobile shopping is predicted to grow in popularity as people take advantage of the 24/7 nature that online shopping affords them. Our research already indicates that over the course of Boxing day online shopping was more popular than social media sites”.

Online usability with travel sites is rising despite continued poor customer service

2010-12-14T06:46:00.000-08:00

The latest eTravel Benchmark results show that online satisfaction with travel websites is steadily beginning to improve. However, despite a strong performance online, overall results are still suffering with poor customer service and after sales care.

The study from eDigitalResearch shows that overall online satisfaction with travel websites is slowly rising compared with the last wave, with the overall top score now standing at 83%. Yet, 48 out of the 51 sites surveyed are still providing telephone and email customer contact that requires urgent attention.

Lloyd Viney, Associate Director at eDigitalResearch explains that, “What sets apart sites that consistently perform well in our study time after time are those that not only provide consumers with a fantastic, user-friendly website, but reinforce this with excellent customer services.

For most people, holidays are often the biggest expense each year, and our feedback shows that consumers expect a certain standard across the entire end to end customer journey, including after sales contact. It is important that travel companies invest in providing helpful customer services, and not just a great website and online experience.”

Hotel agent, Laterooms.com topped the league tables for the first time with a good performance across all areas benchmarked, providing an exceptional example of industry best practice with a logical search process and responsive customer services. Overall, hotel agents were the highest performing sector, with rival Booking.com coming a very close second but let down by the sites booking process and navigation.

Leading UK airlines Virgin Atlantic and British Airways both cemented their positions in the top tier of the table with an increase in satisfaction across all areas of the study. However, the airline sector saw their overall results dragged down by budget carriers, with Ryanair, EasyJet and BMI Baby all failing to provide a strong brand message and adequate email and telephone contact.

Expedia have made the most dramatic improvement since the last set of results, jumping an impressive 29 places and into the top 5 after a 17% satisfaction increase with their email customer service. Princess Cruises also made a similar improvement, moving 24 places up also largely due to their email contact, cementing the vital role these touch points play.

The holiday camps and self catering sector entered the study for the first time, providing competition for other top websites. Center Parcs, Hoseasons and Butlin’s all scored particularly well finishing in the top half of the table due to informative customer services. However, given the recent popularity with ‘stay at home’ vacations, UK based companies still have some way to go to suitably rival their international counterparts online.

eDigitalDashboard - your key business results in one central location

2010-12-09T04:49:00.000-08:00

To help operational, marketing and research professionals effectively monitor immediate business performance, leading market research specialist eDigitalResearch have announced the development of eDigitalDashboard – an interactive, personalised and condensed summary report of Key Performance Indicator’s (KPI’s) and top line statistics, providing an instant visual ‘snapshot’ of real time business results.

As online activity continues to expand and develop, professionals are becoming increasingly overwhelmed with a wealth of research, sales and marketing data on customer mood and brand perception. With the sophisticated and innovative online eDigitalDashboard system, users can easily drill down key research results, immediately identify trends and issues across multiple sources, facilitating swift and targeted decision making in an attempt to increase overall customer satisfaction and revenue.

Available now on HUB, eDigitalDashboard features next generation web capabilities allowing users to present and organise information into an easy to understand format. Using the very latest in web technology, the user friendly design interface grants professionals complete and bespoke design control, whilst the online access automatically generates fresh statistics, allowing for immediate analysis of real time results as they are being collected.

Developed with direct feedback from insight professionals, and designed to allow board executives gain a quick and easy view of up-to- the-minute business statistics and touch point performance, eDigitalDashboard also provides access to drill down into the supporting and underlying data reports for more in-depth analysis of results and granular details.

Derek Eccelston, Research Director at eDigitalResearch comments, ‘As we begin to witness a fundamental shift in consumer communication with the introduction of social media and mCommerce, consumers are providing brands with more instantaneous reactions and feedback. It is therefore vital that professionals have immediate access to important real time research results in order to track customer satisfaction and brand perception, and eDigitalDashboard allows them to do just this.’

