| Over the past couple of years thousands of companies
joined in the rush to the Web. If a company didn't have a Web site
they'd hear complaints. Well, today lots of companies have Web sites.
But many of these sites were quickly put together so that the company
could get past this "distraction" and say, "There,
we have a Web site. Satisfied?" Unfortunately, many of these
initial attempts at Web sites just don't work as well as they should.
So, what's next?
What's your Web site for? Are you trying to increase
sales? Move into a new market segment? Reduce the cost of distributing
product information? Reduce product support costs? Improve customer
service? Distribute software? Create a venue in which to sell
advertising? Distribute company information for investors?
Typically companies have a variety of goals they'd like to accomplish
with their Web sites. The first step is to enumerate and rank
the goals for the site. Without goals the site will lack cohesion
and may lack value. But having said this, also keep your mind
open to serendipity: it is not only possible but likely that unforeseen
benefits will emerge from your experience in cyberspace. Watch
for them and be ready to build on them.
How will you know if you're successful? The metric most
often used for Web site success is the number of hits. More hits
is better than fewer. But it's not a very specific metric and
for most sites, doesn't relate well to goals. At Texas Instruments
the most important metrics are two: downloads of technical documents
and the number of telephone calls to the technical support line.
Integrated circuits require a lot of technical documentation--mainly
spec sheets and application notes. It costs TI an average of about
$6 to send a paper document through the mail. Each technical document
downloaded avoids a $6 cost. Thereby, TI can count the number
of technical document downloads, multiply by $6 to compute the
cost avoidance benefit of that portion of their Web site. The
technical info on the Web site contains the kind of material that
the telephone technical support line covers. If customers are
better served by Web access, costly human technical support can
be reduced....and has been. TI has measured a decline of more
than 20% per year in tech support calls in spite of expanding
business since the Web site became fully operational.
Can the right people find you? The right people are
the ones you've built the Web site for. They are typically customers,
potential customers, investors, possibly suppliers or the local
community. When we built the site for the Boy Scouts of America
the primary audiences were clear: scouts, adult scout leaders,
potential scouts and leaders and potential benefactors to Scouting.
The way to bring the Web site to the attention of scouts and scout
leaders was clear: have a memorable URL and put it on everything
that BSA put in the hands of scouts and leaders. Potential scouts,
leaders and benefactors are a less well defined group. At least
make it easy for someone searching for you to find you. Register
at the Net search facilities. Make sure your site comes up on
keyword searches that are likely to be used to find you. Double
check the search facilities to make sure you appear. When general
advertising is done for Scouting, make the URL visible on the
ad: there is far more information available on the Web site than
could ever appear in a print ad.
What makes them glad that they found you? Content. Compelling
content is something in the mind of the reader. For most of us,
for most of the time, specifications and price lists of tires
would not constitute compelling content. But when someone is in
the market for new tires, she may find clear text about the differences
between steel belted and bias ply a real page turner. Know your
market. Know your goals. Make sure your site does exactly what
it was meant to do and does it well.
How does the site need to behave to work? Not all Web
pages are created equal and they are not all of equal interest
to your visitors. Make the content visitors have come to see readily
accessible, not buried under many tedious navigation pages. And
if those navigation pages include large graphics (i.e., slow to
download) that provide no perceived value to the visitor, you
are simply annoying her. Study your usage statistics. Look critically
at your pages. How might your site be re-architected to better
serve?
How does the site need to look to work? Graphic design
for Web sites includes layout, type, color, images and animation.
These elements are used to convey coherence, context and emphasis.
Look at other sites in your marketplace. Consider how the five
elements of graphic design have been used. How do they contribute
to the three goals? Is it pleasing? Is it effective? How does
yours compare? Consider not only how they look, but what tradeoffs
have been made to achieve the look. For those who are not graphic
designers, it may be difficult to articulate just why the look
of one site seems to work better than the look of another, but
often we can recognize that it does. Look especially for those
elements that appear to have been included as technology exercises,
simply to impress. The key to graphic design is often restraint.
How can you use email? Email continues to be thought
of by many as the "killer application" of the Internet...the
Web notwithstanding. Email is the best way for staying in touch
with your customers without putting the burden of initiative on
them. Collect email addresses of those interested in your products
and events, then send them periodic newsletters and announcements.
After all, these people have indicated a clear interest in your
products by volunteering to hear about them. If your company has
a large range of products, allow visitors to specify their areas
of interest, then send customized email containing only those
sections relevant to the customer's interests. This is the approach
we took to the TI&ME system: it not only produces a customized
What's New page when a visitor comes to the site but sends out
a customized What's New newsletter by email weekly. Tens of thousands
of customers have signed up for the service. And remember: email
costs you nothing.
Another critical use of email is to keep customers informed
of the progress of orders. When a customer places an order for
an item that will be shipped (as opposed to software which they
may download immediately), send them an email confirming the order,
another one when the order has been shipped and others as appropriate
if there are any delays in shipping and if follow-up is appropriate.
How can you use discussion groups? Thousands or millions
of people may visit a Web site on any one day yet be entirely
oblivious to the presence of others (other than through degraded
response times). All these people have at least one thing in common:
they are interested in the content of the site. They may also
be interested in one another. Discussion groups and chat groups
make it possible for them to meet and talk. Discussion groups
can be implemented through email mailing lists, newsgroups or
Web-based discussion systems. It's a great way to enhance customer
service, find out more about what is on your customer's mind and
enable customers to help one another better use your products.
Do online transactions make sense? Online purchases can
be a very low cost way of doing business. Like mail order, it
centralizes inventory and fulfillment while making products available
worldwide. And in many cases, orders taken over the Net are simply
forwarded to manufacturers or distributors who then drop ship
the item to the customer. No inventory required by the online
store itself. Unlike mail order, it eliminates the largest expenses:
mailing out catalogs and taking telephone orders. Your catalog
can appear online and orders can be placed with credit cards which
can now be verified automatically in seconds. And what about non-monetary
transactions? A local government we worked with is putting all
applications for government permits and services online.
©1997, Harry Tennant & Associates |
