Setting the tone of a website
Deciding on the tone of a website is important in order to make the site’s users feel comfortable in the space. The tone is made up of all the components of a webpage including the text, graphics, layout and fonts. But how do you make sure the tone of the space you are creating reflects the people you want to visit your site?
Before you start setting the tone for your target visitors you need to define who you expect those users to be. The article “Setting the Tone” from the University of Leicester recommends understanding what your audience needs and expects from your website including looking at if they are a specialized group, such as one that would all know the same jargon, or a diverse group, like females between the ages of 19 and 35. After this is done a list of words describing the site that the defined user would like can be developed and the elements of the tone chosen based on the description.
A slightly different strategy for setting the tone of your website is to personify the company the website is for. The Spiral Media Website Planning Guide (pdf link) provides a list of personality traits, such as traditional or innovative and solitary or open, and asks that you describe the company as your target audience sees it. Using these traits a tone can be developed that suits the idea people have about your company. For example if you are a surf board manufacturer you do not want a tone that is professional and stuffy but one that is fun and has a beach feel.
One of the most important things to remember when designing a website is that it should complement your company’s other communication strategies, a point explained by DOWdb on their home page. Incorporating your brand into your company’s website is important for integrating it with your other marketing strategies. By doing this your company will present the same tone to their target audience no matter where they are seeing information about the company.
Following these ideas you can ensure that the tone of your website reflects your company and is a space that will please your target audience.
Ways Google Analytics Can Be Misleading
Like all analytics options, Google Analytics does not provide a completely accurate picture of who is visiting a website.
One problem with Google Analytics is that it tracks internal visitors of the site without differentiating them from external visitors. This is problematic for companies whose CSRs use their website to find the answers to customer’s questions. The data collected can become skewed as CSRs look up new information that they do not know off the top of their head, making it appear as though more customers are interested in the new information than actually are. Internal visitors can be excluded from the statistics using their IP address, even if it has been dynamically assigned. The “Excluding hits from a proxy with dynamic IP address” blog entry provides instructions to exclude internal users from the measurements.
Another problem with Google Analytics is the way the information is sent to the server, as outlined in the blog entry “Google Analytics – Flawed and Misleading?”. One of the reasons for this inaccuracy is due to the use of javascript. If multiple scripts are used on the same page they can conflict and the information will not be sent. Also javascript can be turned off within a browser’s options to protect the user from malicious scripts. Another problem is the script is at the end of the page, so if it does not load completely then the visitor is not recorded.
Google Analytics can also mislead is by having titles that are confusing to its users. A full analysis of this topic is provided in the blog entry “Google Analytics: Worst Titles Ever”. The titles that are used do not accurately reflect the information on the page. One example is that the information titled “Visitor Loyalty” is a measurement of how many times a visitor returned to the site during a time period, which is not necessarily the equivalent of loyalty. For example I have been known to visit the websites of my favourite Jr. A Hockey Team’s opponents in order to get information about away games. If the two teams play multiple games in a time frame the analytics would insinuate that I am a loyal visitor when it is likely the only time of year that I visit the site.
Despite the problems that Google Analytics has it is a good solution for websites to track the visitor trends and behaviours.
Google Analytics Example Image from Robin Good
Using Email and CRM to Retain Customers
A recent study suggests that retention is one of the top concerns for companies. A good customer relationship management system can be used in efforts to retain customers. Email can be used in combination with CRM collected information to keep in touch with customers and remind them what your company has to offer.
Amazon is a prime example of using customer information for retention. They do this by sending out regular emails notifying customers of new products they might be interested in based on their past purchases. For example, last Christmas I purchased gifts on Amazon including a book based on the video game Mass Effect and since then I have received an email letting me know about new products including the next book in the series. Amazon also uses a blanket email approach for information about sales and promotions. Customers can easily opt out of email lists by changing their preferences in their account information. By remaining in regular contact with customers and reminding them about the deals they offer, Amazon is able to retain customers by keeping their website at the top of mind. It is made more effective by customizing the information sent based on the customer’s preferences using Amazon’s sophisticated customer relationship management system.
Customized emails based on a customer’s preferences work better for retention than blanket emails sent to all customers. However, how do you effectively customize information for customers that you have not collected information on? Many websites that offer a variety of topics ask new users to specify which ones they are interested in. Free Patterns.com, a website offered by DRG Publishing, does just this using an effective opt-in strategy. During the registration process necessary to access the collection of free patterns new users are asked what types of crafts they are interested in. The registration process also collects contact information and allows customers to subscribe to a variety of newsletters if they wish. This information could then be used to create a customer profile which can be further refined by tracking which patterns the user downloads. Both the free patterns and newsletters help remind customers about the magazines between publications and encourage purchases by highlighting new magazine issues.
Customizing email communications does not require a complex CRM system. By using customer preferences emails can be useful and keep the company at the top of mind, leading to customer retention.
Customer Retention Comic - CallCenterComics.com
