MARKETING
A Deep Dive into Hiding Prices with Magento 2 Best Extensions
Introduction
Picture this: the bustling online marketplace, a battleground where sellers jostle for attention and strategize their prices like knights preparing for a joust. In this digital arena, standing out and protecting your treasures – those premium products – feels like defending a castle against an army of competitors.
But fear not, for in this age-old battle, a new strategy emerges – the art of hiding prices in Magento 2. It’s like wielding an invisibility cloak for your product costs, guiding your customers towards a more customized shopping adventure. Today, let’s dive deeper into this magical cloak and uncover the treasures it holds for your online store.
Protecting Your Products in the E-Commerce Warzone
Ever wondered how to keep those shiny, premium products safe from the price-slashing swords of competitors? Well, it’s a battlefield out there, where every online seller fights to make their products shine like shiny treasure in a pirate’s chest.
But here’s the secret weapon: hiding prices in Magento 2! It’s like making your products a bit mysterious, a bit exclusive. It entices customers to come closer, not just for the price, but for the unique experience you offer. Shield your precious goods, lure in those indecisive customers, and stand tall against the army of rival sellers – that’s the power of hiding prices.
Benefits of Price Hiding
Let’s unravel the cloak’s magic, shall we? Hiding prices isn’t just about keeping numbers secret; it’s a game-changer with many hidden treasures:
A) Luring in the Curious:
Imagine dangling a shiny bait, but instead of just the price, it’s the promise of an exclusive experience. That’s what hiding prices does! It makes customers curious, nudging them to explore your store and discover the hidden gems.
B) Shielding the Premium:
Ever wanted to protect your most valuable loot from the price wars? Well, hiding prices creates a fortress around your premium products, keeping them safe from relentless comparisons.
C) Personalizing the Quest:
It’s like tailoring an adventure just for your customers! Hiding prices encourages personalized interactions, guiding shoppers towards your store not just for the buy but for a unique journey.
Why Hide Prices in Magento 2? The Strategic Advantages
Hiding prices isn’t merely a cloak-and-dagger tactic; it’s a savvy strategy with multifaceted advantages:
- Lead Generation and Exclusive Offers: Concealing prices prompts customers to engage, providing their emails for access to exclusive deals.
- Creating Urgency and Exclusivity: Masking prices of high-value products builds intrigue and a sense of exclusivity, encouraging quicker decision-making.
- Brand Protection: Preventing direct price comparisons safeguards your brand’s image and value perception.
- Personalized Sales Approach: Hiding prices nudges customers towards personalized interactions and consultation for a tailored shopping experience.
Best Magento 2 Extensions for Price Hiding
1. [Extension 1: Hide Price & Add to Cart Button for Magento 2 by FMEextensions]
Renowned for quality and professionalism, FMEextensions introduces a robust solution that empowers businesses to manage price visibility with precision. Magento 2 hide price features can be best captured by this savvy extension that knows the ins and outs of business like the back of its hand, oops, ok not like a hand, but it knows what it’s doing. So buckle up Fellas!
Key Features:
- Conceal prices and ‘Add to Cart’ buttons selectively on product and category pages.
- Customization options include substituting prices with text, images, or a quote form.
- Tailor price visibility based on specific customer groups, countries, or store views.
- Seamless backend support ensures prompt inquiries and responses.
- Price: $99.99
2. [Extension 2: Hide Price for Magento 2 by Amasty]
Amasty, known for user-friendly extensions, presents a feature-rich solution for flexible price management tailored to customer groups.
Key Features:
- Conceal prices on product and category pages while deactivating cart-related functionalities.
- Customizable button replacement for ‘Add to Cart’ actions.
- Collection of customer data through a pop-up for tailored interactions.
- Price: $169
3. [Extension 3: Control Price Display by MageMe]
MageMe offers a straightforward yet comprehensive solution for controlling price display across your Magento catalog.
Key Features:
- Disable direct sales functionality and conceal prices storewide.
- Options to hide prices and showcase custom HTML text or alert buttons.
- Configuration capabilities for multiple stores, specific categories, or individual products.
- Price: $99
Setting Up Your Price-Hiding Extension
Step-by-Step Guide: Becoming a Price-Hiding Wizard
- Select Your Extension: Like choosing a wand in a wizarding world, pick your extension! Install and activate it in your Magento 2 store.
- Extension Configuration: It’s like flipping switches! Navigate to settings, play around with options, and choose where and how you want to hide those prices. Want to hide them on product pages? Or in specific categories? Your extension lets you do the magic.
- Customizing Your Hidden Prices: Get creative! Replace the price tags with custom messages, images, or quote forms. It’s like decorating your secret treasure chest with enticing hints.
- Visuals for Clarity: Imagine a treasure map! Use screenshots or videos to show others how you’ve worked your magic. Visual aids make understanding a breeze.
- Tips for Sorcery: Here’s a trick or two! Optimize your settings. Experiment with different options, test it out, and see what works best for your store.
