# Online conversation rate is 2.7 per cent, says Vignette founder

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/1998/12/12/online-conversation-rate-27-cent-says-vignette-founder/
- Published: 1998-12-12T00:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Conversion from online visitor to buyer is very low, says Ross Garber.
If your charity’s
Web site is securing large number of visitors but few donations, you’re in good 
company. Ross Garber, founder of content management system company Vignette, says
that the worldwide conversion rate from visitor to buyer at e-commerce sites is 
just 2.7%. This compares, he says, to 2% from an unsolicited mail short.

Of course, there are plenty of reasons why charities might not be converting visitors
to donors, such as poor site design, ignorance of visitors’ expectations and concerns,
and poor site usability.

One way forward could well be personalisation of content. Peppers and Rogers Group’s
recent report on the subject stated: “We think one to one relationship building 
will become one of the key ways that companies succeed when the Web and other trends
make is increasingly easy for customers to defect.”

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Not surprisingly, content management systems like Vignette, plan to be in the forefront
of this development.

 * **[The latest Internet fundraising book](https://fundraising.co.uk/1998/12/14/latest-internet-fundraising-book/)**(
   14 December 1998)
 * **[Ethical code for fundraisers](https://fundraising.co.uk/1998/12/17/ethical-code-fundraisers/)**(
   17 December 1998)
 * **[Share offer in Electronic Fundraising Company](https://fundraising.co.uk/1998/12/22/share-offer-electronic-fundraising-company/)**(
   22 December 1998)