Executive Summary
• Leading publishers and retailers place a high value on registered users but are working harder than ever to gather less information. Why? Customers are not willing to recreate and manage an identity and password on every site they visit.
• The most common tactics for driving registrations in this environment, from asking for minimal information to running promotions, are not sufficient for companies who need both richer customer information and lower acquisition costs to grow profitably.
• To solve the tradeoff between a streamlined registration process and creating a rich user profile, the majority of respondents have implemented or plan to implement social sign-on, enabling people to register with an existing social identity.
• Business decision-makers see myriad benefits of social sign-on, including improved targeting, positive buzz, increased loyalty and ultimately increased revenue. The vast majority also believe these benefits are both important and achievable for their companies.
1. “The
Value
of
Social
Sign-‐on
and
the
Registered
User”
Results
from
a
Na;onal
Online
Survey
and
In-‐depth
Interviews
with
Market
Prospects
September
2,
2010
Conducted
by:
Commissioned
by:
2. 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
sufficient
for
companies
who
need
both
richer
customer
informa;on
and
lower
acquisi;on
costs
to
grow
profitably.
• To
solve
the
tradeoff
between
a
streamlined
registra;on
process
and
crea;ng
a
rich
user
profile,
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
benefits
of
social
sign-‐on,
including
improved
targe;ng,
posi;ve
buzz,
increased
loyalty
and
ul;mately
increased
revenue.
The
vast
majority
also
believe
these
benefits
are
both
important
and
achievable
for
their
companies.
2
4. 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
53%
44%
average
average
13%
10%
Legend:
%
of
visitors
who
are
31%
28%
registered
users
76-‐100%
51-‐75%
26-‐50%
18%
1-‐25%
33%
33%
16%
E-‐commerce
Publishers
Q:
In
a
typical
month,
about
what
percentage
of
visitors
to
your
website
are
“registered
users”?
4
5. 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
offline
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
different
ways
because
we've
done
some
great
integra+ons…[describes
TV
shows,
Facebook,
TwiCer,
and
blog]…have
definitely
engaged
more
new
people.
We're
also
seeing
a
lot
of
[our
video
content]
geHng
picked
up
on
a
lot
of
different
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
effec+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
significant.
I
think
it
is
around
a
2
or
3
percent.”
(Travel)
5
6. 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
Neutral
A
lot
less
valuable
10
9
8
5-‐7
0-‐4
DK/NA
65%
Publishers
31%
13%
21%
30%
6%
65%
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?
6
7. 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
findings.
Loyalty
Word
of
Mouth
Targe;ng
Bokom-‐line
• Engaged
• Promote
to
• Know
who
they
• Purchase
more
• Reliable
network
are:
preferences
products,
with
• Can
build
a
• Variety
of
viral
and
behaviors
greater
Rela;onship
communica;ons
• Richer
profile
frequency
• Sa;sfied
• User-‐generated
informa;on
• Alpha
shoppers
• Frequency
of
comment:
• Target
emails,
• Complete
check-‐
visits
quan;ty
and
promo;ons,
out
process
quality
coupons
• Spend
more
• Page
views
• Follow-‐up
ajer
money
• Time
spent
on
shopping
site
• Data
to
drive
• Trends
drive
adver;sing
business
revenue
decisions
8. 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;sfied
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
Easier
to
engage
and
build
a
much
more
affiliated
with
the
site
and
they
do
more
85%
rela;onship
work
for
you,
so
once
you
get
somebody
to
register,
presumably
it
is
because
you
have
given
them
More
loyal
82%
something
that
they
like
and
they
come
back
and
visit
more.”
(Online
Publisher)
“We
find
registered
users
come
to
our
site
more
o:en
Visit
the
site
more
frequently
74%
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-‐
Spend
more
;me
on
the
site
74%
registered
users,
while
we
don't
know
who
they
are,
they
may
have
booked.
We
know
that
they
clicked
More
reliable
72%
through
from
some
site
to
our
site
or
whatever.
