The Working Web

A website isn’t simply, as many people put it, the business card of the 21st century. Never in the history of business cards, have I seen one that was able to take my order, offer me volumes of useful information, nor interact with me in anyway. Nor, is a website simply an extension of print media. A website is a completely different monster that unfortunately many businesses fail to use properly or to its full potential. It has a very unique and important place in the audience capture cycle, and can drive up or drive away business in seconds.

Posters and commercials often pique the interest of an audience in a particular company inspiring them become involved with the company in some way. However, this type of media often only transmits a limited amount of information, in the case of a standard commercial, 30 seconds worth, which really – isn’t a whole lot. But as the world becomes more and more tech savvy, the website very often becomes the audience’s very first stop in learning more about a company. It is at this point of the cycle that audiences often either buy-in or not. Based on a user’s experience on a site, they often decide whether the company is: reputable, honest, organized, and professional - or none of the above.

Very often, one can tell a great deal more about an organization from its website than from any print ad. This is due to the web’s most important feature – interactivity. No one would ever consider a brochure, or a catalogue as being part of customer service (though it is in a way). But when people come to a company’s website, it’s a completely different story – they consider it like the company’s virtual self-serve counter (rather than a plain business card – which often has a company’s URL – hmm interesting…). The way a user is “treated” on a website directly effects how a user thinks they will be treated in person by the company. This is because the “user experience” is part of the company’s branding. It is every bit as important as good customer support, courtesy, and product quality. One reason that many companies fail miserably to recognize this fact, is very few companies actually analyze their web statistics, nor offer proper feedback mechanisms to hear the opinions of their customers.

In the physical world, it’s pretty easy to tell when a customer is upset - they yell at you, they complain to the manager, they give you the “eye” – all captured on camera, and by the minds of all the other customers in the room. On the phone, an irate customer will curse you out, hang-up on you – all captured on tape for quality assurance. The web is slightly different in this respect. Since it’s impossible to see or hear the user while they are surfing your sight, you must rely on the site’s web statistics. As customer traffic would tell you to never place the cash counter in the back of the store, or place batteries at heights only attainable via step ladder – web statistic analysis reveals a website’s own particularities. Through statistical analysis, one can spot visitor trends, interests, and habits in order to design a working website.

As much as working websites can boost sales, a non-working website can have the opposite affect – but at a larger scale. Let’s take the example of an embarrassing mistake on a print ad. How easy is it to share this with a friend of yours living across town? Not very. However, in the case of a bad website – it can be shared with the world in seconds, viral anti-marketing at it’s finest.

So next time, instead of pumping all your money into a radio spot, or billboard – think a step ahead and budget for a working website. Because as easily as a poorly constructed site can create bad word of mouth, a well made one will generate good word of mouth. Now, let’s see a business card do that.

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