Derek continues, ‘As brands and large organisations move further towards the multichannel mix, the fact that users are able to pull in data from various sources and surveys to a key 1 page report adds real value for clients who operate within several channels or for large organisations with an assortment of brands who are now able to create bespoke dashboards to compare performance across various channels and outlets quickly and easily.’

B2B readership surveys add client value for specialist media business

2010-11-30T04:09:00.000-08:00

A specialist media business has claimed an industry first in the business-to-business publishing sector, thanks to its work with eDigitalResearch.

Focusing on the property, architecture, construction markets in the UK, UBM Built Environment has some of the best known brands in the market including Building, Property Week, BD, Barbour ABI and the Thames Gateway Forum. It provides targeted information across the industry with magazines, events, awards and online information services.

Until recently, the organisation had relatively few ways to gather and analyse the data necessary to offer value added services in the form of commercial insight to its clients – the titles’ advertisers. As new Group Client Solutions Director, Richard O’Connor’s role was to set up and maintain a client solutions team responsible for multi-platform campaigns with strong ROI, but he needed deliverables in order to do so. In his previous role with The Independent, O’Connor had used eDigitalResearch very successfully, able to demonstrate ROI qualitatively as well as quantitatively using panel-based data.

“We took a calculated risk in applying the methodology to a B2B scenario,” he recalls. “As far as I know it’s the first time this has been attempted.”

Following initial successful proof of concept, eDigitalResearch runs online panels for three UBM flagship brands – Property Week, Building Design and Building. Print and online subscribers from UBM’s mailing list are invited to take part, registering at title-specific websites to do so. They are emailed periodically to invite their views on various topics on behalf of clients, including pre and post tracking around specific marketing campaigns to measure shifts in perception about brands and products. The panels are proving to be a particularly effective way of gaining insight from some of the titles’ harder to reach audiences, such as architects.

eDigitalResearch gathers and analyses the resultant data, produces the requisite reports and submits them to UBM – at an aggregated level rather than including individual responses.

Richard O’Connor is enthusiastic about the results. “It’s early days but we’re making significant progress. As a result of working with eDigitalResearch, we can now offer clients ROI across the board, including on normally less tangible elements like brand perception. It makes us far more competitive in a B2B environment”.

O’Connor adds “As a partner, eDigitalResearch’s support has been second to none. I’ve already referred them to other sectors within UBM.”

Online community provides a voice for environmental sector

2010-11-16T04:03:00.000-08:00

Online research specialist eDigitalResearch is helping an independent, business-led social enterprise to achieve its key objectives.

Envirolink Northwest was formed in 2000 to provide a voice for the environmental sector in the North West of England by increasing awareness of its activities, lending technical and business support, establishing forums for networking and linking buyers to suppliers. It runs workshops, promotes environmental technologies via events and publications and lobbies local and central Government on pressing issues. Participating businesses range from advanced IT recycling facilities to skip hire firms.

In order to gain a better understanding of the sector and the issues it faces, Envirolink Northwest set up its own online community, EnvirOPINION, in June this year. Having gone through a statutory tender process, Envirolink Northwest selected eDigitalResearch on the basis of capability, credentials and cost.

EnvirOPINION is accessible to any organisation within the energy and environmental technologies and services (EETS) sector who register to participate. They receive regular email surveys and quick polls and can join online discussions on a wide range of environmental and business related topics. Envirolink Northwest commit to only sending surveys that are relevant to recipients and their business, and to only inviting people to forums where they believe there will be a genuine interest in participating. Participants can also access only the discussion threads which they have registered to join. eDigitalResearch is also setting up an area in the community from where contacts can email requests to set up discussion topics of their choice, and netchats are next on the list of things to do.

Market Researcher, Joanne Pilkington monitors the discussion topics and survey results and compiles a report which is frequently used as part of the lobbying process, and also fed back to relevant contacts. eDigitalResearch also moderates all discussion forums.