We
know
that
we
have
that
visitor.
We
don't
know
anything
about
them.”
(Travel)
Generate
more
page
views
68%
“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
They
are
more
sa;sfied
67%
familiar
with
the
site,
more
familiar
with
our
product,
more
familiar
with
our
services.”
(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.
8
9. Value:
Word
of
Mouth
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
Posi;ve
Buzz,
Viral,
and
Word-‐of-‐Mouth
%
who
agree
with
each
statement
more
likely
to
share
the
brand
with
their
friends.
Much
more
likely
to
interact
with
the
brand
more
than
once…We
obviously
look
to
those
people
as
the
alpha
More
likely
to
generate
shoppers,
and
they
are
the
ones
who
will
74%
comment
on
a
blog
post,
who
will
share
comments/reviews
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
More
likely
to
promote
our
74%
of
our
communica+ons
into
the
social
company
to
social
network
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)
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.
9
10. 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
Targe;ng
Communica;ons
that
we
have
been
able
to
target
-‐-‐
if
you
%
who
agree
with
each
statement
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
More
profile
informa;on
about
to
get
more
relevant
communica+on
from
us
if
85%
them
to
target
more
effec;vely
you
register
or
if
you
just
come
on
our
site
and
look
for
stuff,
we
have
no
way
of
really
communica+ng
to
you.”
(Travel)
Easier
to
follow-‐up
with
them
82%
“We
profile
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
Know
who
they
are/they
are
80%
adver+sing.”
(Electronics)
authen;cated
“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.
10
11. 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.
Revenue/BoIom-‐line
“They
are
more
likely
to
complete
the
%
who
agree
with
each
statement
check-‐out
process,
and
then
we
can
follow-‐up
with
them
aber
the
transac+on.”
(Retail)
More
likely
to
purchase
“We
can
offer
them
more
coupons
and
90%
products/services
send
other
mailings.
They
get
good
deals,
and
a
quality
shopping
experience.
And
if
More
likely
to
posi;vely
impact
they
are
registered
users
and
they
90%
bokom
line
abandon
the
shopping
cart,
we
can
actually
email
those
abandoners.”
(Retail)
More
likely
to
complete
the
85%
“Because
adver+sers
are
s+ll
grading
on
check
out
process
page
views
and
uniques.
If
you
can
raise
the
number
of
uniques
and
those
number
Buy
more/spend
more
money
72%
of
page
views
then
yes
–
they
do
have
an
impact
on
revenue.
It
is
s+ll
just
a
numbers
game.”
(Online
Publisher)
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.
11
13. Awareness
of
Social
Sign-‐on
Nine-‐in-‐ten
surveyed
say
they
have
heard
of
Social
Sign-‐On.
Social
Sign-‐on
Awareness
Ques;on
wording:
Have
you
heard
of
Not
sure
solu;ons
that
allow
website
visitors
to
sign
in
2%
Have
not
heard
of
or
register
at
a
website
using
an
exis;ng
social
6%
iden;ty
through
Facebook,
Twiker,
Yahoo,
Google,
LinkedIn,
or
another
provider?
Example:
Yes,
heard
of
92%
E-‐commerce:
92%
aware
Online
Publisher:
92%
aware
13
14. 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
Not
planned
Fully
implemented
Implementa;on
in
progress
Planned
-‐
next
12
months
Planned
-‐
next
13-‐24
months
Not
planned
Not
sure
Publishers
31%
28%
15%
3%
15%
8%
n=39
Among
those
who
say
not
planned
(n=34)
Interested:
41%
Neutral:
41%
Not
interested:
18%
E-‐Commerce
18%
18%
21%
11%
31%
n=61
Q:
Please
describe
your
company’s
plans
to
implement
a
Social
Sign-‐On
solu;on.
14
15. Importance
of
Social
Sign-‐on
Benefits
Large
majori;es
see
all
of
the
poten;al
benefits
of
Social
Sign-‐on
as
important.
