The better corporate site - Dreamhost - for example
There are a lot of corporate web sites. Most are designed to be ugly brochures, and most seem to work hard to convince me that I don’t want to do business with that organization. I’ll tell you why — and what I prefer to see — in the next pane…
Technorati Tags: dreamhost, Seth godin, Trojan Room, web site design
Some of us old farts were active on the Internet before there was a World Wide Web. When a business managed to set up its first web site, it was often done by one of the geeks on staff, and management was barely aware that the firm even had a site. Most of those sites were a view into the organization. (Remember the Trojan Room coffee pot?).
Somehow that all changed, and now most corporate sites seemed to be designed by the same people who organize the half-truths and fictions that are published as the Annual Report. Instead of inviting the browser into the company, the site becomes a barrier to understanding what the business is really all about.
A tip-off is seeing smiling models on the home page. You know that they were hired by the agency and don’t actually work at that firm. They seem to be selling perfect teeth and ethic diversity.
Usually I am at that site because I want some information or I am considering doing some business with the company. In the latter case, I am the most valuable browser possible, I am a prospect. Probably my visit is the #1 reason the site exists. I have arrived with my bundle of wants (if the web site can fulfill my wants, then I am a qualified prospect!), and the company has the opportunity to advance me from a prospect into a customer.
If this is going to work, two things need to happen.
- I need to find what I am seeking
- I need to trust the firm enough to reveal the precious information on my credit card
Navigation at many sites seems to be a function of the pretty design, and not really there to help me find exactly my target information, product, or service. I know that the site-navigation has failed when the fastest way for me to find my target is to abandon their menus and to search their site using Google.
If I am a potential client, you’d think that the reason that I am there is that I might buy something. If I am going to buy something, then, at some point I will have to pay for it. Why, then, is it often so hard to determine the price? I think they imagine that the sticker shock is so great, that unless they soften me up with 20 minutes of obligatory perusing many pages of information, and then insist that I walk through most of the check-out process, before they show me the price, I will leave.
Tell me… are there market studies and focus groups that have demonstrated that this makes sales? It make me leave.
So, what would I like to see?
First, I need to find what I am seeking. Fast. If I am to buy something, I need to know what it will cost right away. Since I am probably visiting several similar sites, I already know the range of possibilities, so I will not be surprised.
Let me be clear about this next point: it is only after I can see that the product that I am investigating might solve my problem that I will want to drill down to explore the details. No, I am not going to warm to your offering by reading the details first. I will not spend the time.
Yes, I like details. When I can see that you might have what I need to solve my problem, then I want to know everything. Now I have time. My credit card is beginning to vibrate.
My next problem is that the answers to my obvious questions are not available. Didn’t you think I might be interested? Have you omitted the details because when I read them you think I will be disappointed? That’s what I will conclude (and my credit card just went limp). You lose.
Let’s suppose you have what I am seeking, and now I am considering consummating our deal.
Here, I can provide an example. We wanted a web host for this blog and a place to experiment with a number of applications. You have probably noticed that there are lots of Internet providers out there. So, we had our short-list of requirements: reliability, support, capacity, speed, and a few special toys in the back room that we felt we needed or wanted.
In the process of our search, we actually tried several services — and that’s a story all by itself. If you do a domain search of this blog, you will see that we are using Dreamhost.
The home page of Dreamhost (as of writing) has:
- only 120 words on the home page
- lots of white space
4 lines of largest type told me what I was seeking:
- 500 GB Disk Storage
- 5 TB Monthly Bandwidth
- Plus many more features!
- Sign up now for $5.95/mo*
“more features” and “$5.95/mo” were both links so I could immediately drill down to find the details I was seeking.
Our community seems to accept that if an organization or an individual achieves a passing grade, that is good enough. There is lots of competition, and on the Internet your competitor is only a click away.
I believe that good enough is not good enough. If all you can do is meet people’s expectations you must find a way to do better. You must always exceed their expectations. Always.
500 GB storage (writing in late 2007) is a whopping amount of storage for $6/mo. But there are other sites offering that. It is only when you examine the details that you find that the 500 GB is available at signup, and it automatically increases weekly by 2 GB. Okay, our expectations were exceeded.
Can we trust Dreamhost to host our web site? Our personal reputations are at stake. Over the years I’ve found that 3 times my Internet Service Provider has been bought by a larger firm. Where once I had reliable personal service from someone I’d actually met, I am now filing trouble tickets with strangers. At least the server farms were within driving distance, and I felt as if I could go and visit my data. No, I never did.
Dreamhost is in another country!
Before my credit card comes out of my wallet, I have a few more tests. I do this whenever I am buying equipment or software online, or just checking out a company.
First, I’ll want to know where the organization does business — the street address. In doing this test, I’ve found that some addresses are not real. They are just mail-drops. Google the address and you will find that dozens of companies share it.
Why do company web sites hide the address? For many companies, the only way to find the real address is to look in the section where they are offering employment and see where hopefuls have to send their resumes. The page called “Contact Us” is just a form I am supposed to fill out.
Sometimes I’ll need to do a search on the domain name to find an address. But lately, that is often hidden.
Usually, I will take a couple of moments more and use Google satellite maps to look at the place that the company calls home. For some small shareware providers, it may turn out to be a house in a subdivision.
Now, at least I know where my money is going. If I cannot determine this, we don’t have a deal.
Finally, I will want to know who is in charge of the company. Most sites have an “About Us” page. As I understand the word, “us” means people — not the corporate entity. How often have you gone there to find out about THEM and read more hype about what a wonderful firm this is.
When I can see who are the head honchos, I may do a fast search of their names on Google to see what they are up to and what people have said about them.
All of this happens in much less time that it has taken for you to read this. Try it yourself with Dreamhost.
In spite of the spam and malware on the Internet, one of the aspects of doing business on the bitstream seems to be that people have to earn your trust and your business. Seth Godin describes this in his book, Permission Marketing. I like this.
Why do so many corporate sites fail my tests? They are designed by designers who are trying to please the people in the company who know more about what what they want to say to the world than they know about me, the potential customer. The designers ask, “Do you like the way this looks?” They should say, “We’ve tested this with a range of people in your target market, and here is what they do with the site.”
And so we end up with corporate sites that look like brochures or the Annual Report. Pretty design. Annoying interface.
One Response to “The better corporate site - Dreamhost - for example”
July 8th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Thanks for this Nice post, Really usefull all of us. just bookmarked this post in my digg profile, hope you will update more post soon.
I really liked your blog!
Regards,
Shaza
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