Joanne says “We wanted a platform by which we could communicate with businesses in the sector and understand issues they’re facing so that we could become the voice of the sector. eDigitalResearch have been fantastic. They’ve provided us with an innovative solution – from setting up the community to running our surveys, plus providing us with valuable insight into various research techniques.” She continues “We recently carried out a survey on how satisfied customers are with our communications, and the results have been very positive. EnvirOPINION has influenced our business strategy and enabled us to communicate better with our sector.”

Public Sector reforms will impact on retail spend this Christmas

2010-11-09T04:29:00.000-08:00

The latest e-Customer Service Index (eCSI) survey conducted by eDigitalResearch and IMRG has revealed that more than a third of people intend to reduce their spend this Christmas, with 65% of people planning to start their shopping early in order to spread the cost in the wake of the Government’s spending cuts.

However, while the impact may be felt on the high street, online retail sales could provide a vital uplift, with 28% of people expected to do more shopping online this Christmas than last year.

Competitive pricing, more extensive product ranges and the sheer convenience factor are driving more people online this year, with 61% planning to do 50% or more of their shopping online. Internet sales are also widely expected to be buoyed by mobile shopping, as 18% of consumers plan to do some of their Christmas shopping using their smart phones, a clear indication that retailers need to integrate the mobile channel within their Christmas marketing strategies.

Increased consumer confidence in delivery and the customer service contact function are fuelling online growth, with overall customer satisfaction in online shopping increasing since July. Better security measures are also contributing to rising confidence, as 80% of people have now signed up to ‘Verified by Visa and MasterCard’, which greatly increases the trust consumers can have in online shopping. Despite these enhanced security measures, people are still more likely to shop with trusted brands, with 43% stating that Amazon is their favourite store for Christmas shopping.

Chris Russell, Director of eDigitalResearch comments: “Reduced personal budgets this Christmas will mean people are more conscious of where and how they spend their money. While they may initially gravitate towards well-established, trusted brands online, what consumers really want is a seamless experience from the home page to the checkout and the reassurance of after-sales care.

“It is encouraging that overall satisfaction in online shopping has grown in the last three months and that Internet sales are expected to boost retail profits this Christmas. However, this does put online retailers under pressure to perform and meet growing consumer expectations. Savvy retailers will be able to personalise the shopping experience, targeting offers and discounts to loyal shoppers through their preferred medium of contact, while encouraging new shoppers through a well-integrated and interactive website.”

David Smith, Managing Director of IMRG, adds: “With uncertain job security and rising personal debt as a result of spending reforms and the VAT increase, consumers are looking to stretch their pounds further this Christmas. The survey indicates that while price is the most influential factor in consumer purchasing decisions, it is speed and convenience that will drive consumers online. It is therefore imperative for retailers to ensure that the online experience is hassle-free.”

eDigitalResearch helps ensure FSA compliance for The Carphone Warehouse

2010-11-04T08:12:00.000-07:00

For over two years now, leading market research specialists, eDigitalResearch have been working with The Carphone Warehouse to provide a bespoke research model that ensures the mobile phone retailer continues to deliver excellent customer service and consumer care, especially to insurance and technical support customers.

Ensuring that customers receive that best support, advice and expertise is a big part of The Carphone Warehouse’ unique selling point, establishing the company as a leading mobile phone retailer in the UK. With a sales process that includes treating customers fairly, ensuring they are in full possession of all the facts and helping customers make informed purchased decisions, the company needed a research mechanism that allowed them to measure the effectiveness of selling techniques, as well as test all sales complied with strict Financial Services Authority regulations.

As part of eDigitalResearch’s unique research solution for The Carphone Warehouse customer care and compliance testing, a percentage of telephone calls are made each month to insurance customers to ascertain whether they have been sold to honestly and fairly. Each call covers such areas as was there a clear and thorough explanation, was there any element of pressure and was the appropriate documentation completed and supplied correctly. eDigitalResearch’s intuitive system then automatically targets a representative sample based on individual store sales and then instinctively highlights when the required number of calls have been made.

