The future is about service
“There’s no street address here,” the woman said to me. I had just handed in my US Immigration cards at the pre-screening section of Dublin Airport. I grimaced. I knew I had the full address on my computer somewhere, but my computer was so slow to start and it would take about 10 minutes for […]
The Optimism Bias, or don’t believe satisfaction surveys
We need to move to an evidence-based model of understanding people’s needs based on what they actually do, not what they say they do.
The lady had just finished trying to complete 15 tasks on the website. “What did you think of the website,” the organizer asked her.
“It was great,” she replied effusively. “I really liked […]
Help people do things, don’t keep them on webpages.
Your objective should be to reduce the amount of time customers have to spend on your website.
A recent Jakob Nielsen article states that, “Users often leave Web pages in 10–20 seconds, but pages with a clear value proposition can hold people’s attention for much longer.”
“The average page visit lasts a little less than […]
If you want to hide it, emphasize it
On a website, lines are like walls, boxes are like closed buildings and anything constructed to catch the eye is perceived as a marketing trap.
I once dealt with a large product company that had a huge banner advertisement taking up half its homepage. It was getting less than 1 percent of clicks. Another company I […]
Top Tasks Management for UK councils
“The design of the website should be focused on top tasks. No longer should organisations aim for the most comprehensive website possible. Less is better!”
This statement comes from Socitm, the membership association for ICT management with members from 98% of all UK local authorities. This is a big shift in government website thinking. I remember […]
The power of collective intelligence
The Web is the greatest collective intelligence engine in human history. We are living through a Renaissance in democratic thought and individual opportunity.
All the news is bad. Or so it would seem. We are witnessing the decline and fall of Europe, according to TIME magazine. It’s hard to find an optimistic journalist or opinion writer […]
Nobody cares about your new app
Stop talking or writing about your new app, video, Twitter feed or Facebook page. Start making your customers’ lives simpler, faster, cheaper.
“Dear Gerry,” the email from John Kavanagh, Loyalty Marketing Manager for Aer Lingus begins. “As a valued member of our Gold Circle programme I am delighted to be contacting you with news of the […]
What we can learn from Yahoo
Yahoo is an extremely popular website, yet its stock has performed really badly. Why? Because it sells stuff (banner ads) people don’t want to buy.
Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo, stated in 2009 that “My fortunes are tied to my pages.” Yahoo has lots and lots of pages and lots and lots of page views. It […]
The changing role of marketing
Marketing has become everything you do. Everyone in your organization is a marketer.
In classical management thinking, marketing, advertising and branding were often separate from the product and company. This is a particular type of thinking best associated with what is called Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), but has become popular for all types of […]
Measure negative behavior, not just positive behavior
The Web is not just another medium, another channel. More than anything it is another culture, another way of living and thinking.
If you sat a mathematics exam and got 3% would you be happy? Probably not. But those who create banner ads think a 3% click-through rate is amazing. In fact, they’d be ecstatic with […]
