Veröffentlicht am: 17. August 2010

www.fuellhaas.com

MIGROS CLUBSCHULE BUSINESS

Ich freue mich in dem ganz neuen Diplomlehrgang neben Jörg Eugster, Peter Hogenkamp, Maya Reinshagen und vielen weiteren Dozenten ab diesem Winter Website Marketing und Usability zu unterrichten.

BESCHREIBUNG
Das Internet ist mittlerweile die grösste Marketing- und Verkaufs- plattform der Welt. Wie nutzt man das Internet kommerziell für seine Zwecke?

Im Rahmen des Marketing-Mix’ werden zunehmend Online-Marketing- Massnahmen genutzt. Doch welche Methoden sind am wirkungsvollsten? Ist es E-Mail- oder Suchmaschinen-Marketing? Wie gut wirkt Bannerwerbung? Auf welchen Portalen gilt es, Präsenz zu zeigen? Soll man bereits auf Mobile Marketing setzen? Ist der Zeitpunkt richtig für Social Media Marketing und wenn ja, wie soll man diese Web 2.0-Instrumente einsetzen? Was für Alternativen bieten sich an?

Im Lehrgang Online-Marketing Manager/in werden Sie schrittweise von ausgewiesenen Experten mit langjähriger Erfahrung in diese Thematik eingeführt. Dabei werden ldie aktuellen Trends aus der Praxis wie Google, Facebook, Twitter & Co. laufend berücksichtigt.

Die Inhalte werden detailliert, praxisgerecht und anhand vieler Beispiele dargestellt, so dass Sie in der Lage sind, diese direkt in die Praxis umzusetzen.

INHALT
Folgende Inhalte bereiten die künftigen Online-Marketing Manager auf Ihre Aufgaben vor.
Online-Marketing-Strategie (8 Lektionen)
Website-Marketing und Usability (8 Lektionen)
E-Mail-/Newsletter-Marketing (8 Lektionen)
Suchmaschinen-Marketing (SEO, SEM), (16 Lektionen)
Web-Analyse (8 Lektionen)
Social Media Marketing (12 Lektionen)
Online-Werbung (8 Lektionen)
Virales Marketing, Sonderwerbeformen (8 Lektionen)
Mobile Marketing und Mobile Apps (8 Lektionen)
E-Commerce und rechtliche Grundlagen (8 Lektionen)
Einführung in die Diplomarbeit (4 Lektionen)

Details und Anmeldung

What do I mean by this? Let’s go on the customer journey:

1) The first time visitor
The customer visits your site. He wants information about your products, prices, service and so on. He needs all this at his finger tips. Try to imagine all the potential questions a customer might have and make sure to answer them – and that those answers are easily accessible.

2) You are lucky
Your potential client has done all his online research and you are the lucky winner – that is why he is back. This usually happens not within the same day. So make sure that the returning customer is able to find the product again fast. In some instances it makes sense to offer a wish list or basket functionality.

3) The unlucky one
The product unfortunately did not get delivered properly. Or in the case of an insurance company – your client had an accident. So this is still the same website user but he again has totally different needs. He is rather likely upset right now and needs help and support fast. Make sure he can access it directly. And yes – in case the answer is a phone call – offering a real voice, without long waiting lines can increase the customer satisfaction and therefore the perception of your brand in many ways.

A good exampe offers Norwich Union. It is very easy to receive a free quote. In addition they offer the button “Existing Customers” on the upper right hand side where clients can “Make a claim”, “Manage their policy online” and much more.

Read the entire series:

Part 1: How to structure content
Part 2: How many navigation points
Part 3: Dynamic or static navigation
Part 4: Navigation and the customer life cycle
Part 5: Global Navigation

Part 1: How to structure content
Part 2: How many navigation points
Part 3: Dynamic or static navigation
Part 4: Navigation and the customer life cycle
Part 5: Global navigation

First of all you need to define all the content:

1. your target group wants to know
2. is important for your business to be communicated

Then the crucial question is what will your target group be looking for? What are their expectations? Are there structures they are familiar with because all of the competitors are following a similar pattern?

There are several ways to structure content – By:

1. topic, genre, product groups
2. target group
3. activity
4. search patterns

1) Topic, genre, product group navigation
As the title implies – this makes mainly sense when you are selling products or services which can be grouped logically.