Darren Pearce, Senior Customer Experience Manager for The Carphone Warehouse comments, “The insight we get from the telephone survey provides us with the voice of our customers. It helps us to improve our processes – and our business. The whole process works like clockwork. Compliant sales of insurance products are now something we are really proud of and the work being carried out by eDigitalResearch is an integral part of our business.”

Following the success of the research programme, Darren is currently working on several other projects with eDigitalResearch. “They also call our customers who have had successful insurance claims, as well as surveying by email those customers who have needed a device to be repaired. And tracking how proactive our in-store consultants are in offering our new service Walk Out Working, where customers are offered to help set up and familiarise themselves with their new device before leaving the branch.”

Derek Eccleston, Research Director at eDigitalResearch comments, “Our long-standing research partnership with The Carphone Warehouse demonstrates how easily our tried and tested products and services can be adapted to suit any research brief. In the run up to Christmas, it is important that customers trust the brands they are buying from and our work here is an integral part of building consumer confidence with the brand.”

To read the whole case study, please click here.

eDigitalResearch and LARIA open up a world of possibilities to public sector researchers

2010-11-02T04:07:00.000-07:00

Leading digital research agency, eDigitalResearch have teamed up with LARIA (Local Authorities Research and Intelligence Association) to provide an exciting new bursary initiative to public sector researchers aiming to broaden their horizons. The scheme will look to sponsor an individual on their quest to develop and expand their knowledge and interest into public sector research.

The newly created travel bursary award will aim to support an individual throughout their journey, taking them all over the world to discover and explore more into the culture of public sector authorities. The successful candidate must already posses a passion for public sector work, have a strong thirst for knowledge and willingness to learn. On their return, the winner will be expected to produce a summary report of their findings, as well as presenting the results to LARIA members. The nominated candidate will also be required to keep an interactive online blog detailing their day to day activities, allowing professionals to keep up to date with all their progress.

The lucky winner will have the full support and backing from eDigitalResearch and LARIA, and will be able to utilise the invaluable knowledge, facilities and expertise that both organisations hold. eDigitalResearch have been providing clients across a range of industries with actionable insight from online and digital research for over ten years, developing and evolving traditional research methodologies in line with the growth of technology and internet trends. This exciting new partnership with LARIA will provide a continued supportive network for local authority insight professionals, as well as promoting the role and importance of technology and digital research in the public sector. eDigitalResearch have been monitoring the UK digital consumer landscape since the dawn of eRetail over a decade ago, giving them a fantastic understanding of the wants and needs of the modern day online user.

The winner will also have access to HUB, a new powerful analysis and insight tool from eDigitalResearch. The next generation web 2.0 interface will allow the user to drill down their results and produce interactive and dynamic graphs and charts to help illustrate and support key findings.

Head of Business Development Public Sector at eDigitalResearch, Gerallt Evans-Hughes comments, “This is an important time for the public sector. With the confirmed budget cuts, public sector bodies are now looking for alternative research methodologies and solutions in an attempt to preserve costs. We are giving someone the opportunity here to shape and mould the future of the industry, allowing them to explore and investigate different processes and approaches to public sector research.”

The ideal candidate will already hold a LARIA membership, and possess a keen eye for insight. To apply, hopeful participants should submit a unique 500 word statement, describing what they would personally hope to gain from the experience, how it would help to develop and further their career, and why the eDigitalResearch and LARIA judging board should back them. The award will aim to cover travel, accommodation and associated costs. All entries must be received by 31st January 2011 and the winner will be announced at the LARIA Annual Conference to be held in April next year.

To view the leaflet and for more information please click below:
https://www.edigitalresearch.com/public/clientdocs/321148709/6e09a488b056f8027bb23017bb9ef24b

For more information, or to apply, please visit the website below:
http://lariaaward.edigitalresearch.com

Helen Burt’s appointment strengthens new business drive for eDigitalResearch

2010-10-27T03:24:00.000-07:00

Leading digital market research company, eDigitalResearch, has expanded its senior management team with the appointment of Helen Burt as Associate Director for Business Development. Helen will oversee the new business team and is responsible for helping the company to maintain its year-on-year growth.

