Is your website listening?
Written 22.09.03 by: Jonathan Briggs
Over the last few years, websites have become simpler while richer in information. Clients and developers have recognised that customers want information, they want to find things easily and get on with their day! Just occasionally they want to be entertained, play a game, watch an animation or interact but never from a site selling toilet cleaner and only when they choose.
Over the last few years, websites have become simpler while richer in information. Clients and developers have recognised that customers want information, they want to find things easily and get on with their day! Just occasionally they want to be entertained, play a game, watch an animation or interact but never from a site selling toilet cleaner and only when they choose.
In fact customers do want to interact but in very different ways from those offered by most sites; they want to find out more, compare products, make comments or suggestions or simply ask questions. Most sites make this very hard.
We’re talking about more than a feedback link or form. Developers need to explore different ways of responding and provide site editors with tools to answer questions and reply. These might include incorporating some of the commenting ideas from weblogs, forums, polls and surveys, responding to unsuccessful searches and monitoring enquiries that come in from Google and other sites.
At the OTHER media we are currently designing the next version of our successful content management system OTHERobjects. Version V will provide tools to help site owners integrate feedback into their sites and into their businesses. Monitoring, moderation and reporting tools will also be included to help site owners understand the feedback they receive and what drives people to their sites.
As we develop the new version of OTHERobjects, we’re experimenting with some of these ideas on a site I run called Re.engage. This is a politics and citizenship site and we have included commenting and Google monitoring while building the reporting tools that will help us understand better what visitors want. We have also optimised the design to maximise search engine visibility.
Already we have begun to see a much higher level of involvement, indeed conversation, with the site's audience and as we finalise the functionality of OTHERobjects V, these functions will become components that can be added to sites easily. Already a number of our clients are asking for some of thes components on their own site as they see the openness of the dialogue on Re.engage.
Running a site in the future will involve much more than operating a content management system. Content will be produced in direct response to the interests of site visitors and they will be encouraged to comment and interact. It will be easier to measure the effects of an experiment and to understand where the site fits into your business. Your site will become a conversation with your customers or visitors and you will gain a much more immediate sense of their interests and ideas. Your site will then be listening!
We’re keen to hear from you if you want to make your company or organisation more responsive. Drop me a line
For more articles on e-commerce business and technology check out www.jonathanbriggs.com