Online Games: What to do When Players Won’t Pay

July 2, 2009 – 9:40 pm

Interactive marketing firm Future Ads found in a recent study that 61% of online gamers are spending more time playing online games this year than last. But to the disappointment of game publishers, the industry’s recent rise in players doesn’t amount to higher sales—more than 80% are significantly cutting back on the amount they spend on paid online gaming.

With online gamers playing more but paying less, game publishers should put more emphasis on offer completions as a way to pay for virtual currency, game subscriptions, premium features or upgrades.

Online gamers might not be willing to pay directly for games, but chances are they would be willing to buy clothes, sign up for a credit card, or complete a survey in order to get the game for free. In fact, in a study conducted last year, we found compelling evidence that online gamers have a much higher willingness to complete offers than pay directly for games.

Of the 525 online shoppers we surveyed, we found that only 26% actually pay to play games online. But 85% said they would be willing to complete an offer in order to pay for fee-based games: 32% said yes without a doubt, while 53% percent said they would if the offer to “try or buy” something else was something they needed, or if it was an offer from a company that they shop with regularly.

Source: 2008 Alternative Payments Survey <br> Sample Size: 525 respondents

Source: 2008 Alternative Payments
Survey Sample Size: 525 respondents

Offer completions, which allow customers to transact with an advertiser offer in lieu of paying directly for a game, are an effective way for developers to monetize their games because:

  • Not everyone has (or wants to use) a credit card
  • Not all gamers have a budget for online games
  • Some are simply more willing to pay for tangible goods

Click here to read the top five must-rules for offer completions.

By trialpay | Posted in Alternative Payments, Casual Games | Leave a Comment

TrialPay’s Best Of Web (BOW) Awards

June 22, 2009 – 5:22 pm

Best Placement: Kinoma

Welcome to TrialPay’s Best Of Web (BOW) Awards, where we recognize the savvy online merchants that best utilize TrialPay’s e-commerce solutions. This month we’re honoring Kinoma for their highly effective use of one of our top touchpoints, the direct placement of TrialPay as a payment method.

Kinoma consistently places a “Checkout with TrialPay” button along with a “Buy Now” button on each of their product pages, including Kinoma Play, which is pictured below.

Kinoma screenshot

You can follow the best practices displayed here by Kinoma by placing a TrialPay “Get It Free” button everywhere customers can buy or download your products: on the product pages or home page of your Web site, or directly in the shopping cart. By using doing so, you can:

  • Earn significant new revenue from your current traffic
  • Acquire loyal customers by giving them a great deal
  • Boost your brand by partnering with TrialPay’s premier advertisers
  • Expand your customer database and earn significant upsell revenue for years to come

Don’t already have a direct placement? Log in to your merchant account or e-mail your account manager to get started.

By trialpay | Posted in E-commerce, Software | Leave a Comment

Five Red Flags Your Site is Not Following Usability Best Practices

June 17, 2009 – 10:15 pm

HiResUsability measures the quality of a user’s experience when interacting with your Web site. In other words, it gauges how easily and enjoyably customers can navigate your site, view your products, and ultimately complete a purchase. Not sure if your site is following usability best practices? Here are five red flags it’s not:

1. Your pages are cluttered
The number one rule in usability is that less is more. Exposing too much information can overwhelm your customers and easily them distract from the task at hand: purchasing your product. If some of your customers might need additional help or directions, use progressive disclosure techniques (such as incorporating hover-over pop-up text, help bubbles or links to your help page) to expose information as your users need it.

2. You lack consistency
Without consistent elements on every page, your users have to learn and re-learn how to navigate through your site—which can seem like a lot of work to a shopper who wants to quickly make a purchase. For ease of use, keep all links, colors, fonts, button location, and navigation location the same on every page of your site.

