Did you ever go to a store looking for a particular product and can’t find it because the store is messy, unorganized and the representatives are not helpful? Chances are – you won’t return to that store. Well, the same holds true for web sites. Your web site is your virtual storefront.
How it looks and how it is organized are very important – and even more important than a regular store because people can walk out even quicker by hitting the X’ button in the upper right hand corner.
Before you invest time and money into an advertising campaign promoting your new web site, you should run through the questions and considerations I’ve outlined below. It would be a shame to spend money on advertising for people to visit and hit the X’ button after going through two pages.
Does my web site look good?
There are a lot of tech-heads out there developing web sites who feel that the look and feel of a web site is not as important as some of the behind-the-scenes programming features. Although programming features are important, the look and feel of your site is equally important.
Have you ever walked into a store that was poorly kept or in disrepair? The walls weren’t painted properly, boxes were thrown on the floor and employees well you get the picture. This is how your web site can be perceived if it doesn’t have an appropriate look or is not being properly maintained. People may mistake your site for a fly-by-night operation rather than a professional business that is ready to sell quality products and offer the customer superior service.
Is my web site organized well?
Navigation is the most important consideration of a well developed and highly functioning web site. It should be friendly, consistent, and outline concisely the key objectives and features required by visitors. If key objectives or important customer information are buried deep within the site – you should probably reconsider your navigation structure. Often a bit of outside perspective goes a long way when trying to locate potential problems .Ask around host a focus group for the web site, and see what people think. You may be surprised that visitors find it more difficult to utilize your web site then you or your staff. You can also send out a brief customer survey to your current site customers to find out what features they like or find frustrating. Finally, a bit of competitive analysis will give you an insight into how other web sites tackle similar navigation obstacles. Once all of your feedback and research is complete, develop a flow chart or site map ! to ensure all navigation issues have been dealt with before implementing a re-design.
How about some customer service over here?
Despite the fact that many people believe customer service can not exist on the web, it really does. A good example of customer service on the web is a site we built for Huntington Learning Center. The site has a 1-800 number always available in the right hand corner for customers to contact them by phone, a Huntington Learning Center center locator’ and a QuickStart’ feature that allows potential customers to obtain information specific to their needs without having to search the web site to find bits and pieces of relevant content.
Many web sites are also offering live customer support to visitors where they can click a link to start an instant messaging session with a customer service representative. This is very similar to approaching a representative in a store and asking for help. Just make sure somebody is always available to answer customer questions. There is nothing more frustrating than being led to believe help is just a click away only to find that nobody is at the receiving end.
Does your web site offer the customer enough information? Too much information can be a problem if it is not organized well – but as the old saying states – “It’s always better to have more than less.”
I was just recently on the world’s most esteemed web site – www.dell.com. I became frustrated while buying memory for my computer. When I checked out, I suddenly noticed it said, “Units required: 2” I thought it was a mistake or it meant something else. When I proceeded to search for more information regarding this, I couldn’t find any. It just told me that I needed two units without an excuse of why I needed two units. I thought to myself, “Why don’t they just sell them in two’s then?” I ended up not buying it and didn’t even bother to call the Dell Phone Line to ask more. Your web site should always offer the customer the information they are seeking. Experiences like mine can lead to customer frustration and the loss of a sale.
Keeping it Fresh
One of the key advantages to having a web site is the ability to offer information to your customers quickly and easily. Take full advantage of this ability by offering customers fresh and relevant content. You don’t want your customer coming back to the same web site over and over again. They will get bored and eventually seek other methods of obtaining your information and services or possibly take there business elsewhere.
E-commerce
If you operate an e-commerce store, you should always run new promotions and offers that are apparent from the home page. New promotions and offers get the customer hooked and keep them coming back to see what will come next. Of course – you have to provide appropriately targeted incentives to gain a good response.
Service Oriented Businesses
If you are a service oriented business, show visuals and examples of recent work or items you have produced for your customers. Make it look like you are alive and things are happening create excitement!
You may want to look into having your web developers create a content management system’ that will allow your staff to easily update the web site’s content. This will allow your company to streamline the process of keeping the content on the web site fresh.
It’s all About the Relationship The best customers you will have are those customers that have already bought from you. When customers purchase something from your web site or make a general inquiry, allow them to opt-in for a newsletter from your company or organization. A newsletter or promotional list can serve as the bridge of communication between you and your customer. It is a great way to build the relationship. Another great idea is to offer incentives – if a customer buys once, provide them with an e-coupon to receive a discount on their next purchase when they return to your web site. Whatever it is – you want to build and maintain a positive relationship between you and your online customers through your web site.
Kevin Fitzpatrick has been a project manager at Cyber-NY (http://www.cyber-ny.com/) New York City based online marketing agency for over 3 years. He has worked on numerous projects that involve search engine optimization and has secured top placements for numerous clients.
