Jun

19

Key Messages from the Gerry McGovern Masterclass, Ottawa, May 5-6, 2008

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Wild Abandon
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To wrap up this interview series with Krista Vieira, we’re featuring the Key Messages generated by conference attendees.

If you missed the interview series read these:

Key Messages from the Gerry McGovern Masterclass, Ottawa, May 5-6, 2008

  • We need a clarity of understanding of what our website is for.
  • To much choice = no choice.
  • We must focus on what our customers want. Why are they coming to our website? What task are they trying to complete?

Customers

Customers are:

  • Harsh, demanding and difficult
  • Skeptical and cynical of authority
  • Have the power on the - not the organization
  • Dictators, not kings
  • Impatient
  • Quick to use they’re favourite button - the Back button

reality #1: The takes the power to control information away from the organization and gives it to the people.

The is about giving real information and facts. The allows people to get to know a subject better or make a better decision. People can comparison shop; read reviews; find out what other people think, etc.

The is the land of A.D.D. We live in a money rich, time poor economy. Time is our most valuable resource. We measure our website’s success by the time it takes users to do something; the quicker they perform the task, the better. The sin of the modern economy - though shall not waste my time.

reality #2: Using the is not a planned activity; it’s rushed, impatient and hurried. People are searching the in between commercial breaks, after they’ve put the children to bed, when they’re tired. Accept this: the is ALWAYS fitted in between something else.

Building Trust

  • People trust people like themselves, not authority figures. They will trust the factory worker more than the CEO.
  • Give the truth on the not PR or marketing. This will build trust.
  • No one believes an organization is perfect, so they don’t expect it.

Importance of Simplicity

  • We read on the like we’re riding down an escalator.
  • needs to be direct and to the point. Think speed of action and clarity of message.
  • The is an active doing medium, so use the language of action. Don’t talk about what you’ve done or what you’re going to do. Don’t become the passive communicator, become the active facilitator of the .
  • Every time you add to your website, you complicate things. There is always a trade-off with simplicity. To make something more simple means something else will be more complicated. Focus on doing your top task well, then worry about the rest of the website.
  • Something that’s easy is immediately doable. Show by doing; don’t talk about it. For example: doesn’t have to explain to you how to search. The simplicity of it immediately makes it usable.
  • Don’t talk about an application form, let people use it.

Remember, websites are built from, and function, on words.

The is Self- or Having a Customer-Centric Website

Only having information on the is the greatest mismanagement of a website. People are not coming to websites looking for information. Do you go to an information booth and just ask them to give you information? People come to the to solve a problem.

Information only has value when associated with a task. Identify the most important tasks and make sure your customer’s can find them and complete them quickly.

reality #3: Sometimes we spend so much time doing things wrong, that we don’t have the time to do things right. The best websites focus on their top tasks and keep improving them. They find out how people are reacting.
3 core rules of self-:

  1. Convenience
  2. Speed
  3. Price (the is the land of the cheap deal)

If you can’t do price, you’d better do the other two really well.

reality #4: Having a customer-centric website means the focuses on what the customer wants. When an organization doesn’t know its customers or what they want, they end up with a put-it-upper website: can you put this up for me by Thursday? The 20,000 page website is built by put-it-uppers.

Economies that aren’t successful put numerous steps in the way of their customers. For example, in Peru it takes 289 steps to set up a company.

We measure success by the amount of time it takes people to do something.

To have a customer-centric website:

  1. Identify the top tasks
  2. Speak the language the customer is using. Don’t make them use the organization’s language.

The is where you go to do stuff. In order for a person to do something, a website must be useful. We must potty train our websites so we get rid of the we-we’s: We did this; we launched that.

We must focus on what the customer wants to do.

Additional Resources:

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