This post was first published on the blog of Future Point of View, Scott Klososky’s consulting firm.
Last weekend I went searching for a home security system. I was trying to decide between two different competitors. What sold me on one vs. the other? An owner’s manual. Yeah, that big paperweight of a book that comes with many large products that require either set-up or maintenance. One product featured an owner’s manual as an online sales tool, the other did not. Among other things, the product’s owner’s manual let me see how easy the security system’s installation would be. It’s amazing that something so small could help turn a sale.
Support is the New Marketing
In order to close a sale today you need to give customers more value, including support traditionally saved for post-transaction customer service. The internet has increased customer intelligence. Customers have the ability to fully “test drive” a product before they buy. Identifying and offering everything they need to test drive this product is more critical than ever. Make sure you have as much information about a product available on your website, and do not be afraid of customer reviews (even if they’re negative at times). People want an honest assessment from peers, providing them can lead to a greater number of transactions.
If something as simple as an owner’s manual can sway a sale, it got me curious what else is being overlooked.
Don’t Ignore The Importance of Navigation
Content is King! Digital Marketing is the Future! Data is the New Oil! Sure these statements might all be true, but website navigation is the foundation of your website. It is the building’s entire architecture. One misplaced beam or brick and the total structure could topple. When you are designing your website’s navigation, you need to do so from a user perspective. You need to search the way they would search and navigate the site the way they would. Take that journey along with your user. Follow them down the pathway from recognition to conversion. Then design the navigation from there. As English writer Issak Walton once said, ”good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter.” These words are extremely appropriate when it comes to building and maintaining a successful website.
Do Everything You Can to Provide a Pleasant Tour
Have you ever asked a sales clerk a question only to find this clerk had to go ask his boss for the answer. Frustrating, right? Bad usability is like a clueless sales clerk, makes a visitor look for the nearest exit. Test the website on users, get their feedback. Then you have concrete evidence of ways you can improve the usability of your website and, in turn, user satisfaction.
Every time a visitor enters your website, a transaction has already taken place. You are offering this visitor information; your visitor is offering their time. For a visitor, this is a precious resource; one that can also be bartered inside every dot com the world-wide-web has ever known. A visitor wants to spend as little of this resource as possible in search of the information they are seeking out. If your website can’t provide this information in a painless and efficient way, visitors will make liberal use of the back button.
Use Your Words
You know when you get into a conversation with someone, and he uses a word you don’t understand. You don’t want to seem like a fool, so you let it pass; it’s still frustrating. You never want to frustrate your audience in this manner. Make sure you are using language that visitors will understand. Also try and avoid industry-specific words. Not only can these words be confusing, they can hurt your SEO and be detrimental to your findability. You need to be sure that every word is clear in its intent. People have a low threshold for confusion. Make sure that the shingle that hangs over every page link accurately and clearly defines what is waiting on that page.
When users navigate your website, you are taking them on a journey. You have a lot of control over the success or failure of this journey. Will it be easy and efficient or perplexing and painful? The answer to that question will define the success or failure of your website. Good companies makes the way shorter. Bad company just gets in the way.
A former CEO of three successful tech startup companies and principal at consulting firm Future Point of View, Scott Klososky specializes in seeing beyond the horizon of how technology is changing the world. His unique perspectives on technology, business culture, and the future allow him to travel the globe as an international speaker, consultant, and author, working with senior execs in organizations ranging from the Fortune 500 to universities, nonprofits, and countless professional associations and coalitions.
