Question & Answers For Webinar; Web Design: What You Should Know

Here are all of the questions from Friday's webinar. Not too many which is great that means that I answered all of your questions during the session. If you missed Friday's webinar or would like to rewatch it please visit our website at:

http://www.situatedresearch.com

Questions & Answers

1. Different people have different expectations of their websites. What are the different expectations? Is just a show and tell of the company? Is it a POP tool? Does it provide a repository of common information? Can you address where the attendees stand?

• You are correct in saying that everyone has different expectations for their website. Part of doing Usability testing is doing a stakeholder analysis. That involves finding out who has a vested interest in the website and determining their needs and wants. 
• Good usability can help to overcome different likes and dislikes by easy to use, functional, etc. 
• However, tradeoffs sometimes have to be made: for instance, if one stakeholder (a particular user, business owner, etc.) prefers a feature be done in a certain way, while others prefer it done another way. In these cases, final design decisions are discussed with all in mind so that everyone's needs can be met as best as possible.
• When discussing tradeoffs with clients, many factors have weight: the size of the stakeholder group (percentage of the total site visitors), the severity of potential problems of *not* doing something in a particular way, and industry standards
• When debating among several ways of doing things, we bring in our expertise of current and future trends, so that functionality is common and easy to use for the end-user.
  • An example of various stakeholders affecting a website is on situatedresearch.com. We have a wide audience, and potential clients (stakeholders) come from many different industries: software design; small businesses looking for a website; the video game industry, and educators. 
  • One way that we address this is to provide separate sections of the website which are tailored to each specific audience. For example, under our 'Services' page, we have separate sections for each potential client, so they can click through to a page which was designed for them (that type of client).
  • Other pages which are not specific to a particular stakeholder (like our 'Contact' page) are not divided for separate stakeholders, since it is not necessary. 
• Again, completing a stakeholder analysis should be part of the site's design, which is a standard practice when bringing usability and information architecture into designing websites. When meeting clients, we thoroughly discuss with clients their target audience / stakeholders for their new website so that the final site is a hit for each potential group.

2. Define "effective"

•  Webster's dictionary: "producing a decided, decisive, or desired effect "
  • This is a general description, but useful for determining / measuring the effectiveness of technology among end-users.
• Focusing on web design, an effective site could be rated by many different measures:
  • Gets a point across
  • Boosts sales
  • Markets / brands a business
  • Spreads a specific message to particular groups (religious / political / regional activities / sports / etc.)
  • Provides a particular service well, such as communication, collaboration, etc (social networking / connecting with friends / etc.)
• A comprehensive list of potential 'effective' measures could be quite exhaustive. What is important is to focus on the specific goals of the website. These will determine how 'effective' the site is to the people that use it.
  • For example, Facebook: Their goal of connecting existing friends with each other was met very well (effective). Connecting non-existing friends (new connections) - Facebook is not very effective at this.
  • Another example: LinkedIn: They were very effective at connecting professional contacts, and support special interest groups and discussions. These make the site more effective for making new connections (non-existing friendships / contacts) 
• As mentioned previously, setting goals for your website will be the determining factors on measuring its "effectiveness". At Situated Research, we take pride in listening to our clients and really understanding their needs and how they do business. This helps us design a site that suits their characteristics, making it highly effective in communicating their message and achieving their objectives. 

