Websites that work
Websites that work can be defined by their results. The best are those that deliver on their objectives - generally to achieve a sales target or number of leads.
But how do websites that work, work? Forrester Research reports that 50% of potential sales are lost because users can't find the information they want, 40% of users don't return to a problem site and only about 3% of sites pass Forrester's usability guidelines.
While usability covers a broad range of issues including many aspects, (and you can't go past Jakob Nielsen www.useit.com to find out more) I'll list below some broad principles that you should consider (and try to apply) in order to get the most out of your website.
Bear in mind though that trade-offs will frequently have to be made between competing needs so rarely (if ever) can all of these principles be applied to a single site.
For your website to work it should be:
- More than just a laundry list: Most websites are just this: a list of every feature offered in the product, regardless of whether the visitor is interested or not. A list leaves the visitor to do all the work of sorting out what's different from everybody else, and what's relevant to their situation. How many prospects are lost because they can't be bothered to do this?
- Engaging: Structured and written from the prospect's standpoint, not from yours or the firm's.
- Smart and sharp: Within a few seconds of arriving the visitor should be convinced that they're arrived at the right place. The USP is clear and all the key needs of the main prospect segments are addressed on the front page - through both content and structure: as menu items, content items (headings and body copy, captions, graphics, alt tags) and in-content links into other pages.
- Involving: The site offers multiple ways for the visitor to interact and to stay in touch - through downloads, newsletters, quizzes etc.
- Compelling: Each visitor arrives with questions and needs. At the end of the session the visitor should leave having had those needs met and with an action step taken or in mind.
- Authoritative: Content is believable and is backed up through such things as testimonials and case studies, research, white papers and articles.
- Relevant: The visitor wants to see the solution in action in a situation that he/she can relate to.
- Up to date: News that's new; nothing out of date; recent updates - so it's clear that the site is cared for.
- Structured: The information has to be structured in a way that makes sense to the visitor, so categories or page names based on such things as product release numbers or inhouse jargon don't work.
- Accessible: When the visitor wants more information he/she can get to it in one or two clicks at most.
- Concise: Less is more. Puffery wastes time. Like that.
- Unambiguous: Clarity is vital. Be clear and specific.
The following websites appear to me to do well on many of these points:
Exercise: Consider your own website. Is it delivering sales and/or leads to the extent that you want it to? If not, try comparing your website with those listed above. Maybe you'll identify some action steps you can take to improve your site's performance.
Here's another exercise: - An attractive, comfortable color palette which engages -- and even addresses colorblindness.
- Attractive product shots that are large enough to reveal important elements along with informative, benefit-focused captions.
- A value proposition or branding statement in the initial eyepath.
- Simple and effective navigation which shows what viewers can expect to find.
- Eye path driven to the important calls to action.
- All graphic elements are optimized for fast loading and contribution to conversion goals.
- Pages are simple, clean, and effective.
- Insure that viewers can "get it" in 10 seconds or less.
Apply these points to your website. How does it fare? |
Event marketing A successful local health sector company operating worldwide asked Vital Marketing to improve its presence at tradeshows. >>More
| Marketing advice and action A start-up SaaS provider in the business services market requested advice from Vital Marketing on the best actions to take with both limited budget and staff resources. >>More
|
"80-95% of 'purely technical' spin-offs fail, while 80-95% of MIT teams which combine marketing, business and technical skills succeed."
- Kenneth P Morse,
Senior Lecturer and Managing Director,
MIT Entrepreneurship Centre.
|
"Alec was very helpful for me. He has the ability to understand the essence of something and simplify it for the everyman.
It showed when he listened to my marketing and positioning dilemmas and came up with excellent ideas and an action plan for me to get started on."
Alex James,
Director,
Base4 Ltd
|
"Alec helped us formalize our marketing strategy. He produced very relevant and to the point documents that were rich on action points and did not contain any unnecessary marketing talk.
His service and value-add are great and overall we are very impressed with his services."
Arjan Bartlemaar,
Director,
SCE-Tech Ltd.
|
FREE STUFF
Check out Marketing Advisor
for free information on how to do great marketing on a tight budget.
Take us up on our FREE COFFEE offer.
Just call Vital Marketing on 0800 43 82 43 to make a date for a discussion over coffee about your marketing needs.
|
FREE COFFEE
Contact Vital Marketing now. (The first coffee's on us!) You'll find Vital Marketing provides a cost effective resource for meeting your business growth objectives. Call Alec 0800 43 82 43 or email alec@vitalmarketing.co.nz.
|
DELIGHT "We're delighted with the outcome. Alec and his telemarketing team delivered an outstanding result that far exceeded our expectations." Carolyn Henley,
Marketing Manager,
3Com Australia
|
|
