Solid Customer Experience in 8 Steps
1. The most important step is to KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE! Provide content that will add value to their bottom line. What do they need to know to feel comfortable about making a purchase or taking action? Call your best customers and find out what services or features they want from you online.
2. You need to KNOW YOUR COMPETITION! Knowing what your competitors are doing can make or break your success on the Web. Make sure that you know how your visitors perceive your competitors.
3. DEFINE YOUR ONLINE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. What does your business want from customers on the Internet? Sales? Referrals? Registration? Information? Before you do anything, outline your goals and define what you expect from your site. Then, determine how you will organize the pages that get customers to take action!
4. CONSIDER YOUR CUSTOMERS’ EXPERIENCE when they visit your new site. Can they easily link from page to page and be led to the most interesting information that relates to them? If you have a diverse set of customers with different needs, consider every type of customer who makes a difference to your bottom line. Make sure you include content and ways to lead them to a purchase.
5. OFFER PAGES THAT ARE COMPELLING AND CONCISE. Make your points early. If you don’t get your visitors’ attention in the first few sentences, you will lose them to your competition. Deliver your content in the order of its importance. Don’t fall into the trap of holding back on your message to keep customers “turning the pages.” They won’t. Summarize, and then link your visitors to text that is rich in content.
6. SAY IT LIKE IT IS. Most people are seeking information on the Web, and they don’t want to waste time interpreting cute or complex header and text styles. Make it as easy as possible to interpret what you do and how visitors can get what they need. Keep it simple.
7. PROVIDE CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS to take action, find information, or navigate your site. Instructions should lead your visitors to take action according to your online business goals and objectives.
8. CROSS-SELL AND UP-SELL key assets and resources to your visitors. You have spent time making each page valuable, so help them find information with a link that makes sense. The more interactive your site is, the more value you add to the experience. Link to other pages and sections whenever possible.
Remember: No matter how flashy, web 2.0 a web site is or how many of the latest gimmicks it has, it is doomed if it has nothing to say.
- What content will solve your customers’ daily business challenges?
- What are the top five actions you want a visitor to take while browsing your Web site?
- What do customers need to know about your company to take action?
- Does your site invite customers to contact you or make a purchase?
- Does your site get responses from the right customers?
- Is it easy for your customers to get to the information they need?