In 1949, when John von Neumann, the Hungarian Mathematician said, ‘we have reached the limits of what is possible with computers’ he was a little... ‘off-the-mark’. But we have all made mistakes in our professional careers. I still shudder when I remember some of my embarrassing early-career moments. What separates the successful from the unsuccessful is not whether or not they make mistakes; it’s whether or not they learn from them.
As 2010 looms, when it comes to taking organisations online and using this powerful channel effectively; people are still making some pretty obvious mistakes that at best have industry insiders sniggering and at worst alienate customers.
In the interest of your online success and the sanity of industry insiders, I have put together a list of six stupid online mistakes and some advice on how to avoid them in 2010. While I can’t promise that the coming year won’t throw up some confounding new online challenges, let’s at least agree to move past these old ones.
#1 Get rid of your flash intro
Flash intro’s have got to go. I know people are still buying them... a local restaurant which only opened 12 months ago, has one on their website. This redundant animated screen makes it tedious for me to even access the phone number in a hurry.
Those arty, animated pieces of creative navel-gazing just get in the way of what your website needs to achieve. And that is meeting your users’ needs and communicating your business’s key messages. Even the Wikipedia entry on this topic acknowledges that flash intros ‘are considered old hat amongst the web design community’. So if you have one, take a long hard look at yourself and sort it out. If someone tries to sell you one as part of your website development package, I would think carefully about choosing another vendor. They are probably self indulgent and definitely out-of-touch.
#2 Your CEO is not a web designer (unless she really is)
You would be shocked how often I have been asked to deliver expensive online solutions to clients because ‘the CEO wants it’. RSS feeds, Facebook pages, homepage redesigns... you name it. When asked, ‘do your users/customers want this?’ clients tend to look confused and frustrated.
Unless you run an online related business it is VERY unlikely that your CEO is the right person to design individual elements of your online channel. While the CEO’s input must be acknowledged and carefully managed, your channel should be driven by a careful balance of organisational goals and user/customer needs. The right online vendor will arm you with the information you need to manage the CEO’s expectations while getting the best result, via the appropriate tool.
#3 Don’t over complicate your search engine optimisation
Search engine optimisation isn’t new news. You don’t need expensive consultants to make your site stand out to the likes of Google and Yahoo. A few minutes trawling the Internet will turn up lots of basic information on how to structure your site and content to improve your search engine performance. Better search engine ranking means more traffic and more brand exposure. This is great news no matter what business you are in.
The interesting thing about making your site perform better from a search engine perspective is that it helps your users too. Marketers who go about trying to trick search engines via sneaky technical loopholes mostly end up being punished (in a search engine sense) for trying to ‘work the system’. On the other hand, creating interesting, unique content for your website, structuring your pages in a clear logical fashion, using a foundation of simple text to communicate rather than complicated flash movies or JavaScript will be rewarded by Google and friends. At the same time your users will thank you for giving them the information they need.
#4 You need an online specialist
I know my GP is a great doctor but when it comes to more complex medical issues, I feel better knowing that the specialist I am talking to is a leader in their field and across all of the latest research and developments in the area.
It seems that when it comes to selecting a partner to work with online, many businesses would prefer to stick with their traditional generalist ad-agency rather than get real online expertise. Instead of accessing the specialists out there with deep knowledge of the market and technology, it appears easier to let offline agencies drive piecemeal approaches to the online channel. Sure campaign integration may occur but trusting generalists to make decisions about a rapidly evolving, highly technical communication medium is undoubtedly risky and is unlikely to generate the best results. Please see a specialist if pain persists.
#5 Are you really integrated?
Let’s get down to the more serious stuff. You may not believe this but only yesterday I received an email from an Australian manufacturer promoting an exhibition that didn’t say who it was from, give instructions on how to find out more or mention anything about how to unsubscribe. Sure, it was lovely to hear from them but this effort seemed more than a little half-baked. Did they want me to attend, buy tickets, buy their actual products? I hope they know because it was a mystery to me.
If you have spent money and time creating a website you are proud of, then in 2010 you should be integrating it into all of your marketing. You should be regularly updating the site to keep it in line with your offline marketing activity and you should be including the URL in your collateral, your TVCs, your sky-writing... everything. However, integration takes planning. Don’t direct users to your website if it you haven’t touched it since 2003. Don’t send emails to your users that aren’t carefully structured to deliver the outcome you want. Don’t encourage enquiries via your feedback form if no-one receives or follows-up with a response.
In a broader context, your online channel needs an overarching strategy that is completely aligned with your business strategy. If you want value for money for your online spend then you need to set clear online objectives and measure performance against them. And this must be done across the entire channel not just your website. You must consider your banner advertising, search engine marketing, email marketing, RSS feeds, social networking plays and even your intranet.
#6 Now is not the time to cut your online budget
I know times are tough. The global financial crisis lingers, zapping confidence and limiting budget allocation to anything ‘non-essential’. Your online channel is NOT non-essential. It is a 24/7 living, breathing representation of your brand, out there working for you long after the outdoor has come down and the TVCs have stopped playing.
At a minimum you must keep the lights on. Do not neglect your site content, your enquiry forms or your email subscription list.
At most, I challenge you to consider this quieter period as an opportunity to get your online channel ready for the inevitable turn around. Get your online strategy right and implement the changes needed to support it. Because when the economy recovers your competitors will be right beside you fighting for a rapid comeback and more market-share. Your online channel is absolutely part of your competitive advantage. Don’t waste it. |
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