3. Your call-to-action buttons don’t look like buttons
If your customers don’t know your call-to-action button is clickable, they may never complete their purchases. Make your buttons actually look like buttons by 1) using visual effects such as drop shadow and outlines 2) using short, legible, actionable text and 3) using bright contrasting colors to make it stand out from the rest of the page. Here are a few examples:

4. Your error messages are off-putting
Error messages are almost always written in red text—which can seem a bit like getting a failing grade on a test. And using the wrong tone of voice can feel pretty harsh, too.  Unless you want to offend your shoppers and send them off to another site, make sure your error messages don’t blame them for making a mistake. For example, instead of saying “You forgot to enter your billing address,” try saying “Some information below is missing or incorrect.”

5. You haven’t tested your site
You will never have a true understanding of your site’s usability unless you test it on real people. Usability testing can give you qualitative insight into how easily or quickly users are able to complete each task on your site, and what changes will make your users perform more successfully. There are many usability testing methods; Click here for a comprehensive list.

By trialpay | Posted in E-commerce, Usability | Leave a Comment

How (and How Not) to Cross-Sell

June 10, 2009 – 9:09 pm
Many online travel sites that once only sold airline tickets now cross-sell hotel rooms and rental cars to make their customers’ travels easier—and their shopping carts bigger.

Many online travel sites that once only sold airline tickets now also cross-sell other products to make their customers’ travels easier—and their shopping carts bigger.

Cross-selling is a highly effective marketing tool used by nearly every industry, from fast food restaurants to financial institutions to software companies. Why? When you cross-sell related products and services to your existing customers, you can increase conversions, boost average order values and increase customer satisfaction.

You don’t need a product catalog as comprehensive as Amazon.com’s to suggest related items to your customers. Online sellers that offer a small catalog of items, or those that sell only one product, can still benefit from cross-selling by offering complementary products from non-competing companies.

The Right Way to Cross-Sell
You should always cross-sell related items on your product pages and in your customers’ “view cart” pages. In certain cases, you can even cross-sell within the checkout flow—but be careful not to overwhelm your customers with too many choices.

Cross-selling another company’s product is relevant only when it is non-competitive, and complementary to the product you are selling. But certain occasions such as holidays are an exception to this rule, and allow you to offer products completely unrelated to your own. For example, in May, a software company could leverage its customers’ need to purchase flowers for Mother’s Day by letting them add a gift card from an online flower delivery company to their carts.

The Wrong Way to Cross-Sell
Cross-selling can significantly increase online sales, but if it’s not properly administered, it can backfire and end in cart abandonment instead. Offering too many products for your customer to choose from, offering products that are unrelated to the item your customer is interested in, or offering products that compete with the item your customer is purchasing can spark confusion, indecision and make your customer re-think his purchase entirely. Instead, only offer items that might increase your customers’ satisfaction with the product they are already set on purchasing.

By trialpay | Posted in Cross-Sells, E-commerce | Leave a Comment

Top Three Characteristics of a Successful E-Commerce Company

June 3, 2009 – 7:24 pm

TrialPay works with thousands of premier online merchants, and we recently presented them with a simple question: What characteristics does an e-commerce company need to ensure success? We received a variety of great answers, and below are those mentioned most frequently.

1. A unique product
Nearly half of our merchants cited that having a unique, high-quality product is the foundation of a successful e-commerce company. Ideally the product should serve a specific niche and effectively differentiate itself from the competition. Still, most of these merchants agreed that a great product alone doesn’t necessarily guarantee success.

2. Excellent customer service
An overwhelming amount of our merchants said that giving excellent customer service is a vital component of a successful e-commerce company (which was also named by our merchants earlier this year as one of the top 5 ways to increase conversions). Good customer support can improve the customer experience, add value to your company and encourage valuable word-of-mouth marketing.

3. An optimized checkout process
Many of our merchants believe that testing and perfecting the checkout process can lessen shopping cart abandonment, and ultimately make an e-commerce company more successful. A complicated checkout can test customer patience and give them plenty of reason to shop elsewhere. Those looking to simplify and improve the process should check out these great tips on how to optimize your e-commerce checkout.

