We really do live in a global world!

[webtappeti]

An Italian posting in an UK forum about a French webstite...funny.

Anyway...we do have a quite succesfull e-commerce for the sale of modern/design rugs to Italian consumers. It is going quite well so we decided to expand the business to France/Belgium with a customized site
w w w webtappeti.com
Just launched the beta version of it to test the water but the first results are not encouraging...the first few hundreds visitors ( very much in target..from Adwords ) did not convert at all.
Granted that there is nothing wrong with the products, the price positioning and the competition, can you offer any comments and/or suggestions? What is wrong with it?
The buying-process is as smooth as possible- no registration, no freight costs, no nonsense- and the site is organized, easy to navigate and with a decent layout/grapich..well this is at least our belief.
To differentiate ourselves from the crowd our USP rotates around the fact that the products are unique, designed in Italy, made in Italy ..blah blah blah.
Does this have a merit or is it playing against us?
Could it be that the idea of buying from a foreign country is seen as unnecessary?
I would be curious to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

Fabio

[TotallySport]

At a glance, your site looks nice but is rubbish to use, i couldn't fine a product without clicking the promtions button using the links at the top, the link before promotions takes ages and ages to load and then doesn't sell anything and couldn't find anything.

the navigation bar IMO is that the wrong size, and although looks nice, it also looks odd compared to the norm.

the add to cart button is miles away and takes alot of scrolling and I have no idea whch button did it as i don't speak what every language it is and the button doesn't graphically explain it (as there is two buttons)

I was going to comment on yur postage but without I think signing up I couldn't find it

you have to click three images to get to the description, but this isn't clear, I thought the first click was clicking on a rung for the description.

but the pictures are nice, and the rugs look nice, but I have no idea if they are value for money etc

also google cannot translate your links as they are images, and would be better is they were text over and image background using css.

Hope that helps, sorry if it doesn't

[Alicatt]

Hi,

I like the site (and I speak French so found the free shipping and no need to register bits OK). The only thing I have a problem with is the fact that you can't see prices until you choose your size - I like to get an idea of the price range on a site immediately.

But I think you really need to get some French/Belgian feedback - different nationalities will have different preferences and what works for one, won't work for another, as you are finding.

Bonne chance!

Alison

[Gotum]

Site is clean well designed and if the price point is good I think you have a good proposition.

You must show actual dimensions of your products as most people are working to an area.

It was a long way back to the design options which could be shown below the cart panel so people can compare.

Your USP was not clear and it seemed a little me toish.

You may need to give it a little longer to settle and try some more high end targeted online media sources.

You will need to do a wider test market before you make any real changes. Take a look at this company http://www.pubmatic.com

Let me know if you need any help. No obligation :)

[webtappeti]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to look at the website.
Part of the comments ( mostly from TotallySport ) are influenced by fact that the site is in a foreign language. Nevertheless, he has some good points.
What raises a flag it's that everyone had troubles to find essentials infos such as sizes and prices. :|
They are actually, including the prices, stated in each "product-form" underneath the individual photo once you get to the selected design:

The path:
MACRO CATEGORY( modern, tendance, cheap&chic...) then COLLECTION ( i.e. Fusion, Infinite..) then SELECTED DESIGN.
Obviously it is not as obvious as it appears to me...which concerns me a lot. I wonder if there is a better way to show them (?)

I will welcome any suggestions you may have.
Also, does the "made in Italy" label have any competitive edge or should we just make the site look as "French" as possible so to convey the impression they are buying from a local e-shop?

Thanks
Fabio

[webtappeti]

Your USP was not clear and it seemed a little me toish.



Hi Gotum,

Not sure I understand this correctly.
Do you mean the tagline is "me-too"?

Fabio

[Gotum]

What I ment was; you didn't seem to have a strong point of difference 'Unique' Selling Proposition.

[webtappeti]

The message we would like to underline is "fashion for your home at low prices". I realize we are not too original...:redface: but cannot think of anything else.
Any ideas?

[Gotum]

The age of ME TOO!
We buy things to enhance our lifestyles and impress our friends; and family of course.

If I was given the task to handle your account as an advertising agent, I would start there.

The question is what happened to good old creativity to sell things. People have become lazy and wonder why they can’t make money online. ME TOO is the order of the day. BUT I’M CHEAPER is the strap-line.

I use to remember a time when a beautiful woman with her face pressed against a wool carpet meant luxury. But now days we seem to think we can just show the beautiful carpet and sell it. YOU CAN’T!!

If I was selling your product I would take pictures of shoeless friends sitting around a scrabble table with their bare feet under the coffee table or a couple sitting together on a warm rug in front of an open fire or even someone sunbathing on the beach lying on one of your carpets.

Emotional story telling still works better than price and ME TOO.

Creativity may be being replaced by BETTER PRICE but BIG IDEAS and emotional advertising will always set you apart from the crowd.

So be sure that when their eyes meet your web site they don't go away dry :)

I hope that helped you and anyone else who’s struggling to make it happen online J

[admagic]

The age of ME TOO!
We buy things to enhance our lifestyles and impress our friends; and family of course.

If I was given the task to handle your account as an advertising agent, I would start there.

The question is what happened to good old creativity to sell things. People have become lazy and wonder why they can’t make money online. ME TOO is the order of the day. BUT I’M CHEAPER is the strap-line.

I use to remember a time when a beautiful woman with her face pressed against a wool carpet meant luxury. But now days we seem to think we can just show the beautiful carpet and sell it. YOU CAN’T!!

If I was selling your product I would take pictures of shoeless friends sitting around a scrabble table with their bare feet under the coffee table or a couple sitting together on a warm rug in front of an open fire or even someone sunbathing on the beach lying on one of your carpets.

Emotional story telling still works better than price and ME TOO.

Creativity may be being replaced by BETTER PRICE but BIG IDEAS and emotional advertising will always set you apart from the crowd.

So be sure that when their eyes meet your web site they don't go away dry :)

I hope that helped you and anyone else who’s struggling to make it happen online J

Spot on.

In fact - building a unique offer that prevents me too comparisons - is really important.

I see too many completely sterile websites.
Pictures of products. Prices and descriptions.
No reason to buy from them, no personal touches , no conversation with the reader...

I like the old adage

Sell on emotion, justify with fact.