Joining from Le Boat, part of the TUI travel group, where she headed up a global ecommerce team delivering everything from web development to email and search marketing, Helen brings a wealth of online knowledge and experience to her role at eDigitalResearch. Having worked both client-side and for Redweb, a full service digital agency where she handled projects for the likes of E.ON and Norwich Union, Helen wanted to return to a dynamic agency environment and take new products to market.

eDigitalResearch has recently launched HUB – a new analysis and reporting tool for businesses to analyse their market performance and benchmark against others. Helen’s role will involve using this as a hook to expand the business into new sectors. She will also be responsible for growing the existing customer-base across the core sectors of retail, finance, travel, media and home services.

Helen explains: “I look forward to helping eDigitalResearch continue to expand and develop. I have a first-hand understanding of the issues facing businesses today and recognise how fast and cost-effective market research can help businesses gauge what their customers really want. The user experience is at the core of everything we do and given the tough economic climate, it is important for businesses to gain rapid insights and ensure that their online marketing strategies are consistently meeting customer expectations.”

Helen will head up a team of three including head of business development for the public sector, Gerallt Evans-Hughes and business development managers, Lynda Baker and Nick Yates.

Michelle Fuller, Director of eDigitalResearch comments, “Helen’s appointment comes at an important time when businesses, particularly within the public sector, will be looking to maximise revenues against a backdrop of financial belt-tightening. We are confident that our new products and services alongside our extensive benchmarking experience, will help businesses to better engage with cash-strapped consumers so that they can retain loyalty and grow business and Helen will play a vital role in communicating this to clients and prospects alike.”

Study reveals home services companies ‘switch off’ when it comes to customer service

2010-10-21T06:38:00.000-07:00

The latest eHomeServices Benchmark study from eDigitalResearch reveals a decline in customer service across the sector, with email queries either going unanswered or not being appropriately handled within a 48 hour window. As customer expectations for e-commerce grow, eDigitalResearch is advising utility providers, broadband suppliers and property companies to better integrate their customer service function or else face losing business.

The study used online mystery shoppers to assess the websites of 21 of the leading organisations across home service providers in the telephones, broadband, utilities and property markets. The study revealed that more than half of the websites surveyed scored below 50% (‘very poor’) for email customer service. The top performers were British Gas, O2 and Hamptons, who all came in the top four for the relevance and speed of their response to email enquiries.

Derek Eccleston, research director of eDigitalResearch, comments: “Customers expect to receive the same experience regardless of the channel used. If their emails go unanswered or it takes longer than 48 hours for a company to respond to their enquiry, the customer will take their business elsewhere. Customer expectations are growing all the time and in the highly commoditised sector of home services, where the ubiquity of customer reviews greatly influences pre-purchasing behaviour, it is really easy for customers to switch to a competitor and tell others to do the same if they have received poor customer service.”

The survey assessed websites across the entire online customer experience, from the moment they click onto a home page through to product search, the account area and the supporting customer service function. Overall, homepages were found to be cluttered and uninspiring, with average scores peaking within the account area. When it comes to managing their accounts, customers expect personalised content in their user areas and over half of the websites didn’t disappoint. British Gas and Rightmove were particularly praised for their interactive features which helped customers to reduce their energy bills and pinpoint an exact geographical location for their property search.

While interactive features are important, the top performers balanced this with fast page loads, clearly marked menus and tabs for easy navigation and a strong customer service function. O2 was found to be particularly responsive in dealing with both telephone and email enquiries, with all queries answered quickly and courteously. This helped to propel O2 into second position behind British Gas.

Overall rankings were based on the consistency across all benchmark measures with British Gas and O2 closely contesting the first position, scoring 78.3% and 78.1% respectively. The variance between the highest and lowest performer was a staggering 27%, suggesting that companies within this sector need to do more to ensure that the customer has a consistent experience from the homepage to the checkout.

