Web marketing: it's the little things that really count
When it comes to the Internet, traditional marketing rules often no longer apply. Techniques that focus on driving people to a product with advertising and promotions, and working to retain business with incentives and loyalty programmes don't work well on the web. In fact, a recent study has indicated that many traditional marketing techniques are found annoying by many web site visitors. Such turn-offs include:
- Pop-up surveys
- Use of jargon and hyperbole in web site copy
- Images, animations and graphics that load slowly
- Home pages cluttered with too much information
- Flash features that only work well if you have broadband
- Registration forms that ask for too much personal information
All of these add up to give your visitor a poor user experience. This can be a major problem, especially when considering that on the web, your competitors are just a click away - the tried and trusted techniques designed to retain a customer can often lose them.
So how does one retain customers online? Well, why not start with the basics? The web environment has matured, yet we still witness sites making the most fundamental mistakes. This is often because the site owner concentrates on providing big features that it thinks will appeal, rather than what web visitors actually want.
So, what is it that web visitors want? Well, most visitors to a web site are there to achieve a specific goal, so help them achieve it by providing a positive user experience.
Research has shown that people tend to have high rates of difficulty with basic tasks on the web. Problems with navigating the site or locating basic customer service information are the most common, with over 40 percent of users experiencing some kind of difficulty. Unsurprisingly, their experiences with these basic tasks impacts directly on their ability to achieve their task and the likelihood that they'll return to a web site.
It's not the big features of a web site that effects the overall user experience - though they obviously do have an impact - but rather, it's the sum of all the little things that really count. By concentrating on the little things and making sure that they are executed well, marketers can help ensure that customers reach their goals with minimal fuss and effort. And while customers may not explicitly notice this fine tuning, they will notice that they get what they want with little effort and frustration. In other words, your customer will enjoy a positive user experience - and one which they'll be happy to repeat time and again.
Find out how experience engine can provide sound web marketing strategy and advice. Call 01992 500990 or e-mail us.
