IAR Bits and Bytes
A study finds that site visitors are often top customers; ValueClick's CFO departs for another opportunity; Aptimus enters the e-mail append business.
Study: Web Site Visitors Most Valuable Customers
A study of major consumer Web sites finds that 80 percent of visitors are high and medium value customers, a finding that indicates the Web should be a central piece of companies’ marketing strategies.
Customer experience management firm CRM Metrix put together the study after 18 months of surveying visitors upon their entry and exit to several e-commerce, fashion, and consumer packaged goods sites, including those of Levi’s, Procter and Gamble, Kraft, and L’Oreal. People were asked about their general demographic characteristics, as well as about their satisfaction, brand affinity, category affinity, retention drivers, and purchase intent.
The study also found that, as customers spend more time on a Web site and go deeper into it, their purchase intent, lifetime value, and brand affinity increase significantly. One multi-channel retailer, for example, saw purchase intent increase from 27 percent to 42 percent after individuals had spent time on the site.
ValueClick CFO Departs
Kurt Johnson, ValueClick’s chief financial officer and treasurer, has left to pursue another opportunity. Johnson departed the interactive marketing company to join a private equity and financial advisory firm in the role of principal and managing director.
Johnson’s role will be filled by Sam Paisley, ValueClick’s president of media. Paisley joined ValueClick in April 2000 after serving as chief financial officer and executive vice president of Automata International.
“Kurt has played an instrumental role in ValueClick’s public offerings and acquisitions in helping the company to build its strong financial position,” stated James Zarley, chairman and chief executive officer. “His dedication and hard work are truly appreciated, and we wish Kurt well in his future endeavors.”
Tony Rodriquez, ValueClick’s vice president of finance, will continue to oversee the company’s financial reporting and SEC activities.
Aptimus Latest to Launch Append Services
Direct marketer Aptimus has launched AptiPend, its entry into the email append business. The service enables offline marketers to identify email addresses for their existing customers and thereby establish a new communication channel.
Through AptiPend services, Aptimus will compare its clients’ database files with the Aptimus TransAction Masterfile to identify common customers at a household or individual level. The practice remains untested throughout much of the direct marketing industry, but could prove a boon to multi-channel marketers’ efforts, proponents say.
“AptiPend is a natural addition to Aptimus’ service offerings for our clients and a direct outgrowth of our growing database,” said Tim Choate, president and chief executive officer of Aptimus. “Many marketers today remain limited to expensive postal communication with their customers. E-mail offers a more efficient, timely and effective alternative or supplemental method for marketers to reach their customers. The addition of AptiPend services will help our clients grow their online marketing programs even faster.”
Aptimus has said it will send a notification to the matching consumers prior to providing marketers with their email addresses. Any consumers preferring not to be contacted via email by companies they do business with will be excluded from the files delivered to Aptimus’ clients.
