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How to Design an Active Commercial Website for Small Business
No, I Mean Really Small Business!
by Mike Banks Valentine
Last week I attended two giant web shows at the Los Angeles
Convention Center. The huge InternetWorld Spring 2001 and a
concurrent show titled eCRM, both offered in the sprawling
four block square building in the City of Angels. I went to
seek out and report on ecommerce solutions for the little
guy. You know, that's you and me. The companies that have
less than 100 employees!
The traditional label of "Small Business" has come to
apply
to far too many companies. I guess we should adopt the term
"Microbusiness" to get realistic about what most of the
world
imagines when you say "Small Business". I mean a business
with
less than 10 employees and I think most of the rest of the
world does too. Monstrous companies define us as invisible.
Well picture this if you will, I brazenly approached one
sales guy (there were dozens of them) at Siebel Systems
booth (more like a small city dominating 10 spaces in the
convention center). I simply asked him "Does Siebel offer
any solutions for the small business?"
His response was predictable. "Our enterprise solutions can
be applied across multiple platforms to unite all legacy
systems throughout . . ."
STOP right there please! You might just as well have said a
very simple NO! You could go on to say something really quite
derogatory like, "NO, you puny imbecile! If we created anything
for worker ants like you, we'd be broke in nothing flat! Go
away and come see us when you have $30 grand or so to spend and
we'll be happy to TALK with you then!"
I have to be honest and say that the Siebel salesman was really
very courteous and pleasant. It's just the fact that they don't
get big by providing small solutions for small business people.
So here is my list of really worthwhile solutions that I was
able to find for LittleGuy.com at InternetWorld 2001.
http://www.callbutton.com
As reported last week, my best of show award goes to CallButton.
Reasonably priced, powerful, all around useful and a great ROI
(return on investment) potential for small businesses online.
http://www.GoToMyPC.com
This is another of my picks from a previous conference called
the Upside Events Showcase 2001. I like it so much I'm making
it a repeat winner since they've now partnered with Expert City.
Someone else clearly agreed with me on this one. ;-)
http://www.epage.com
This company offers free classified ads for your web site. Hold
on now, not just another business opportunities classified site.
These folks offer searchable, co-branded, subject specific ads
and auctions that match the theme of your site! Brilliant!
http://www.MyeHive.com
Set to capitalize on peer to peer technology in a huge way, they
are offering a browser "skin" that allows linking to and
download
from other desktop users -- any digital content you like from
ebooks to music. But they've worked out a way to pay YOU for it!
This site is still in beta and will go live soon. (Bookmark it!)
http://www.gocard.com
Affordable advertising for the little guy. And guess what?!
You'll be in the rack with the big boys. It's open to even you
and I on a first-come first-served basis. Your postcard on racks
right beside American Express and major manufacturers in big cities!
http://www.ibill.com
Various payment processing solutions for the small business online.
These folks have been around for awhile and although they take a
hefty chunk of sales, it beats some of the other options for little
tiny businesses like mine. ;-)
http://www.cihost.com
These folks were a big hit at the show. As attendees lined up to
grab CIhost tchotchkes like keychains and pens with thier logos
on them, sales staff started throwing CIhost t-shirts to the crowd.
Good natured fun, and not reason enough to choose a web host, but
they offer top-notch customer service as a key component of sales.
Good pricing and great webmaster revenue share affiliate program.
http://www.goback.com
Back-up and restore software that tops anything I've seen for
system crash recovery. $40 bucks that could save you thousands in
lost time and information. You just gotta check this one out! It's
unbelievable in it's power to get you back up and running after
an
ugly system failure.
My favorite crowd pleasing publicity stunt was from
http://www.SpiderCache.com
Your picture with a friendly Tarantula on your shoulder. They
offer a wonderful product aimed at the small to mid-sized ISP
or company with it's own servers. Traffic spikes and heavy
bandwidth users gain stability and reduce peak loads. Where
does that spider come in?
Unbelievably, there are more. But I'll save them for later.
Good show. Most journalists were discussing the low crowd count
and a few no-show show demonstrators. I was real happy to have
the chance to talk with some innovators without too much t-shirt
tossing and was glad to see Siebel Systems salespeople with
nothing to do. Little-guy solution providers were quite busy.