Derek continues: “Consistency is key as ensuring that customers have a seamless experience across the multiple touch points will increase loyalty. It is clear from this study that home services businesses need to back up the intuitiveness and usability of their websites with efficient and responsive customer service, otherwise customers will look for better service, as well as better deals, elsewhere.”

To download the full league tables, complete this short survey https://ecustomeropinions.com/survey/survey.php?sid=515946023
or sign up to the benchmarking area on our website for access to this and past studies - www.edigitalresearch.com/benchmarking

Back from the Internet Retailing show

2010-10-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

Enjoyed presenting at the Internet Retail show in Hammersmith this week on panels and communities.

You can sense the shift, a couple of years ago we launched our award winning New Look community and a few others but at that time it was not on many people’s radar. Indeed it was because of this, that our communities were seen as ground breaking with the New Look one in particular attracting good press coverage.

Now there is widespread acceptance that leading brands must at least be considering the various options that lie within the ‘panels and communities’ space. That was one of the points we made this week and will make again next Wednesday at eCommerce Expo at Olympia – namely that it is not ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to panels & communities, there are many ways to skin a cat, if you pardon the mixed metaphor.

One thing we do know is now is the time for all this, here at eDigitalResearch we have launched 5 new branded communities this week alone.

eDigitalResearch Helps Royal Mail Identify New Business Customers

2010-10-13T01:43:00.000-07:00

Royal Mail's tool which helps online businesses to improve their order fulfilment and delivery services is about to celebrate its first birthday. And it's all been made possible by leading online research provider eDigitalResearch.

Delivery is consistently a key element identified in the regular eRetail Benchmark Studies conducted by eDigitalResearch. Recognising this, Royal Mail, one of the UK's leading delivery businesses, set up royalmaildeliverypromisetool.com - originally as an internal tool for Royal Mail's sales team to gather information in order to approach businesses about its delivery services. In October 2009 the site was opened up as a self-service tool for any business to review its own processes. Completion of a structured survey takes about 20 minutes and is rewarded by a free, automatically-generated report provided instantly on submission. The report provides invaluable insight into whether this vital stage of the online transaction is likely to meet customers' expectations.

The respondent data captured by the survey together with various combinations of responses, identify potential customers with the objective of generating sales.

When planning the tool, Royal Mail conducted a tender process to find the best supplier to provide the survey and reporting engine according to its needs. eDigitalResearch was chosen as its solution was faster and cheaper than competitive bids as well as being closely aligned to Royal Mail's requirements. The company also had an excellent track record supplying Royal Mail with other research solutions.

Royal Mail New Product Development Manager Andrew Hurdle was responsible for developing the site in its current form. "We've had very positive feedback so far," he reports. "We conducted a six month review in July as we do with all of this type of activity, including an email survey of the user base to test brand uplift. Of everyone who responded, 84% would make changes to their fulfilment process based on our report, 70% found it had a significant effect in adding value, and 100% of companies who had made changes recommended by the report said they'd had a positive effect." Andrew continued "eDigitalResearch not only offered a solution which was faster and cheaper, we've also found their service to be more personal."

Ground-breaking study reveals pure-play retailers are leading the way in mobile commerce

2010-10-01T02:53:00.000-07:00

With more people using their mobile devices to research and purchase products online, eDigitalResearch has launched the first UK Benchmark study to track and measure consumer expectations for mobile shopping. The new mCommerce benchmark provides key performance indicators to help retailers successfully measure whether their mobile offerings are meeting growing consumer expectations.

The study assessed the consumer journey, from homepage to final product delivery, across 15 mobile websites from the leading brands. While the study revealed pure-play ‘etailers’ such as Play.com outperformed their high-street rivals, boasting superior design and functionality, the study also showed a lack of synergy in terms of pricing and product availability with some sites seemingly hiking prices for mobile transactions.