2) Target group navigation
This one is very helpful when you offer information that is of interest to particular target groups and the all need to find information fast and directly. You often see this on websites of major banks with navigation points such as:
Private Banking | Business Banking | Press | Investors | Jobs
Sometimes it is very helpful to offer this kind of entry on the homepage in case your main navigation is structured by topic. You see this rather often on university sites. See the two examples below:

3) Activity based navigation
This one is more prominent in software where often activities are more prominent than categories since users want to fulfil certain tasks.

4) Navigation based on search patterns
In case people might look in different ways for a product this navigational structure is suitable. It basically means that for example products in a gift store are searchable by price, by category and by gender.

Sometimes combinations of the above are the best approach. However, always make sure to label the categories precisely with a short verb and noun and avoid jargon and long labels.

http://usabilitychallenge.webnode.com/

Join the Usability Challenge 2008 and participate in the world’s first global usability drive!

On 1 August 2008, we are asking anyone with a passion for usability to solve a usability problem…any usability problem at all…and help make the world a better/safer/less annoying place.

p.s. I was very busy lately – I will do my very best to be more active and write about usability and UX, UI etc. on a regular basis – expect a post every other day (at least twice a week).

1. It is recommended, that the product overview pages follow all a consistent structure. This gives the user the chance to learn your site and with continuing navigation he can orient himself faster.
2. The amount of products presented should allow the user to gain a quick overview.
3. The most relevant questions the user has at this stage should be answered. This allows faster scanning of the products and saves the user possible disappointment on the individual product page itself. This includes the listing of the price and availability.
4. Especially with rather technical or complex products, an online product comparison option is essential to avoid lots of work for the call centre.
5. In addition, sorting functionalities support the user to “customise” the results to his personal needs, such as price, distance, weight, colour etc.

Let’s have a look at two examples buying a Sony Laptop and a new Esprit Jacket:

On the Sony Laptop overview page, the user receives all the essential data he needs.
They even consider the two target groups returning and new customer. The returning one can add the product directly to the shopping cart the new one can add the product to a wish list.
There is the option for product comparison and a sort option.

And the product comparison site: The user can delete rows or columns, start over, get the product advisor and create a PDF for print out and later use.

On the Esprit page as well, the product overview page answers the main questions such as: material, prize, availability, colour selection and new arrivals.

Check out the entire series:

Part 2) Product overview

Part 3) Product presentation

Part 4) Search

Part 5) Check out process

Part 6) The shopping basket

The more the branding strategy is in accord with the corporate identity, the stronger the brand will be reinforced with the target group in the long run. By focusing on brand essentials, unnecessary wastage can be avoided and a strengthening of the brand image and therefore also of the brand value can be achieved. The total expenditure for branding activities will not be increased though the overall branding impact will be improved.

Trust in the brand
As soon as the communication strategy in all media is built upon the corporate identity, the user receives a consistent image of the company and its products: with each contact, his trust in the brand is reinforced and affirmed.

Information transfer targeted for your audience
Appeal to the intellect of the user by enabling him to find all the necessary information that he seeks about a service or product. Communicate your company’s message using concise language which is based on the user’s level of experience with your products or services; avoid using trade jargon. Make additional information easily accessible.

Emotional communication
The distinct use of colours, fonts, wording, forms, and images creates the desired emotions and virtual experience of your brand, which should always be based on the company’s corporate identity. The resulting corporate design needs to follow the same rules in all media.

Product and web experience
A user’s interactive experience with the website strongly influences his perception of the company. Flaws in usability and branding can therefore easily lead the user to conclude that the services and products are also inadequate. In contrast, ease of use highly influences the brand

Fulfilment of expectations
It happens rather frequently that websites are a direct reflection of internal company structures, since the website creators are themselves very familiar with the topics. As a result, internal needs and expectations are prevalent. Good usability assures that the site focuses mainly on the expectations and needs of your target groups and functions in accord with their habits regarding online behaviour.

High quality
Every website must achieve its intended purpose – providing information, entertaining, selling products, building a user community, etc. In each of those cases the user does not want to think about the interaction itself. The more intuitively a user can use the site, the better. If the site meets user expectations, a feeling of trust and quality is established. This is a great opportunity to distinguish the site from the competitor’s.