3. How specifically do you drive business that results in profit, to the website?

• We expect that good website designs will pay for themselves through an increase in business.
• Matthew Sharritt, Ph.D., President of Situated Research, has studied and applied proven techniques (from usability / user experience and information architecture) that are trust-building with your potential clients. By putting this expertise to use in designing your website, we can help you avoid end-user frustration that will cause potential customers to leave your website and avoid doing business with your company.
  • In addition to design, back-end programming of meta-tags (meta data which tells search engines / web crawlers what your website is about) can improve searchability. Your website content also is very important: specific keywords that you would like your site to be ranked highly for (when others search for that term) need to be in page titles, headings, and within the content frequently in order for search engines to rank that page high.
  • Many other things contribute, such as well-written code. By combining a spectacular site with SEO, a site can rank high in searches and end up bringing in a considerable amount of business for your company. With an exponentially growing base of Internet users, the amount of business coming from your website should grow as well, if your site was designed properly.
  • For more information, you can read a white paper written by Matthew Sharritt, Ph.D. on Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Branding, and Social Networking.
• A considerable amount of credible research has proven the relationship between the design of a site is tied to consumer trust. In other words, a well-designed website will build trust with potential customers, while a poorly-designed site will instantly reduce your credibility and trust with potential customers. This directly ties the design of your website to the amount of incoming business!

Written By: Michel Sharritt

NEW BLOG

We have decided to use WordPress for our blog now.

You can see our new blog at:

http://blog.situatedresearch.com

Thanks so much for following.

Build A Better Business By Listening To Your Customers

Do you ever wonder what your customers think of your business? Are you meeting their expectations? Are there areas that need improvement? Will they like that product or service enhancement you’ve been thinking about?

All those answers and more are there for the asking. All you have to do is listen.

A casual conversation can yield a tremendous amount of valuable information about why your customers are coming to you, what you are and are not doing right, and whether past problems have been fully rectified. You can also get insights on the issues and needs they’re facing, giving you ideas on ways in which your business can help.

You shouldn’t put customers on the spot for answers, of course, particularly if they are pressed for time. Instead, agree to meet or talk at a convenient time and discuss ways you can help customers explore their options and select the right action to achieve their goals. Remember, your small business will gain customer trust only by listening, not rambling endlessly about what you offer. Results are what customers care about the most. If you provide results, you gain their business.

Once you’ve listened attentively, you have the information you need to create an urgency to act that is based on the client’s needs, not yours. No need to push. Just use your knowledge to understand the customer’s own urgency. That’s why they are talking to you in the first place.

As you hold these conversations, common themes will likely emerge that you can incorporate into your service strategy. Remember too that while you should treat all customers equally well, not all of them have the same priorities and concerns. An issue that Customer A perceives as absolutely critical may be hardly worth talking about to Customer B. Still, only a few minor adjustments may be necessary to address the needs of both, further enhancing your reputation as a can-do business!

Customer satisfaction is crucial to a small business.

Written by: SCORE

Questions & Answers for June 1 Webinar Social Networking: Becoming An Expert

Here are the questions that I received today during the webinar. If you missed the webinar please visit our homepage on our company website to view the recording at:www.situatedresearch.com
If you have other questions that were not listed here please feel free to email me them at:info@situatedresearch.com

Today’s questions:

1. Does the person you take off your LinkedIn group know they have been removed?

- No they do not know.

2. What is your definition of an expert?

- I define someone as an expert who continues to learn, has an open mind, and can talk or discuss intelligently ideas about a certain subject matter.

3. Why doesn’t “Experience” factor into the pathway toward being an expert?

- Experience does factor into the path to becoming an expert. I did talk about experience when I spoke about your educational background and your job history.

Side Note:
Most people, whom attended today, expressed that they would like a future webinar on Starting An Online Group on LinkedIn. I am going to have such a webinar sometime toward the end of the month. The date is still to be announced.

Thank you all for your comments, suggestions, and questions. If you have more questions please email them to me and I will be glad to post them. Thank you again for attending today’s webinar on Social Networking: Becoming An Expert.

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• 2009/06/01
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Future Webinar Events

Monday June 1 @1pm CDT

Social Networking: Becoming An Expert

We will go over:

- Discuss top 10 strategies in detail

- How to pick significant literature to share

- Top 5 links for credible sources

- Go over examples of mine in detail

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/473817971

Friday June 5 @ 1pm CDT

Web Design: What You Should Know

We will go over:

- What to look for in web design companies

- How to pick the right company

- Learn about accurate pricing for a website

- How much time does it take

- How to write content that matters

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/267011098

Monday, June 8th at 1pm CDT - Social Networking: Building Relationships and Your Social Network

• Non-invasive approaches
• Get started with communication
• Tips and guidelines to build your network
• Making and keeping connections
• Examples

Register at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/294990002

Seats are limited so please reserve yours TODAY!!!