Chris Russell, Director at eDigitalResearch, comments: “Consumers expect to get the same shopping experience regardless of the method of contact they use and it is important that these areas are addressed so that they get a seamless experience. Having different prices and offers is not only misleading, but will detract consumers from purchasing via their smart devices in future. It is clear from our study that there is a lot of variance across the mobile sites with surveyors particularly struggling with complex homepages and a difficult purchasing experience.”

Play.com and amazon led across the ten individual benchmark measures with Play.com claiming the top spot at 89.6% for its intuitive navigation, well laid-out shopping basket and easy click-through to purchase. However, scoring 86.8%, M&S ranked second overall for its impressive product information and ease and speed of navigation. Amazon came in a close third, primarily for its keyword search and simple purchasing process.

Across the ten benchmark scores, keyword search and delivery were the best performing areas, with half a dozen sites scoring over 90%, in the ‘excellent’ bracket. Two thirds of the sites surveyed delivered product on-time, but there is still room for improvement as a small number of retailers are currently only offering a ‘click and collect’ service.

Chris concludes: “While still in its infancy, this is an exciting time for mCommerce which has huge potential, and is possibly as big an opportunity for a shift in consumer behaviour that the Internet presented in the mid 1990’s. We are noticing the same elementary mistakes being made that are reminiscent of the beginnings of eCommerce, such as incomplete end dates for credit cards. It will be interesting to see how quickly these errors are ironed out as more retailers embrace mobile as part of their multi-channel strategies.

“This unique perspective of the mobile consumer that our Benchmark study provides will help retailers and service providers to see that competitive advantage lies in combining intuitive navigation with interactive images to bring their mobile offerings more in line with computer-based websites. We are on the cusp of a new concept of MEcommerce, which puts consumers more firmly in the driving seat through the ability to interact with the brand, whenever they want through any channel of their choice, seamlessly.”
To download the latest report, complete this survey: Click here to complete survey

Methodology:
•An eMysteryShopper survey was conducted to compare the customer journey of 15 UK web enabled mobile retail websites online via a smart device. The fieldwork was carried out using the eMysteryShopper Panel of internet users during August 2010. The benchmark measures included:

o First Impressions (Homepage)
o Search – Navigation and Keyword
o Items Found (Product Pages)
o Shopping Basket
o Purchase
o Registration / Login
o Delivery
o Returns / Refunds

About eMysteryShopper:
•eDigitalResearch has been undertaking ‘end to end’ eMysteryShopper surveys on the top UK Internet retail sites since Christmas 2000.

•With its in-depth research it can benchmark and plot the development of retail websites over the last ten years.

•As a result it has an unprecedented level of knowledge, expertise and research data covering the development of some of the top UK internet retail sites.

•eMysteryShopper (eMS) provides in-depth and structured study of website usability, functionality, supporting logistics and customer service through our unique panel of profiled UK Internet users. Working under strict Non Disclosure Agreements these profiled individuals are paid to complete ‘end to end’ surveys on selected websites.

•eDigitalResearch currently works with over 10,000 profiled UK eMysteryShoppers (surveyors) carrying out end to end usability studies on over 55 sites at any one time. Surveyors all complete strict assessment criteria and operate under stringent quality control and ongoing survey moderation.

•eDigitalResearch has the largest ‘norms’ database across the retail sector and is able to offer clients and the market a unique view of what ecommerce shoppers are looking for from an eRetail site.

Javari sets industry best-practice for the online customer journey

2010-09-23T06:40:00.000-07:00

Javari, the standalone footwear, shoes and handbags company from Amazon and relative newcomer in the retail sector, has claimed the top spot in the latest eRetail Benchmark study from eDigitalResearch. This is a clear testament that new sites can learn from the experiences of the early e-commerce adopters, combining clear and easily navigable web pages with a seamless purchasing process across multiple touch points.