Importance
%
who
view
as
important
Increase
engagement/rela;onship
84%
“It
seems
to
me
that
you
get
more
informa+on
about
the
person,
based
on
Richer
profile
informa;on
to
target
and
customize
80%
what
they've
got
on
their
profile
or
what
they've
got
stored
on
their
social
media
or
Easier
to
share
informa;on
and
promote
organiza;on
to
social
77%
their
account.
It
is
an
easy
way
to
sign
up.
network
It
also
I
think
gives
a
really
nice
-‐-‐
just
kind
Link
between
org’s
site
and
user’s
75%
of
a
forward
thinking
approach
to
how
do
social
network
you
get
people
engaged
and
connec+ng
Impact
my
org’s
bokom
line
75%
with
them
at
another
level,
that
is
more
progressive,
I
guess
is
kind
of
the
word.”
(Travel)
Increase
registered
visitors
74%
Richer
profile
informa;on
to
share
“I
look
at
this
through
my
revenue
lens
73%
with
adver;sers
and
anything
that
gives
me
the
chance
to
Good
for
org's
image
-‐
forward
sell
a
membership
or
a
product
alongside
73%
thinking,
customer-‐centric
solu;on
this
is
helpful,
or
to
create
a
las+ng
rela+onship
that
can
lead
to
one
of
those
Simplify
registra;on
process
72%
fulfillments,
is
going
to
be
good.”
(Online
Publisher)
Verifies/authen;cates
user’s
iden;ty/
email
address
69%
Q20:
Below
are
some
poten;al
benefit…How
important
are
each
to
your
organiza;on
when
considering
such
a
solu;on?
15
16. Likelihood
Social
Sign-‐on
Benefits
Will
Be
Achieved
Importantly,
most
respondents
find
the
benefits
to
be
believable
and
achievable
with
Social
Sign-‐on
implementa;on.
Social
Sign-‐On
Benefits
Customer-‐Centric:
“One
of
the
benefits
of
Social
%
who
say
benefit
will
likely
be
achieved
Sign-‐on
to
the
organiza+on
is
that
most
customers
are
reluctant
to
manage
their
accounts
Richer
profile
informa;on
to
target
and
customize
81%
online
because
of
the
hassle
of
registering
them
-‐-‐
the
registra+on
process
takes
too
long.
Now,
if
Easier
to
share
and
promote
we
can
somehow
minimize
that
process,
they
organiza;on
to
social
network
78%
will
be
greatly
benefited.”
(Electronics)
Increase
engagement/rela;onship
77%
Social
Networking:
“They
say
that
the
average
Link
between
org’s
site
and
user’s
74%
person
has
133
friends,
so
if
you
make
it
easier
social
network
for
one
of
those
people
to
share
something,
you
are
poten+ally
reaching
another
133
people.
So
Impact
my
org’s
bokom
line
73%
the
reach
is
going
to
get
bigger
and
so
therefore
Verifies/authen;cates
user’s
you
might
have
more
user-‐generated
content.
I
iden;ty/email
address
72%
think
it
would
definitely
increase
the
quan+ty.”
(Retail)
Increase
registered
visitors
71%
Richer
profile
informa;on
to
share
Simplify
and
Increase
Registra;on:
“You
always
with
adver;sers
70%
want
to
lower
the
barrier
to
entry,
so
if
somebody
is
already
signed
up,
they
are
signed
Simplify
registra;on
process
68%
up.
They
don't
have
to
give
you
any
more
informa+on.
It
is
easier
for
them.
The
easier
it
is
Good
for
org's
image
-‐
forward
65%
for
them,
the
more
likely
they
are
to
sign
thinking,
customer-‐centric
solu;on
up.”
(Online
Publisher)
Q:
If
you
have
or
were
to
implement
this
kind
of
solu;on
at
your
organiza;on’s
website,
how
likely
would
each
scenario
be?
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