CRM - December 2008 - (Page 31)

The Not-So Little Things Web Analytics | Google’s Website Opti- that aims to remove the need for a techfocused Webmaster or any programming skills beyond copy and paste, drag and drop. The idea is to give the tools to update and maintain the site to the people who have the knowledge, and the vested interest, in the content that resides there. Otherwise, says Paul West, a principal for SharePoint360, your Web site may be at the mercy of a Webmaster who only updates when he has the time—and you risk hurting your business by having static, irrelevant content. Before he publicly launched his site, Rodriguez invited a focus group of 50 students from San Diego State University (SDSU) to take the site for a test run. Based on the feedback, he made changes that were then presented to a second focus group of 30 students from the University of California at Irvine. Rodriguez says he could have kept going, tweaking until no one could find a single complaint, but it’s unrealistic. Nobody’s perfect, and certainly not on the first try. “A site should always be evolving to some extent,” Rodriguez says. “You can’t always be planning. There has to be a time where the rubber meets the road.” (Similarly, Intuit, the software company that makes popular tax preparation products such as QuickBooks, Quicken, and TurboTax, sought the voice of its customers to prepare for its site redesign in preparation for the 2008 tax season. Read more about Intuit’s experience in this month’s Real ROI, page 44.) LET THE NUMBERS SPEAK The expert mentality still plagues many corporations, resulting in what Rosenblatt calls “HiPPO”—the highest-paid person’s mizer is a free tool that can get you up and running in just 15 minutes. The only technical knowledge required is the copy-and-pasting of a couple of lines of JavaScript code. Web analytics provides detailed information about the activities on your site, such as which pages have high bounce rates, what terms people are commonly using to search for products, and what words led visitors to your site. Moreover, you can track at what point customers are dropping out of the buying cycle. This can even be converted into a tool for the consumer as well. Helping them visualize their progress can help provide confidence and encouragement. In addition, services such as ClickTale and Crazy Egg show you what parts of your site are actually being viewed based on factors such as where cursors hovered. Web analytics may point out your problems, but it doesn’t provide an explanation. For this reason, Allen Sebrel, online marketing manager for Amtrak, the transportation services company, 7 Deadly Sins/7 Heavenly Virtues With a tip of the hat to Interwoven’s Seth Rosenblatt and presenters at October’s Shop.org conference, here’s a look at vice and virtue in Website design. Email us examples of your own favorite sinners and saints. SOURCE: WWW.MACYS.COM explains that Web analytics is only one-fourth of your analytical framework. The other factors, all of which carry equal weight in promoting the success of your site, are: competitive analysis, market analysis, and customer analysis. Search-Friendly | Though seemingly tiny, one huge mistake is a disregard for search engine optimization (SEO) best practices, the most basic of which, obviously, involves search. Inadequate search and filtering options on the corporate site are guaranteed to inconvenience your customers and drive them to other, potentially more difficult and expensive, means of getting to you—or even to the competition. Sites that produce incomprehensible Web addresses (URLs) stretching to exorbitant lengths need to pursue a URL-rewrite initiative, Meugniot says. URLs should be as simple and specific as possible. Moreover, they should align with how you index your site map. Pride Focusing the content in a “look at how great we are” perspective, unless it’s used in a way that benefits the customer (e.g., 150 years of great service). Security and Credibility | The impressive vs Humility Giving customers the option of doing what they want, when they want. 1 penetration of online shopping is likely attributable to its convenience, made possible by an increased commitment to best practices around secure e-commerce. Consumers are learning to associate trust when they see a green browser bar or a logo from VeriSign or McAfee. Logos and testimonials, and “As seen on” credentials, offer an extra layer of legitimacy to a product. (See www.destinationCRM.com http://www.Shop.org http://WWW.MACYS.COM http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - December 2008

CRM - December 2008 Contents Front Office Feedback Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point The Rave Is Over CRM on Twitter Financial Frenzy Will Customer Experience Survive in a ‘Soft’ Economy? Holiday Humbug Empowered Consumers Are Ready to Flip the Switch Required Reading Transparency Spiff Up Your Site! They Aim to Please Mixing In a Little Sugar Sweetens the Deal A Newsletter Employs New Tactics A Site Stops Feeling Overtaxed Make ’Em Laugh—Personally Secret of My Success Re:Tooling Scouting Report Pint of View

CRM - December 2008

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