The study used online mystery shoppers to benchmark website performance across 51 leading retailers from the homepage to the checkout. Javari achieved an excellent overall satisfaction score of 90%, with the secrets of its success down to its detailed product images, best in-class search tools and an Amazon-style check-out which made purchasing simple.

The Benchmark study reflected an increased industry-wide focus on product detail and search and navigation, with 360 degree images and improved filtering tools contributing to a peak in overall consumer satisfaction. However, more focus still needs to be given to customer service, with consumer satisfaction scores dipping at telephone and email support.

While Javari and Amazon claimed the top positions, Next, Woolworths and John Lewis also featured in the top five, highlighting the levelling of the playing field between bricks-and-mortar organisations and pure-play providers. Multiple channel retailers continue to excel at customer service, bringing their high-street experience into the online environment, but ASOS.com is now the exception to the rule. Scoring 100% for its one-hour email response service, it sets itself apart from other pure play providers that don’t even have an email function.

Derek Eccleston, Research Director for eDigitalResearch explains: “While improved product detail and advanced search will continue to be a core area of development across the retail sector, more resource and investment needs to be given to customer service support. Customers will continue to contact retailers through their preferred medium of choice and the failure to adequately respond to customer enquiries across telephone and email channels will hugely detract business.”

While customer service contact continues to be the main bone of contention for retail customers, the sector as a whole continues to set the standard for other industries. Javari, and M&S are examples of those that have scored within the top ecommerce bracket (90% or higher), while even the poorest performer in the retail sector scored 73%, which is well above the worst performers in the other sectors.

Derek concludes: “This highlights the continued investment that retailers are putting into their online marketing strategies. Other sectors are increasingly looking to mirror the retail sector, introducing video and interactive photography onto their product pages, as well as improving their search and navigation functions. However, customer service contact is still the biggest pressure point that affects every industry sector and this is where online marketers can really differentiate their offering.”

eDigitalResearch celebrates a decade of success and innovation with a new and exciting website

2010-09-22T03:06:00.000-07:00

22nd September 2010: Leading market research specialist, eDigitalResearch, is launching a brand new informative website –www.edigitalresearch.com – which includes a fun and innovative demonstration survey, exclusive UK benchmarking and statistical data, as well as a fresh, original and user-friendly design that has been specifically created to serve as a platform to share the latest research techniques and market knowledge.

eDigitalResearch has been monitoring and tracking the online landscape and digital consumer since the relative beginnings of the Internet in the late 1990’s. Since then, the company has developed an unrivalled bank of knowledge and understanding on ecommerce and what makes truly engaging and successful websites. A snapshot of eDigitalResearch’s unique understanding of the Internet and today’s multichannel user can be found across the new site, with the introduction of the revolutionary StatStor and the integration of several social media platforms and industry news feeds.

Designed specifically with ecommerce professionals in mind, StatStor provides unique and vital UK internet user statistics collected through the wealth of research carried out today by eDigitalResearch across the web. StatStor includes trended browser information and details on user’s operating systems, allowing visitors to compare and measure their online demographics against a regularly updated nationwide average. This information is an industry first and is available to all completely free of charge.

In a bid to demystify market research, the homepage also hosts an inspiring demonstration ‘Green Survey’ which has been entirely built and developed in-house. The survey is not only visually engaging for participants but also remains fully DDA and W3C compliant despite the interactive elements. Visitors are able to view a step by step guide on how to develop a fun and engaging research survey while still gaining valuable feedback and insight from respondents.

Research Director, Derek Eccleston concludes: “We like to practice what we preach and having explored and measured the growth of the internet and its impact on consumer expectations for many years, we are continually evolving our website to appeal and engage with our own audiences. As market research has evolved from being a ‘nice-to-have’ to a necessity in business, it is important to demonstrate that our commitment to quality is mirrored in our ability to develop new technologies that will help businesses to accurately and cost-effectively engage with their audiences and ensure future business growth.”

Derek continues: “The inclusion of our social media offerings, industry relevant news and UK consumer and internet statistics make the new site a notable and real destination for online and market research professionals.”