PRWD

I was recently contacted by The Royal Mail to see whether I would like to take part in an ‘Ask The Expert’ clinic which features in their quarterly SMART magazine. I was more than happy to provide some advice and recommendations for a niche retailer looking to develop the commercial side of its operations.

After I had submitted the 200 words, The Royal Mail saw an opportunity to video interview me as part of their ‘One Minute Mentor’ area on their website. This sits within the SMART area of the Royal Mail website and a screengrab is provided below. The strapline for SMART is Inspiration for the modern entrepreneur.

Royal Mail SMART area on their website, featuring Paul Rouke

The 10 subjects covered in short video interviews were…

What is usability?

What is website usability and why is it important?

Key usability questions

What are the key questions on usability every business with a website should ask itself?

E-tail potential

What are the main areas on a site where e-tailers lose potential sales and what can be done to prevent this?

Benefiting internal systems

How can internal business systems with poor usability affect the efficiency of a business?

Paul Rouke video interviews with The Royal Mail

Improving conversions

How can good website usability improve a company’s conversion rate and ultimately its bottom line?

Capturing data

Many companies use web forms. What can you do to improve the number of completed forms?

Search engine marketing

What difference does good usability make to search engine marketing?

Measuring usability

What measures should be in place to ensure that a website’s usability stays at its best?

Integrating channels

How important is it to integrate offline and online usability?

Design vs. navigation

What’s the ideal balance between design and navigation on a website?

You can also listen to a podcast of the 10 video interviews

Paul Rouke featured on the Royal Mail website

Along with being asked to present at an up-coming conference that Google are keynoting, I was also invited to take part in a How-Do Retail forum with people from Wynsors, Shop Direct Group, BooHoo.com and Brilliant Media.

The set-up for the forum was as follows:

In the first of a new series examining the unique challenges and opportunities presented to marketers in specific economic sectors, How-Do examines what’s going on in the world of the retail marketer. This first report has been prepared with the support of Brilliant Media.

While the economic downturn has left many high-street chains floundering, savvier retail marketers are bucking the trend and finding new ways of engaging with customers. How-Do checks out the changing marketplace.
In the first of a new series examining the unique challenges and opportunities presented to marketers in specific economic sectors, How-Do examines what’s going on in the world of the retail marketer.
The year so far has been torrid for many retailers. Despite a blip in January when trading in the sector increased as shoppers took advantage of big price cuts, the vast majority have struggled to counter falling sales and lack of consumer confidence.

It was a really engaging couple of hours with everyone joining in to provide valuable insights into the retail sector, both on and offline. You can read a full write-up of the forum on the How-Do website.