The

Value of Social Sign-on and the Registered User

Results from a Na;onal Online Survey and In-depth Interviews
September 15, 2010
Conducted by: Commissioned by:

Execu;ve Summary
Leading publishers and retailers place a high value on registered users but are working harder than ever to gather less informa;on. Why? Customers are not willing to recreate and manage an iden;ty and password on every site they visit. The most common tac;cs for driving registra;ons in this environment, from asking for minimal informa;on to running promo;ons, are not sucient for companies who need both richer customer informa;on and lower acquisi;on costs to grow protably. To solve the tradeo between a streamlined registra;on process and crea;ng a rich user prole, the majority of respondents have implemented or plan to implement social sign-on, enabling people to register with an exis;ng social iden;ty. Business decision-makers see myriad benets of social sign-on, including improved targe;ng, posi;ve buzz, increased loyalty and ul;mately increased revenue. The vast majority also believe these benets are both important and achievable for their companies.
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The Registered User

Registra;on Rates

On average, half of visitors to E-commerce sites are registered users. Penetra;on at Online Publishing sites is slightly lower.

Registered Users as a % of Visitors

average

53%

average

44%

13%

10%

Legend: % of visitors who are registered users

31%

28%

76-100% 51-75% 26-50% 1-25% 33% 18%

33% 16%

E-commerce

Publishers
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Q: In a typical month, about what percentage of visitors to your website are registered users?

Registra;on Rates

In in-depth interviews, these business decision-makers describe how hard they are working to drive registra;on. Respondents talk about a mul;tude of online and oine strategies. They have also streamlined the registra;on process, and are capturing less data on registrants.
[Registra+on has] increased because we have increased our footprint in dierent ways because we've done some great integra+ons[describes TV shows, Facebook, TwiCer, and blog]have denitely engaged more new people. We're also seeing a lot of [our video content] geHng picked up on a lot of dierent blogs, which is then leading more visitors back to our site, and the conversion rate is geHng higher on that. (Retail) We partnered with [television program] to run a cover contest. In order to vote you have to register. You have entered and now what you do is we've made it really easy for you to go on Facebook and say go vote for me. It is not revolu+onary but it is very eec+ve in terms of bringing people to the site, geHng more registra+on and, hopefully, building more [loyal] users. Facebook referrals have shot through the roof. I can't give you hard numbers but I can say that they are 1000 percent higher than they were before. (Online Publisher) They've remained rela+vely the same. We have actually adapted our registers somewhat, because people used to be willing to do more, give you more informa+on, and now we're asking for less. We've tried to reduce the barrier as people become more wary about sharing informa+on, but if we hadn't done that our rates would have dropped precipitously I am sure. (Online Publisher) We re-launched our site in April and once we re-launched it, the actual log-in process and sign-up process is much easier. It has had some [impact on registra+on rates]. We've seen -- I can't remember the numbers right oVand but there was a slight bump. It wasn't signicant. I think it is around a 2 or 3 percent. (Travel)
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Value of A Registered User

Two-thirds of survey respondents feel that registered users are a lot more valuable than those who have not registered at their site. This is consistent across the two audiences.

Value of Registered User vs. Unregistered User

A lot more valuable 10 9 65% 8 Neutral 5-7 A lot less valuable 0-4 DK/NA

Publishers

31%

13% 65%

21%

30%

6%

E-Commerce

26%

18%

21%

19%

7%

9%

Q13: How would you compare the value of registered users with those who have visited but not registered at your website?

Value Dimensions

In open-ended discussions, decision-makers ar;culate several key ways that registered users provide value to their organiza;on. These were validated by the quan;ta;ve survey ndings. Loyalty Engaged Reliable Can build a Rela;onship Sa;sed Frequency of visits Page views Time spent on site Word of Mouth Promote to network Variety of viral communica;ons User-generated comment: quan;ty and quality Targe;ng Know who they are: preferences and behaviors Richer prole informa;on Target emails, promo;ons, coupons Follow-up ajer shopping Trends drive business decisions Bokom-line Purchase more products, with greater frequency Alpha shoppers Complete check- out process Spend more money Data to drive adver;sing revenue