How to Design An Active Commercial Web Site &
How to Avoid the Hamlet Effect
How many times have you entered a commercial website and been
immediatelyoverwhelmed by chaos, by a seemingly random morass
of disorganized content and graphics? If you're like me, the
first thing you experience when encountering such a site is
vertigo; the second symptom is paralysis; the third, an impulse
to flee. Admittedly, designing a storefront can be a tricky,
nuanced task, but if a potential customer is immediately stunned
into immobility, their next step is likely to be escape.
And to be precise, the customer has just experienced the Hamlet
Effect of poor web design.
Hamlet, as we know, was the 'Prince of Inaction'. Overwhelmed
by disorder and confusion, he fell victim to despair, paralysis
- - and surely, despair and paralysis are the last symptoms we
want our online clients to experience. It's clear that customers
won't stay long at a site if they are not given a compelling
reason to do so, but if they are over-stimulated or subjected
to a chaotic storefront design, the net result may be the same:
flight. And the last thing we want a customer to do is sigh and,
echoing Hamlet, remark: "How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable
seem to me all the uses of this website."
How to Avoid the Hamlet Effect
Site aesthetics are important - and image and design are probably
the first things to register in consumer awareness.
The goal of compelling, effortless navigation begins with three
design principles: Organization, Precision and Restraint. Like an
actor who overplays his part, an overwrought web page can blast
potential customers into a state of confusion and immobility,
and ultimately drive them elsewhere - on or offline. The following
is a list of strategies designed to forestall this Hamlet Effect.
Sound Organization - Make your storefront manageable for the
reader with streamlined directories and indexes that lead the
customer directly to their shopping goal or specific area of
interest. This may seem obvious, but one needs only a cursory
survey of Internet sites to realize that the storefronts of
many online companies overwhelm with disorganized content and
unnecessary graphics. Sometimes, even the directories demand
too much effort on the reader's part. Here, subtlety is the key
and calculated restraint is the modus operandi. Information is
the whole point of your site: but content must be scaffolded in
a strategic way that both welcomes and educates customers - and
entices them to read on. A storefront should be streamlined,
partitioned into a clear, cogent format that highlights exciting
offers and provides manageable pathways that quickly guide
customers to the products, services, and information they desire.
If your site is complex, think about a catalogue search directory
that can move a client directly to a product or product category.
The sooner a customer feels oriented and in control, the better.
Economical Graphics - Providing dynamic, sharply designed
graphics is essential in stimulating customer interest. However,
over-stimulation and unrestrained art design can also invoke the
Hamlet effect. Site aesthetics are important - and image and
design are probably the first things to register in consumer
awareness. But don't fall in love with your graphics tools -
and don't let flash get in the way of content. Products should be
displayed in an impressive, alluring fashion with the larger goal
of organization in mind. Similarly, logos and design formats
should remain consistent between pages so the customer stays
oriented and on familiar terrain. Think of your page format in
terms of branding by establishing a uniform and uniquely memorable
template.
Here, another factor in avoiding the Hamlet Effect is: never try
the patience of your customer. Animated graphics, as impressive
as
they may seem, may test the attention span of clients - and many
potential customers may not have the requisite connection speed
to download fireworks - especially if your product is targeting
an international market. So take the melodrama out of your graphics.
Content Excellence - Compelling, clear, professionally written
product copy is of utmost importance. If your storefront does not
exude expertise and professionalism, potential customers will sense
it - so all copy must be tight, compact, forceful. Content should
create a tangible image in your customer's imagination and should
explain the virtues of your product. Always remember who your
audience is and adapt your writing style accordingly. Profession-
alism and clear evidence of human care are the first steps in
establishing your online credibility and gaining the trust of the
buying public - and sloppy or disorganized writing signals a
fundamental weakness that may undermine consumer confidence.
Lastly, if customer action is your goal, give your customers an
incentive to act. Unlike Hamlet, you don't want your customer
waiting till Act V to make a move. Once your site is organized
and streamlined for business, provide a call to action - appeal
to emotion - give customers a reason to make a move. Offer a crisp
text button that says more than just "order". Provide
a language
of action. If you are selling Star Trek paraphernalia or Science
Fiction, give your audience a Make It So button. Again, adapt your
language to your target audience. Be unique, dramatic, and offer
a clear incentive to act.
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How to Design an Active Commercial Website for Small Business
