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Every
Click is an Investment
by John S.
Rhodes
Summary
You must treat
each click on your web site as an investment. If your site is satisfying,
and if your site is easy to use, then every click will provide your
customers with value. When they see that value, they will not want to leave
your web site. If customers don't want to leave your site, then your
competitors are not just a click away.
Background
A vicious and
terrible lie has been going around the internet for years. From the earliest
days of the web, people have been saying that every other web site is just a
click away. I'm sick of people talking about losing customers in the very
next click! The truth is that people will stay at a web site as long as it
is easy to use and as long as it provides the right value. They want to stay
and they want to find what they are looking for when they reach your web
site.
Similarly, the
notion of perfect competition is flawed. There is no perfect competition
on the web. In many ways, perfect competition on the web is a dot com
lie. I would argue that competition is more restricted on the web than in meatspace.
Competition seems to be governed by usability, marketing, and actual value.
I hope that doesn't shock you.
Therefore, the
competition is not just a click away and customers are not looking for a way
to get away from your site. They are there by choice and they are hunting
for value. What does this mean to your company and your web site?
Aside: Cognitive Dissonance
You need to
realize that customers are at your web site because they want to be there.
They have chosen to be there. And, you should minimize the cognitive
dissonance of your customers. In effect, this means that you should help
your customers feel like they are in the right place at the right time.
Think of this as verifying to your customers that they have landed on the
moon, if that is what they want to hear. Don't lie, just make your site fit
their expectations. Remember, customers want to be at your site. Comfort
them, and relieve the cognitive dissonance they feel.
Customers Want to Be at Your Site
First, if your web
site is large and if you offer a lot of new content, then why would a
customer leave? If you offer the right products and services, then why would
a customer leave? If you offer high value at a low cost, why would a
customer leave your web site? The truth is that customers found your web
site (excellent!) and now it is your job to deliver what they want. That
doesn't mean you are trying to prevent them from leaving your site and it
doesn't mean that you are trying to trap them. Instead, you need to try to
help your customer use your site. That means you need to care about the
usability of your site, and its value to your customers. Forget about losing
them to your competitors because they are one click away. Remember, research
indicates that people
want to stay at your site.
Second, once
customers click to reach your web site, they have made an investment. Each
click is an investment. Every action, every thought about your site, is
an investment. It is your job to deliver the returns. Customers didn't click
to your site just to find out they have been trapped at your site or that
you can't deliver value. Make it easy for customers to click into what they
want and need. Allow people to fall into the right products and services. As
Bill Skeet has told me many times,
every page is an important as your home page. Each page is a destination.
Give each destination value. Pay back your customers for visiting that exact
page.
Third, do not
underestimate the power of marketing, branding, and loyalty. As I just said,
each click on your web site is an investment. Specifically, every time a
customer clicks on a link on your site, they will become a little bit more
loyal to your site. Again, they don't want to leave. They want to find what
they came for. If each click adds loyalty, then the net amount of
branding increases. Keep satisfying and keep branding.
Fourth, obviously
if you neglect usability then your customers will suffer and each click will
not pay customers back as well as it should. In fact, you might steal value
from your customers. Usability leverages the amount of branding you can
squeeze out of a page. This is a very important point. It indicates how
usability and marketing overlap.
Conclusion
If each click is
an investment then you are obligated to deliver value to your customers. If
you don't deliver value, and if your web site is not usable, then customers
will leave. However, if you do provide value, then users will want to stay.
When customers are treated right then your competitors will seem billions
of miles away.
It is hogwash that
your competitors are lurking around the corner. Even if they are, who cares?
Your customer has hunted you down and you should deliver value. You need to
pay them back That is why once a customer reaches your site, you need
to deliver high value and your site must be easy to use.
Each click
is an investment.
What next?
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