See you there.

Questions & Answers For May 27 Webinar on Social Networks: How to Generate Leads

Here are the questions that I received today during the webinar. If you missed the webinar please visit our homepage on our company website to view the recording at:

www.situatedresearch.com

If you have other questions that were not listed here please feel free to email me them at:

info@situatedresearch.com

Today's questions:

1. I have noticed that a lot of people who initiate discussions on LinedIn largely do not respond to comments. They probably keep the comments rolling as a thread...... What would be your take on this?

- I have also seen this on LinkedIn. I feel that the person who posted the discussion is doing a disservice to themselves by not contributing to the discussion and responding. They could be adding so much more and establishing themselves as an expert. They are not utilizing the tools in front of them, the discussion. They should be excited that people are posting and adding ideas and get involved. Again I always say continue the conversation and if people post respond to them.

2. What are your thoughts on Chamber and Rotary clubs?

-They are great traditional networking clubs that do have benefits to them. I belong to our local Chambers of Commerce group, here in Naperville, and have found it to be very beneficial. Remember I am not saying not to do traditional networking but to incorporate it along with social networking. You will grow your potential for new leads and future clients.

3. How much time should one devote to that kind of networking in a week?

- As I said in the webinar you want to post at least weekly to any groups that you are signed up for. You want to establish yourself as an expert which means you need to become known. How do you do that you post, you start discussions, you respond to discussions, and you share resources. You can not establish yourself as an expert if you are not at least posting weekly. I post every other day because I now have a system down that works for me. Just remember that you do not want to post everyday otherwise you will look like a spammer and not an expert.

4. Do you find Blogger more beneficial than a self hosted Wordpress blog?

- I have not tried a self hosted Wordpress blog yet. I only tried Blogger because I wanted something that was going to be simple to use and fast. Blogger has worked great for what I need it for, simply posting information and ideas. Although I do need to broadcast more that I have a blog so that I get more subscribers.

5. Do we need to upgrade the LinkedIn package for the group add-on's and discussions?

- No you do not need to upgrade your membership to LinkedIn in order to write, post, or start discussions. Nor do you need to upgrade to start a group. These services are free on LinkedIn.

6. How do you end a group discussion?

- I always end a group discussion with a question to the group so that the conversation will be generated among members. If you are asking how do you end a discussion once it has gone on for days and days, I do not. I want the conversation to go on for as long as it can. That means that people are really interested, I can share more with them to support my initial discussion, and I become known as the expert.

7. Is there a danger of being blocked for spam if you post the same discussion to several different groups?

- No there is not. Now if you post the same discussion to one group several times, yes you will most likely be seen as a spammer. An example is I posted my webinar to a group twice (by mistake) the group leader emailed me and removed both of my posts for spamming. We worked it out and they reposted one of the posts for me. 

8. How many leads have you generated through these four social networks?

- Many. I had over 677 people attend my first webinar and then almost 500 attend today's. I have also generated four big sales from LinkedIn specifically in the past two months. 

I hope that I answered everyone's questions. If I didn't or you thought of something later on please feel free to email me your question or comment and I will be more than happy to post here.

Email me at:

info@situatedresearch.com

Thank you.

Questions & Answers For May 22 Webinar- Social Networking: How to Get Started

Here are the questions and answers from May 22 Webinar

Social Networking: How to Get Started

1. How important is the inter-member relationship in social networking?

- I believe that you are speaking of the connections that you can have within a social network. These connections are very important as they will help you to spread information, share ideas, give you feedback, and even generate leads. Please watch our webinar on Social Networks: How to Generate Leads. You can watch the recording on our website at:  

www.situatedresearch.com

2. If you post an article are you violating any copywrite laws?

- As I said in the webinar make sure that you quote who ever wrote an article. I would 

even go so far as suggest that under everything you post you put who wrote it including

your name if you wrote it yourself.