Measuring Success: Tracking Your Price-Hiding Tehcnique’s Performance
Metrics That Matter: Gaining Insights into Your Enchanted Tactics
A) Lead Generation: It’s like counting the number of treasure-seekers who showed interest! Measure how many customers left their email to unlock your hidden prices.
B) Conversion Rates: Ahoy! Keep an eye on how many curious customers turned into actual treasure hunters. Are they buying the shiny loot you’re offering?
C) Average Order Value: Check the treasure trove! See if your customers are spending more on other products once they unlock the hidden prices.
Potential Pitfalls: Avoiding Traps in Your Quest
- Customer Frustration: Just like a spell gone wrong! Sometimes hiding prices might confuse or annoy customers. Keep an eye on their feedback and adjust your strategy accordingly.
- Negative Brand Perception: Don’t let your treasure trove be misunderstood! Communicate the exclusivity and benefits clearly to avoid customers thinking it’s a trick.
Conclusion
As we wrap up this exploration, remember that price hiding isn’t just about concealing figures; it’s about crafting an exclusive experience and fostering meaningful interactions. Experiment with these extensions, measure results, and share your insights.
By embracing these extensions and tailoring your pricing strategies, you’re not just hiding prices; you’re sculpting a personalized shopping journey, one that resonates with your customers on a deeper level.
Happy price crafting, and may your e-commerce endeavors soar to new heights!
MARKETING
YouTube Ad Specs, Sizes, and Examples [2024 Update]
Introduction
With billions of users each month, YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine and top website for video content. This makes it a great place for advertising. To succeed, advertisers need to follow the correct YouTube ad specifications. These rules help your ad reach more viewers, increasing the chance of gaining new customers and boosting brand awareness.
Types of YouTube Ads
Video Ads
- Description: These play before, during, or after a YouTube video on computers or mobile devices.
- Types:
- In-stream ads: Can be skippable or non-skippable.
- Bumper ads: Non-skippable, short ads that play before, during, or after a video.
Display Ads
- Description: These appear in different spots on YouTube and usually use text or static images.
- Note: YouTube does not support display image ads directly on its app, but these can be targeted to YouTube.com through Google Display Network (GDN).
Companion Banners
- Description: Appears to the right of the YouTube player on desktop.
- Requirement: Must be purchased alongside In-stream ads, Bumper ads, or In-feed ads.
In-feed Ads
- Description: Resemble videos with images, headlines, and text. They link to a public or unlisted YouTube video.
Outstream Ads
- Description: Mobile-only video ads that play outside of YouTube, on websites and apps within the Google video partner network.
Masthead Ads
- Description: Premium, high-visibility banner ads displayed at the top of the YouTube homepage for both desktop and mobile users.
YouTube Ad Specs by Type
Skippable In-stream Video Ads
- Placement: Before, during, or after a YouTube video.
- Resolution:
- Horizontal: 1920 x 1080px
- Vertical: 1080 x 1920px
- Square: 1080 x 1080px
- Aspect Ratio:
- Horizontal: 16:9
- Vertical: 9:16
- Square: 1:1
- Length:
- Awareness: 15-20 seconds
- Consideration: 2-3 minutes
- Action: 15-20 seconds
Non-skippable In-stream Video Ads
- Description: Must be watched completely before the main video.
- Length: 15 seconds (or 20 seconds in certain markets).
- Resolution:
- Horizontal: 1920 x 1080px
- Vertical: 1080 x 1920px
- Square: 1080 x 1080px
- Aspect Ratio:
- Horizontal: 16:9
- Vertical: 9:16
- Square: 1:1
Bumper Ads
- Length: Maximum 6 seconds.
- File Format: MP4, Quicktime, AVI, ASF, Windows Media, or MPEG.
- Resolution:
- Horizontal: 640 x 360px
- Vertical: 480 x 360px
In-feed Ads
- Description: Show alongside YouTube content, like search results or the Home feed.
- Resolution:
- Horizontal: 1920 x 1080px
- Vertical: 1080 x 1920px
- Square: 1080 x 1080px
- Aspect Ratio:
- Horizontal: 16:9
- Square: 1:1
- Length:
- Awareness: 15-20 seconds
- Consideration: 2-3 minutes
- Headline/Description:
- Headline: Up to 2 lines, 40 characters per line
- Description: Up to 2 lines, 35 characters per line
Display Ads
- Description: Static images or animated media that appear on YouTube next to video suggestions, in search results, or on the homepage.
- Image Size: 300×60 pixels.
- File Type: GIF, JPG, PNG.
- File Size: Max 150KB.
- Max Animation Length: 30 seconds.
Outstream Ads
- Description: Mobile-only video ads that appear on websites and apps within the Google video partner network, not on YouTube itself.
- Logo Specs:
- Square: 1:1 (200 x 200px).
- File Type: JPG, GIF, PNG.
- Max Size: 200KB.
Masthead Ads
- Description: High-visibility ads at the top of the YouTube homepage.
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 or higher.
- File Type: JPG or PNG (without transparency).
