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By Scott Buresh
In previous newsletters, we've
talked about the importance of establishing clear
and measurable website goals for your company. This
month we'll touch upon the importance of making sure
all website contributors, internal or external, creative
or technical, are working together to achieve these
predefined website goals. Different business departments
or individuals may have very different motives and
agendas (some even personal). It's a good idea to
make sure that there is one person responsible for
ensuring everyone is on the same page. Collaboration
is great- but the buck should stop somewhere. Whether
the buck stops with you or you're just one of the
cogs in the machine, chances are you have (or will
have to) deal with one or more of the following scenarios.
With each occurrence, it's important to let the predefined
website goals serve as the litmus test when conflicts
arise.
When the personal preferences
of the boss get in the way
For better or worse, the president or owner of a company
will often have strong opinions on the company website.
Frequently, elements are added without question simply
because the boss "wants it" or "likes
it". Getting the boss to recognize when decisions
are based on personal likes or desires and are not
consistent with the predefined website goals can be
a big step towards getting the site on track. Flashy
intros or graphics and cutesy or cryptic navigation
are all common elements that fall into this category.
It's not uncommon to find that one of the boss's family
members (or even the boss himself) created such elements.
In this situation, the best way to proceed is to respectfully
point out that this is a site for a business and that
perhaps they can satisfy their creative or artistic
ambitions on a personal website. It's hard to sell
this in a lot of cases, because for most businesses
a website has never traditionally been thought of
as a legitimate cost savings/revenue generating component
of the company. Hopefully your boss is a tech savvy
visionary (or expects you to be!). In any case, there
are volumes of statistics available on web user preferences
that can help bolster your arguments for a different
approach.
When you have to rely on
someone else to make changes to the site
Websites with out of date information almost always
run counter to your website goals. It's rare that
a company has someone solely dedicated to maintaining
and managing the website. In a lot of cases, the changes
need to be made by the guy with the big key ring that's
snaking network cable around the building, unpacking
computers, or running some ad-hoc report for the CFO.
It's natural to see conflicts between those who want
the site changed and those who have to change it.
No matter how important it is to the sales and marketing
department that the new product or press release gets
added, it's probably not nearly as important to the
IT guy (whose #1 priority is getting the database
server back up and running). This is where management
and communication can really help. If keeping the
site up to date and error free depends on pulling
in other departments who have different priorities,
look into obtaining some content management tools
so that non-technical people can make the necessary
changes to the website without involving other departments.
If this doesn't fit in your budget and you have to
rely on a single person, ask if more lead-time or
a better change request procedure would make things
easier or more efficient.
When people get creative
urges
Creativity is good. Creativity with a business sensibility
is great. You or someone you work with may be in charge
of making the site and other media look cutting edge,
fresh, eye-catching and appealing. Sometimes there
is a tendency to change or redo the site for the sake
of making it "new"- but the truth is, for
most of your visitors (unless the site is predominately
research or informational based), the site is always
"new". Valid information to consider when
planning site changes might include customer or prospect
feedback, compelling traffic data, changes in the
overall brand and message of the company, or changes
in the goal of the website. The point is that changes
should be made based on clear business rationale consistent
with your website goals, not for the sake of change
itself.
Design by committee
Because on a website it's easy and affordable to make
changes to color, font, pictures, etc, it's also easy
to fall into the trap of having a website designed
by committee. If you ask four people in your organization
what color a button or background should be, you'll
usually get four different answers (each likely based
on personal preference, and not the predefined website
goals). Whether you actively seek opinions or are
required to do so, remember that they are only opinions.
If someone says "red", don't be afraid to
ask why. If there is a valid business case, great.
If not, recognize that it's an exercise that could
go on forever when the resources could be spent in
other, more pressing areas.
When various people want
to add new content
Some people believe that the more information you
can provide about your product, service or company,
the better. Various people in the company may insist
that content of a very detailed or diverse nature
be added to the site without regard to its effect
on the overall site. If the content isn't added in
a controlled manner, consistent with the overall website
goals, the result can be a confusing and disjointed
user experience. You may find that requiring that
people include the "goal" or "purpose"
for each item upon submission may help in the content
management process.
When it's difficult to
change the status quo
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is convince people
within the company that a change of any kind needs
to be made. Statements like "our customers like
it" or "we don't get any complaints"
can become hurdles or distractions that get it in
the way of progress. This can be especially difficult
when a significant amount of money or resources was
invested in the current iteration of the site. Once
again, let the website goals and the available metrics
build your case for or against change. If you can't
get support for drastic or comprehensive change, look
for ways to make individual, subtle changes for the
better. If your incremental changes can demonstrate
a measurable improvement, support for further changes
will most likely follow.
Conclusion
When used to its fullest potential, your website should
be goal oriented, up to date, error free, consistent
with brand and message, and built for the user's experience.
A great deal of cooperation (from the top down) and
a multi-faceted mindset is necessary to make this
happen. It doesn't have to be costly or time consuming
to have a successful website- but it does have to
be an ongoing and coordinated effort with all relevant
parties remaining on the same page. Let the website
goals be your guide.
© Medium Blue 2007
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“In just 60 days after launch, the number of visitors went up three times.... Visitors are browsing twice as many pages, and staying over twice as long, so we know that the message, layout, and content are relevant to our target audience. Now we're getting well-qualified leads to keep our sales people busy selling our big-ticket packages.”
Tom Foss, President, Hill & Foss
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“Coming directly out of our efforts with Medium Blue, we recently landed our single biggest account ever, which is a trend we are looking to continue. Our only regret is that we didn’t hire Medium Blue sooner.”
Director of Sales and Marketing, Well-Known Market Research Company
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