For years I've been doing some basic research with business uses of the Web. I asked the folks in my group to identify the three or four Web sites that they visit regularly for business purposes. Then I asked them to get together in groups, identify their sites to each other, and figure out what those sites have in common.
It turns out that the Web sites that are highly valuable to business users have three common characteristics. First, Web sites that business users value have lots of relevant information. Second, they are structured so people can find what they are looking for. Third, they use technology wisely.
We’ll cover details of each one of those points and a couple of other big ideas, but right here we want to talk about the things you do to get that visitor perspective.
Here's what we've done with several different clients.
We start by looking inside the company. Find the people who go face-to-face or voice-to-voice with your customers and prospects, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what matters to them. That includes your field sales force, your customer service reps, the folks who answer your telephone -- anybody who's got direct customer contact.
Put those folks together in groups. Ask them what matters to customers. Ask them what kinds of questions they have to answer all the time. That information will start you to building a great Web site, but it's not enough.
Go out and talk to some real, live customers. Better yet, put them on your Web site design team.
One client that I worked this with did this in a particularly creative and effective way. The CEO started it all by identifying customers who mattered. Some of them were the biggest and most profitable customers. Some of them were customers who had influence with others in the marketplace. Still others were people who our internal staffers thought were particularly good at identifying issues and articulating them.
We put those folks on our "Web Design Team.% They were able to select a level of involvement that was comfortable for them.
Some of them wanted to participate in meetings and regular e-mails. They wanted lots of involvement to help make a site that would work for them. Others didn't have the time or inclination for that. They wanted to get regular e-mails, and they promised that they'd share their comments, but that was about it.
A third group wanted to be kept informed. We just sent them e-mail, and they only commented when they felt there was a big issue.
That's great technique. It works. I recommend it. But the CEO of our company did one more thing that really brought this particular project home.
He made everybody on the team a "Team Member.% Everybody, no matter what level of involvement, got a Web design team baseball cap.
For the folks who wanted to get e-mail and were willing to respond, there were Web design team T-shirts. But the CEO wasn't done. The folks who made the biggest commitment, meetings and e-mail, got baseball-type jackets with the company logo and an additional legend that said "Web Design Team.%
All of this rewarding had two effects. Effect number one was that we got lots of good input from lots of valuable customers, and they felt valued as well. I should mention, that everyone of them got a handwritten note from the CEO when they got their wearable premiums.
But there was another benefit that came out of this that we simply didn't anticipate. About two-thirds of the way through the design project, there was a regional industry conference. We were going to be at the trade show, and one of the things we were going to talk about was the new Web site and communication with our excellent customers.
About two weeks before the event, this CEO called me up. "Hey," he said, "I just had a call from one of our top customers and design-team members, and he gave me a great idea.%
The great idea had come in the form of a question. "Is it okay to wear my Web Design Team jacket to the trade show?”
Okay? It was a super way to promote the project that we hadn't even thought of. We fired out an e-mail at everybody at all levels of the design team.
On the day of the trade show, Web-design ball caps, T-shirts, and jackets were seen all over the conference area. Those folks were showing off their affiliation, telling folks about our site and our efforts, and being great ambassadors because we were asking for their opinion. We even signed up a couple of new team members that day.
Making It Work
The best way to design your site from a visitor's perspective is to get those visitors involved.
Look for potential Web design team members who are good customers or prospects, and also who are excellent communicators.
Let folks choose their level of involvement.
Thank them, reward them, and help them feel like the special people they are.
Created/Revised/Reviewed: 30 July 2002
This is only one Big Idea. You'll find more in Wally's book, What's the Big Idea? and in his Big Idea column. There's a complete list on the Main Big Idea page. You may also order the book by clicking here.
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