Conclusion
YouTube offers a variety of ad formats to reach audiences effectively in 2024. Whether you want to build brand awareness, drive conversions, or target specific demographics, YouTube provides a dynamic platform for your advertising needs. Always follow Google’s advertising policies and the technical ad specs to ensure your ads perform their best. Ready to start using YouTube ads? Contact us today to get started!
MARKETING
Why We Are Always ‘Clicking to Buy’, According to Psychologists
Amazon pillows.
MARKETING
A deeper dive into data, personalization and Copilots
Salesforce launched a collection of new, generative AI-related products at Connections in Chicago this week. They included new Einstein Copilots for marketers and merchants and Einstein Personalization.
To better understand, not only the potential impact of the new products, but the evolving Salesforce architecture, we sat down with Bobby Jania, CMO, Marketing Cloud.
Dig deeper: Salesforce piles on the Einstein Copilots
Salesforce’s evolving architecture
It’s hard to deny that Salesforce likes coming up with new names for platforms and products (what happened to Customer 360?) and this can sometimes make the observer wonder if something is brand new, or old but with a brand new name. In particular, what exactly is Einstein 1 and how is it related to Salesforce Data Cloud?
“Data Cloud is built on the Einstein 1 platform,” Jania explained. “The Einstein 1 platform is our entire Salesforce platform and that includes products like Sales Cloud, Service Cloud — that it includes the original idea of Salesforce not just being in the cloud, but being multi-tenancy.”
Data Cloud — not an acquisition, of course — was built natively on that platform. It was the first product built on Hyperforce, Salesforce’s new cloud infrastructure architecture. “Since Data Cloud was on what we now call the Einstein 1 platform from Day One, it has always natively connected to, and been able to read anything in Sales Cloud, Service Cloud [and so on]. On top of that, we can now bring in, not only structured but unstructured data.”
That’s a significant progression from the position, several years ago, when Salesforce had stitched together a platform around various acquisitions (ExactTarget, for example) that didn’t necessarily talk to each other.
“At times, what we would do is have a kind of behind-the-scenes flow where data from one product could be moved into another product,” said Jania, “but in many of those cases the data would then be in both, whereas now the data is in Data Cloud. Tableau will run natively off Data Cloud; Commerce Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud — they’re all going to the same operational customer profile.” They’re not copying the data from Data Cloud, Jania confirmed.
Another thing to know is tit’s possible for Salesforce customers to import their own datasets into Data Cloud. “We wanted to create a federated data model,” said Jania. “If you’re using Snowflake, for example, we more or less virtually sit on your data lake. The value we add is that we will look at all your data and help you form these operational customer profiles.”
Let’s learn more about Einstein Copilot
“Copilot means that I have an assistant with me in the tool where I need to be working that contextually knows what I am trying to do and helps me at every step of the process,” Jania said.
For marketers, this might begin with a campaign brief developed with Copilot’s assistance, the identification of an audience based on the brief, and then the development of email or other content. “What’s really cool is the idea of Einstein Studio where our customers will create actions [for Copilot] that we hadn’t even thought about.”
Here’s a key insight (back to nomenclature). We reported on Copilot for markets, Copilot for merchants, Copilot for shoppers. It turns out, however, that there is just one Copilot, Einstein Copilot, and these are use cases. “There’s just one Copilot, we just add these for a little clarity; we’re going to talk about marketing use cases, about shoppers’ use cases. These are actions for the marketing use cases we built out of the box; you can build your own.”
It’s surely going to take a little time for marketers to learn to work easily with Copilot. “There’s always time for adoption,” Jania agreed. “What is directly connected with this is, this is my ninth Connections and this one has the most hands-on training that I’ve seen since 2014 — and a lot of that is getting people using Data Cloud, using these tools rather than just being given a demo.”
What’s new about Einstein Personalization
Salesforce Einstein has been around since 2016 and many of the use cases seem to have involved personalization in various forms. What’s new?
“Einstein Personalization is a real-time decision engine and it’s going to choose next-best-action, next-best-offer. What is new is that it’s a service now that runs natively on top of Data Cloud.” A lot of real-time decision engines need their own set of data that might actually be a subset of data. “Einstein Personalization is going to look holistically at a customer and recommend a next-best-action that could be natively surfaced in Service Cloud, Sales Cloud or Marketing Cloud.”
Finally, trust
One feature of the presentations at Connections was the reassurance that, although public LLMs like ChatGPT could be selected for application to customer data, none of that data would be retained by the LLMs. Is this just a matter of written agreements? No, not just that, said Jania.
“In the Einstein Trust Layer, all of the data, when it connects to an LLM, runs through our gateway. If there was a prompt that had personally identifiable information — a credit card number, an email address — at a mimum, all that is stripped out. The LLMs do not store the output; we store the output for auditing back in Salesforce. Any output that comes back through our gateway is logged in our system; it runs through a toxicity model; and only at the end do we put PII data back into the answer. There are real pieces beyond a handshake that this data is safe.”