Value: Loyalty

Majori;es agree that registered users are more loyal and engaged than the average visitor. Companies are able to build a rela;onship with this audience, crea;ng a reliable and sa;sed base who visit the site more frequently and generate more page views.
Loyalty, Rela;onship, and Engagement
% who agree with each statement A registered user is a much more loyal user and a prosely+zer for you, a grassroots recruiter. They are much more aliated with the site and they do more work for you, so once you get somebody to register, presumably it is because you have given them something that they like and they come back and visit more. (Online Publisher) We nd registered users come to our site more o:en and they come back more frequently. The registered users stay on our site longer; they search through more pages, look at more informa+on; whereas non- registered users, while we don't know who they are, they may have booked. We know that they clicked through from some site to our site or whatever. We know that we have that visitor. We don't know anything about them. (Travel) Registered users are typically members of our organiza+on, they are more likely to use our services compared to non-registered users. They are more familiar with the site, more familiar with our product, more familiar with our services. (Electronics)

Easier to engage and build a rela;onship More loyal Visit the site more frequently Spend more ;me on the site More reliable Generate more page views They are more sa;sed

85% 82% 74% 74% 72% 68% 67%

Q: Below are some reasons that organiza;ons have said registered users are valuable to their organiza;on. Please indicate if you agree or disagree with each.

Value: Word of Mouth

Posi;ve Buzz, Viral, and Word-of-Mouth
% who agree with each statement

That loyalty translates into posi;ve word of mouth for the brand. Three-quarters of the market agree that registered users are more likely to provide more/beker user-generated content, and promote the brand virally.
I would say [registered users] are much more likely to share the brand with their friends. Much more likely to interact with the brand more than onceWe obviously look to those people as the alpha shoppers, and they are the ones who will comment on a blog post, who will share something they've bought online, who consistently reference us. They will Tweet [about] us that they love the store, that sort of thing. So they are the ones that we feel are taking the brand message outside of our communica+ons into the social space. (Retail) They are more likely to write a review, rather than just give it a star. They are also more likely to write more reviews over +me. (Retail)

More likely to generate comments/reviews

74%

More likely to promote our company to social network

74%

Q: Below are some reasons that organiza;ons have said registered users are valuable to their organiza;on. Please indicate if you agree or disagree with each.

Value: Targe;ng

Large majori;es also point to their ability to target content and promo;ons to registrants, as well as follow-up with them ajer purchase.
We have ac+vely started CRM our customer rela+on management tools and because of that we have been able to target -- if you don't register, we can't. But what we can do with someone who is registered, we can then track them and send email messages for specials. So certainly there is an opportunity to get more relevant communica+on from us if you register or if you just come on our site and look for stu, we have no way of really communica+ng to you. (Travel) We prole our users by geographic region, by age group, by gender, and we can use it for targeted events mailing, or targeted marke+ng, and targeted adver+sing. (Electronics) We get a lot more value from registered visitors because you can look at their behavior trending over +me, and that intelligence can help drive business decisions. (Electronics)
Q: Below are some reasons that organiza;ons have said registered users are valuable to their organiza;on. Please indicate if you agree or disagree with each.

% who agree with each statement

Targe;ng Communica;ons

More prole informa;on about them to target more eec;vely

85%

Easier to follow-up with them

82%

Know who they are/they are authen;cated

80%

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Value: Bokom-line

Nine-in-ten say that registered users are more likely to purchase their products and services, and posi;vely impact they bokom line.
They are more likely to complete the check-out process, and then we can follow-up with them aber the transac+on. (Retail) We can oer them more coupons and send other mailings. They get good deals, and a quality shopping experience. And if they are registered users and they abandon the shopping cart, we can actually email those abandoners. (Retail) Because adver+sers are s+ll grading on page views and uniques. If you can raise the number of uniques and those number of page views then yes they do have an impact on revenue. It is s+ll just a numbers game. (Online Publisher)

% who agree with each statement

Revenue/BoIom-line

More likely to purchase products/services

90%

More likely to posi;vely impact bokom line

90%

More likely to complete the check out process

85%

Buy more/spend more money

72%

Q: Below are some reasons that organiza;ons have said registered users are valuable to their organiza;on. Please indicate if you agree or disagree with each.

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Social Sign-on: Awareness, Implementa;on, Benets

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Awareness of Social Sign-on

Nine-in-ten surveyed say they have heard of Social Sign-On.