A lot of you suggested that you wanted more information on this topic. I hope that you attended today's webinar on Social Networks: How to Generate Leads if not please visit our homepage and watch today's webinar at:

www.situatedresearch.com

These were all of the questions that I received during the webinar if I didn't get your question for some reason or you thought of one later on please email me and I will post it on the blog.

Email me at:

info@situatedresearch.com

Thank you so much for attending: Social Networking: How to Get Started.

Tips: What to Look for in Web Design Companies

Many small businesses are trying to get a good deal on their web design needs. A good deal does come with a huge price tag. Many web design companies simply want to collect a big check in order to slap something up on the Internet for you. The problem with this is:

·         Ends up costing you more because the site will need to be redone

·         Ends up wasting your time trying to find someone else who can fix their mistake

·         At some point you will realize that the traffic to your site is limited and that the site is not helping bring in business at all. If anything it is reflecting business onto other companies in your industry

What to look for when trying to find a web design company? Make sure that you check out their website first. Check for:

·         Functionality: Look to make sure all their links work; look for photos that take too long to load; look for the overall feel of the site (are the colors hard to view the site, is the text hard to read etc.)

·         Professional: Look to make sure that the site is professional and exceptional. A web design company should always make every effort to impress clients on their own website. Look for: photos are clean with no pixilation problems, text is easy to read (not blurry), content makes sense (no spelling errors), pertinent information is listed on their site (not too wordy)

·         Past Clients: Make sure that past clients are listed somewhere on their site. Take the time to look over the client’s websites; this is a representation of this companies work. Do the client’s sites meet the above criteria? Call up the clients and ask about their experience with the company.

·         Call past clients: You want to get a feel for what this company is like to work with. Ask questions like:

o       Did the company complete the website by the deadline as promised?

o       Was there a contract involved?

o       Was the company contacting you all of the time with questions?

o       Did the company get a good feel for what you were looking for the first time or did it take several meetings before they got it?

o       Were you happy with the product?

o       How is the company with revisions after the site is done?

o       Would you recommend this company?

     Make sure to obtain a contract with all web design companies before doing anything. You need to make sure that you agree with everything in the companies’ contract. If you have a question about anything ask, you do not want to find out later on when it could cost you a lot.

            By following these few tips, you will ensure your companies’ web site will be a great representation of what you have to offer the public. There are many more tips that I could list here but this is just a start. Come back next week for more tips on how to pick the best web design company for your business.

 

Written By: Michel Ann Sharritt

Start Up Websites

I am continually amazed by the lack of attention many startup founders and management teams give to their startup websites.  Too often, it's treated as a necessary evil (they’ll spend some time on it initially and then forget about it).
 
Disclaimer:  For my latest startup venture I’m working on a web software platform to make it easier for very small businesses (less than 25 employees) to do meaningful things on the web.  So, I have a bit of a bias here – but I’m not trying to sell you anything (yet), other than my opinions.
 
If you are delivering web-based software then you should already know that your website is critical (it's your business!).  But, even if you’re selling non-web software your website is very important and worthy of you spending some time thinking it through.
 
The following are my tips for creating a website that will actually work for you.  Think of your website as a relatively important employee (like a sales person). You need to spend some money, get them trained and keep them engaged.  Your website is no different – and will likely be cheaper and more productive.
 
Tips For Startup Websites That Work
 

1. What will you do for me?  What does the product do?  Why should I care?  Answering this is much more important than sharing with me your philosophy of the world and how you’re all about “connecting individuals on the Internet through an intelligent and collaborative engine that is scalable, AJAX-powered and cool”.  Honestly, I don’t care.  Tell me how my life is going to be at least marginally better if I use your product.