By trialpay | Posted in E-commerce | Leave a Comment

Reassessing Online Coupon Distribution

May 28, 2009 – 4:51 pm

Even though coupons can significantly boost online sales, they often have a reputation for delivering low-quality customers. This is most likely because online retailers predominantly distribute them through coupon and deal sites, which attract bargain-hunting shoppers with low lifetime values.

With a little re-thinking on distribution, though, you can use coupons to attract targeted, high-quality customers. How? By presenting one-time use coupons to customers who have just completed a complementary transaction from another merchant’s site.

In this example, a shopper who just purchased anti-virus software is presented with a coupon from an identity theft protection company, because shoppers who want to protect their computers would likely be interested in protecting their identities as well.

In this example, a shopper who just purchased anti-virus software is presented with a coupon from an identity theft protection company. Shoppers who want to protect their computers would likely be interested in protecting their identities as well.

By presenting coupons post-transactionally, you can attract high-quality customers (i.e. those who just made an online purchase). And by distributing your coupon to a complementary merchant’s traffic, you can expose your brand to a targeted audience that is likely to have an affinity for your product or service.

It’s important to ensure that these types of coupons each contain a unique code to avoid mass re-posting on the hundreds of coupon and deal sites on the Web. Otherwise, every time someone searches for your brand, he or she will come across a coupon—meaning you will discount your product and pay an affiliate fee for customers who would have gladly paid full price.

By trialpay | Posted in Advertising, Coupons, Transactional Advertising | Leave a Comment

TrialPay’s Best Of Web Awards

May 19, 2009 – 4:34 pm

Restaurant.com: Best Post-Transactional Placement

Welcome to TrialPay’s Best Of Web (BOW) Awards, where we recognize the savvy online merchants that best utilize TrialPay’s e-commerce solutions. This month we’re honoring Restaurant.com for their highly effective post-transactional placement, pictured at the bottom of the confirmation e-mail below.
confirmation name2

Many online merchants utilize TrialPay’s Get It Free model (which helps turn browsers into buyers by letting shoppers get a product for free when they try or buy something else) to increase conversions from non-paying users. But Restaurant.com uses a post-transactional placement of a Get It Free offer to increase conversions from their current customers.

In the confirmation e-mail pictured above, Restaurant.com offers its customers a chance to get an additional $25 gift certificate for free through TrialPay after they’ve already completed a purchase. This post-transactional placement helps Restaurant.com boost customer loyalty by offering a great deal, and helps encourage repeat customers by providing an affordable way for shoppers to make an additional purchase. By including this offer along with important confirmation information that customers need to access their initial purchase, Restaurant.com ensures that the offer is presented to 100% of their customers.

Any online seller can follow the best practices displayed here by Restaurant.com by incorporating a post-transactional TrialPay offer to any order confirmation page, confirmation e-mail, or even as a free version of your product completes its download. Log in to your merchant account or e-mail your account manager to get started.

By trialpay | Posted in E-commerce | Leave a Comment

Online Shoppers Actively Seek Out Alternative Payment Methods, National Study Reveals

May 13, 2009 – 4:22 pm

It’s no surprise that offering alternative ways to pay online increases a shopper’s willingness to purchase an item. But what retailers might not know is that more than half of online shoppers actively look for alternative payment methods when shopping online.

In our 2008 Alternative Payments Survey, we found that 75% of online shoppers have used an alternative payment method, such as Google Checkout, PayPal, Bill Me Later, and TrialPay, to purchase an item online. And 59% of online shoppers say they are more likely to make a purchase online if there is an alternative payment method available.

Giving Consumers a Reason to Purchase
Nearly 80% of our survey responders agreed that they are more likely to purchase an item online if there is an incentive associated with that purchase. And 40% admit to having already taken advantage of such offers that are presented at checkout while shopping online, such as “Get the item you’re buying for free just by trying one of these other offers.”