Increased retention time
The better the site’s concept caters to the target group and the more intuitively it can be used, the longer the user will stay. The focus is, for example, on how the user can be stimulated to look at further content on the site and on how fast central questions of the users are answered.

Higher interaction rate
Intensive use of a site is the result of a targeted structure as well as information and good interaction design. The site’s benefit is obvious to the user, and he can easily find valuable information. How quickly and how intense does the user get involved with your site? What are the incentives to visit the site again? How are interactive elements used?

Reaching a broader audience
By complying with certain design and publishing guidelines the website can reach a broader target group. The site will be accessible for the elderly as well as for the physically or visually impaired.

Joy of use
Over the last few years, the notion of “joy of use” has received increasing attention. It describes the degree of experienced joy of use of a site or software and indicates the personal satisfaction and motivation to interact.

The idea behind the concept sounds tempting at a first glance:
Personalized start pages allow their users to get all of their favorite websites, blogs, news, weather, maps, events, address books, to do lists, email accounts, social networks, search engines, video and photo networks – you name it – in one place, and users then can share the page with their friends.

What are the flaws
Have a look at the screenshot below: E-Mail, Flickr, Youtube, maps, etc.
Now consider the following scenarios and the users’ needs:

1. He wants to check his E-Mail: Where does he go?
   His start page or his E-Mail account?
2. He wants to check out the news on Youtube: Where does he go?
   His start page or Youtube?
3. He wants to upload some images to Flickr: Where does he go?
   His start page or Flickr?
4. He needs directions: Start page or Google maps?

You get the pattern.

So what are the benefits?
That is the big question. Users will fulfil their needs directly. The obstacles of configuring the start page and the loss of time do not match the benefits. A simple start page where a user can assemble all his favorite RSS feeds can offer a quick overview of all the sites’ news, and weather info is a feature many users appreciate. However, most features offered on those sites only mean a click more for the user, and therefore the user would rather go directly to the desired target such as Youtube, the E-Mail account or Flickr.

This is also why Flickr, Youtube, delicious, Facebook and many others got sold or received substantial venture capital. Despite the fact that several Personalized start pages got impressive media coverage, there is little business hype heard.

Lessons learned:
One of the most important factors for being successful is creating a business strategy that fulfils a concrete user need.
And yes, I am still wondering about the business models of today’s personalized start pages.

Who are the players?

Live

However, deciding about which content should go on a site should not only be a matter of translation. Content also needs to meet your customers’ expectations, and those vary from culture to culture. Below is an example for companies which offer services.

Let’s do some stereotyping:

Germany
In a typical business meeting, you’d expect fast and efficient presentation of facts and figures followed by negotiations and then closing the deal. Your language should be formal; using the first name is only appropriate in some business fields. Then, in case precious time allows, you might go for a beer together.

England
You first get offered some tea, you talk about last weekend, your kids, sports, etc. You laugh and take your time. These days almost everybody addresses each other on first name basis. No Sir or Madam. Then you talk about business.

These cultural differences are reflected in the use of language and content on most websites:

Germany

• Language: Often you find a rather abstract list of: We do X, Y, Z and optimize A, B, C. The facts. Straightforward.
• Content: Factual and detailed presentation of content, whitepapers, references
• Establishing trust: Presentation of know-how and skills

England

• Language: A quite generous use of the imperative can be found: Improve X, Y, Z and you will benefit from A, B, C. The text is much more commonly written in the form of a dialogue with the (potential) customer
• Content: More engaging content, proof of satisfied clients and customers
• Establishing trust: Listing of testimonials of previous customers. This happens to a much further degree than on German sites. Some sites even include video interviews with their customers about their satisfaction of the services provided (for example: www.lcm.co.uk). Referrals are also important.

One example of “Establishing trust”: Xing versus LinkedIn
Cultural subleties are also visible in the business network communities of the two countries. While in England LinkedIn is the predominant site, XING is the commonly used one in Germany. Certainly the two sites’ business strategies are not exactly the same, and labelling is another topic in itself. Nevertheless, I found these differences to be a good example of the cultural subtleties.

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XING
In XING users introduce one another (see upper right-hand side),
and the main profile navigation points are:
Business Details | Confirmed Contacts | About me | Guestbook

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LinkedIn
In LinkedIn the first navigation point is “recommend“ (see upper right-hand side.),
and the main profile navigation points are:
Profile | Q&A | Recommendations | Connections