 
Example:  Our MailMinder product will make sure that you don’t forget to respond to important messages that you receive in Outlook.  Just press a single key (1-9) and MailMinder will automatically remind you if you haven’t responded to that message within the specified number of days.  So, if you press “2” on a message and haven’t replied to it in a couple of days, you’ll get a friendly reminder.  (Note:  This is a completely made up product idea and any resemblance to an actual product, living or dead, is purely coincidental).
 

2. Who is it for?  This one is subtle.  A great way to really grab my attention is to tell me who you’ve built the product for.  The reason so many companies don’t disclose this is because they think they’re going to “lose opportunities” by being too narrow in describing their ideal customers.  Its simply not true.  Do your potential customers and yourselves a favor and be focused in your message and offering – ultimately, the right kinds of people will wind up at your site and your sales will go up not down.  

 
Example:  Our software is specially built for technical book authors that would like to start a blog as an online extension to their book and build a community for their readers.
 

3. How does it work?  Here, a picture (or a short video) is worth a thousand words.  In a minute or less, give me a general sense of how the product works.  Examples could include screenshots, video captures, or sample results produced.

 

4. Why your product and not something else?  Chances are, I didn’t happen upon your site randomly.  I was probably looking for something or was led to your site from somewhere else.  And, despite how unique you think you might be, chances are that I’ve already considered other alternatives (and may even have tried a few).  Tell me what makes your product different.  You can be even more clever if you know what other products I’m likely to have tried that are similar to yours.

 
Example:  Tired of the limitations of XYZPro?  So were we.  So we did it better.  Hundreds of XYZPro customers have already switched. Here’s why…
 

5. What does it cost?  Throw out complicated pricing formulas and don’t believe the marketing professionals that tell you that you should sell a customer on your “value proposition” before telling them what it costs.  In today’s world, with so many options, if I can’t figure out what your price is in the first 5 minutes, I’m probably gone.  Don’t make me email sales@somecompany.com to get a “price quote that is tailored for my needs”.  Worse, don’t make me contact my regional sales rep.  (In fact, if you have regional sales reps, you’re probably reading the wrong blog – its meant for startups).

 

6. How can I try it?  Its software.  There’s no reason (at least that I’d understand) that there shouldn’t be a way for me to “try before I buy”.  Offering a trial version reduces the customer’s risk and puts the burden on you to deliver something of value. 

 

7. Who’s behind it?  I don’t need to read your life story or see a “board of advisors” list that reads like the who’s who of the business world.  But, based on how much I expect to spend (in time and/or money), I’m likely going to want to know that there are actual humans working for the company.  You don’t need to misdirect and create the illusion of size (being small or even a one-person company is perfectly fine), so be honest. 

 

8. Where are you?  Call me old-fashioned and traditional (which I’m not), but I tend to want to know where the company is that I’m about to do business with.  A physical location disclosed on the website signals to me that the company is not “hiding” out in the virtual world.  If all I can learn about you is that you have an email address that is info@somecompany.com and that support is going to be provided by support@somecompany.com, then I get a little concerned. 

 

9. Keep me posted:  Sometimes, customers may be interested in your product, but just not now.  Either it's too early (they’ll only use products that have 10,000 users), doesn’t support some critical feature or operating system, doesn’t have the right license (example: no source code), or isn’t at the right price point.  Provide an easy way to let customers know when you hit major milestones.  This can be done via RSS, email subscriptions or other means.

 
Extra Credit:  If you can provide an easy way for customers to tell you why they’re not interested now (example:  Let me know when you support add support for X), you win even more points.  The prospective customer becomes aware that you’ve considered this limitation and you have a way of gauging which limitations are keeping customers away.  So, if 4 out of 10 customers say they want to be notified when you support Outlook integration, it may not be a bad idea to consider that feature.
 

10. Look Alive!  I like to see that a company is “alive”.  This can be done by the management team maintaining a blog, having product support forums (that are monitored), issuing press releases, posting release notes, etc.   Somehow, signal to me that the company isn’t already dead and that there are signs of life somewhere.  This is the Internet equivalent of walking by a store and not seeing anybody there through the window.  The immediate question most people wonder:  “Is anyone home?”