The Way People Purchase Software Online is Changing
The 2008 Alternative Payments Survey found that 61% of online shoppers have downloaded trial or free versions of software. Of this 61%, only 10% said they “often” or “always” buy the full version – meaning 90% will never pay for the premium version of the software. However, when asked if they could receive a free upgrade to a premium or full version by purchasing something else from another merchant:

  • 11% said “Yes, without a doubt”
  • 59% said “Yes, if the ‘other merchant’ had something I needed, or if it was a store that I shop with regularly”
  • 5% said “No, I’d rather pay full price”
  • 25% said “No, I’d stick with the free version or not purchase at all”

That means 70% of consumers would purchase a premium version if an incentive was offered at time of checkout/download.

A Research Brief providing detailed information on our findings is available here.

By trialpay | Posted in Alternative Payments, E-commerce | Leave a Comment

How to Combat Downward Pricing Pressure of Casual Games

May 6, 2009 – 4:48 pm

In a previous post, we discussed how offer completions can help game publishers monetize virtual currency. But game publishers don’t need virtual economies to benefit from offer completions. Ad-supported alternative payment platforms can help any game publisher effectively combat downward pricing pressure from users hesitant to directly pay for games.

Preserve Your Retail Price
When faced with downward pricing pressure, many publishers of downloadable games will discount their prices across the board. While this might increase conversions among users who aren’t willing to pay the full retail price, this also diminishes revenues from those who are. Instead of discounting your game, give non-paying users alternative ways to pay.

Convert “Bad” Customers
Through high-quality advertiser offers, you can still generate significant revenue on every sale because a weak customer for your brand might be a great customer for another. Ad-supported payment platforms allow users to pay for your games by purchasing something else they need. For example, users who have a tight budget for games might have a larger budget for clothing, food, online subscriptions or gifts.

Make More Per Transaction
When a customer completes an advertiser offer in lieu of paying directly for your game, you can earn more per transaction because the payout from an advertiser may greatly exceed your regular price. For example, even if your game regularly sells for $20, you might make $50+ every time a customer completes an offer from a credit card company.

By trialpay | Posted in Alternative Payments, E-commerce, Online Games | Leave a Comment

How User-Friendly is Your E-Commerce Site?

April 29, 2009 – 10:13 pm

A Web site that is organized, well designed and easy for your customers to use will see increased conversions, greater customer loyalty and higher customer satisfaction than those that leave their shoppers scratching their heads. Not sure how your site’s usability fares? Here are a few ways to find out.

Request Comments
Online stores rarely interact with their shoppers as much as brick-and-mortar stores, which have sales associates to hear first-hand feedback from shoppers. Break this silence by including comment boxes wherever you can: in the checkout flow, on your home page, in your monthly newsletters. The more feedback you can get, the more you will understand your site’s usability from the customers’ perspective.

Incorporate Live Chat
A Live Chat feature will not only reduce cart abandonment by offering instant support, but it can also give you insight into which elements of your site need improving. Take note of which user issues come up most frequently—these are the very issues you should fix to improve your user experience.

Conduct Usability Tests
The best way to gauge your site’s usability is to test it on your target market. This can be done through a usability testing company, or inside your own office by recruiting your own participants. Key areas to monitor are:

  • How long it takes for participants to complete basic tasks
  • How many mistakes does each participant make
  • How much your participants recall about your site after a period of non-use
  • Each participant’s emotional response (i.e. How do they feel about the tasks completed? Would they recommend this system to a friend?)

Implement Surveys
To solicit specific feedback from your customers, utilize one of countless affordable or free online survey solutions on the Web, such as Survey Monkey, InstantSurvey and Zoomerang. Newsletters, blogs and e-mail are all great places to include these surveys. Encourage more users to complete the survey by entering survey responders in a drawing to win a prize.

By trialpay | Posted in E-commerce, Usability | Leave a Comment