Ques;on wording: Have you heard of solu;ons that allow website visitors to sign in or register at a website using an exis;ng social iden;ty through Facebook, Twiker, Yahoo, Google, LinkedIn, or another provider? Example:

Social Sign-on Awareness

Not sure 2% Have not heard of 6%

Yes, heard of 92%

E-commerce: Online Publisher:

92% aware 92% aware

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Social Sign-On Implementa;on

Majori;es of survey respondents say that they are implemen;ng or planning to put a social registra;on solu;on in place in the future. Direc;onally, it appears that online publishers are further ahead of online retailers on social registra;on.

Social Sign-On Implementa;on or Planned Implementa;on

Fully implemented
Fully implemented Implementa;on in progress Planned - next 12 months Planned - next 13-24 months

Not planned
Not planned Not sure

Publishers
n=39

31%

28%

15%

3%

15%

8%

E-Commerce
n=61

18%

18%

21%

11%

31%

Among those who say not planned (n=34) Interested: 41% Neutral: 41% Not interested: 18%

Q: Please describe your companys plans to implement a Social Sign-On solu;on.

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Importance of Social Sign-on Benets

% who view as important
Increase engagement/rela;onship Richer prole informa;on to target and customize Easier to share informa;on and promote organiza;on to social network Link between orgs site and users social network Impact my orgs bokom line Increase registered visitors Richer prole informa;on to share with adver;sers Good for org's image - forward thinking, customer-centric solu;on Simplify registra;on process Veries/authen;cates users iden;ty/ email address

Large majori;es see all of the poten;al benets of Social Sign-on as important.
Importance
84% 80% 77% 75% 75% 74% 73% 73% 72% 69%

It seems to me that you get more informa+on about the person, based on what they've got on their prole or what they've got stored on their social media or their account. It is an easy way to sign up. It also I think gives a really nice -- just kind of a forward thinking approach to how do you get people engaged and connec+ng with them at another level, that is more progressive, I guess is kind of the word. (Travel) I look at this through my revenue lens and anything that gives me the chance to sell a membership or a product alongside this is helpful, or to create a las+ng rela+onship that can lead to one of those fulllments, is going to be good. (Online Publisher)

Q20: Below are some poten;al benetHow important are each to your organiza;on when considering such a solu;on?

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Likelihood Social Sign-on Benets Will Be Achieved

Social Sign-On Benets
81% 78% 77% 74% 73% 72% 71% 70% 68% 65%

Importantly, most respondents nd the benets to be believable and achievable with Social Sign-on implementa;on.
Customer-Centric: One of the benets of Social Sign-on to the organiza+on is that most customers are reluctant to manage their accounts online because of the hassle of registering them -- the registra+on process takes too long. Now, if we can somehow minimize that process, they will be greatly beneted. (Electronics) Social Networking: They say that the average person has 133 friends, so if you make it easier for one of those people to share something, you are poten+ally reaching another 133 people. So the reach is going to get bigger and so therefore you might have more user-generated content. I think it would denitely increase the quan+ty. (Retail) Simplify and Increase Registra;on: You always want to lower the barrier to entry, so if somebody is already signed up, they are signed up. They don't have to give you any more informa+on. It is easier for them. The easier it is for them, the more likely they are to sign up. (Online Publisher) 16

% who say benet will likely be achieved

Richer prole informa;on to target and customize Easier to share and promote organiza;on to social network Increase engagement/rela;onship Link between orgs site and users social network Impact my orgs bokom line Veries/authen;cates users iden;ty/email address Increase registered visitors Richer prole informa;on to share with adver;sers Simplify registra;on process Good for org's image - forward thinking, customer-centric solu;on

Q: If you have or were to implement this kind of solu;on at your organiza;ons website, how likely would each scenario be?

Research Methodology
Phase One In-depth Interviews:
6 open-ended phone interviews with E-Retailers and Online Publishers

Phase Two Online survey:

100 completes among target respondents: E-commerce industries: Apparel/Fashion, Electronics/Computer hardware and sojware, Travel. Must have online revenue of $10 million or more within the last 12 months; (n size=61) Online Publishers of media and entertainment. Site must have 100,000 or more unique visits/month; (n size=39) Respondents are decision makers on web analy;cs and/or SEO. Director/VP level or higher Must have website visitors who can register, create a prole, subscribe, and/or sign-up to par;cipate in contests at their site Survey pre-tested, then elded from July 21 to Aug 4, 2010

Phase Three Follow-up In-depth Interviews:

5 addi;onal, follow-up, open-ended phone interviews with survey respondents who opted to par;cipate Mix of E-Retailers and Online Publishers

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