 
Though all of the above take some thought and effort, it is likely that this investment will pay off very well.  Today’s customers have short attention spans and a generally cynical nature.  There are simply too many things competing for their time and money for them to cut you any slack.  If you doubt this, monitor your own behavior when it comes to browsing the web and evaluating products.  If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll learn lots of interesting things about how/why customers buy.  Just put yourself in the shoes of the customer.  The power of empathy is amazing and will teach you a lot.  If you were a random visitor to your own website, what would you think?  And, if a website did all or most of the things above – would you be more likely to try or buy?

Written by:  OnStartups.com

Make Your Web Site Memorable for the Right Reasons

Online Marketing 

As more and more customers rely on Internet search engines and online directories to locate sources of products and services, Web sites are increasingly becoming a "must" for all types of small businesses. But it's not enough to simply have a presence on the Web.  Unless your site is set up with the customer's needs in mind, it may be doing very little to benefit your business. 

 
Whether you design the site yourself or work with a crackerjack professional designer, it's important to remember that looks, though important, are not everything.  Even the most attractive site is simply taking up cyberspace if it's not functional.
 
Consider what your site is like from the user's perspective.  Are the various functions easy to find and use?  Can customers find what they want fast?  Your goal is to have a site that appears professional and credible to customers as well as being easy to navigate. For a prospect intent on buying, there is nothing more frustrating than having to deal with a clumsy or cluttered site. Categories should be clear and logical.
 
And while the Web's almost unlimited space gives you the choice of drowning customers with product details, you may want to exercise some restraint. Give visitors the option of clicking to more information if they wish, but don't force it on them. Coax customers by stages. Filling out forms is often necessary, but keep them simple and break them into bite-sized parts.
 
And by all means make the photos or other graphics on your site compelling, not the same old generic stock photos you see everywhere. Use graphics of real people and places to add personality to your site and reinforce the notion that your business exists in the real world, too.
 
The bottom line is that your small business Web site should be built around convenience -- the very reasons that have made doing business online so popular.  That means clear, concise text with relevant graphics; straightforward operating instructions; fast, simple checkout processes for online sales; and no surprises or dead-ends -- the same features YOU look for when you do shopping or research online.
 
To learn more about technology and Internet issues facing your small business, contact Situated Research, LLC for a free quote on your needs.

This article was written by SCORE.

What is Situated Research, LLC

Situated learning focuses on learning in situ, in the environment or context for which that knowledge applies. At Situated Research, we focus on examining technology in the actual environment in which it is used, in order to uncover user practices and behaviors that suggest ways in which technology is expected to behave.

We use a mixed-method approach that incorporates a variety of contemporary research techniques.  This allows us to construct a very detailed picture of the needs of your end-users. This ensures your users can fulfill their goals and expectations while enjoying the experience of using your product.

Web Design & Interactive Marketing

We specialize in creating context-relevant, culturally-sensitive, effective information that efficiently communicates to your customers. We specialize in the effective communication of information, with specialties in:

• Information architecture and information design
• Interactive marketing and behavioral psychology
• Interaction analysis and participatory design
• Human engagement, motivation and activity
• Cross-cultural communication and regional cultural dimensions
• Collaborative work, distributed cognition and online communities
• Online learning environments and their associated pedagogies
• Human-computer interaction and mental models (cognitive psychology)

Regardless of your industry, we can help you research your customer base and create targeted information that will get them excited about your products and services.

We have technical skills in web design and interactive technologies, including the use of HTML, Flash, PHP, ASP / .Net, JavaScript, and many other dynamic languages and technologies. We have a complete understanding of both the human factors and the technology involved to allow your goals to come to life.

Our future-oriented approach will help you capitalize on the many benefits of emerging technologies, such as Web 2.0 and beyond: using the web as a platform for user-generated content and collaboration within thriving online communities.

Contact us today at (630) 962-7127 so we can discuss your goals, and solutions to take your business to the next level!

Written By:  Michel Ann Sharritt, VP