A blog by Dublin-based web design company, EdenWeb
A nice feature on the HP Media Server flash demo is the ability to mute the volume on the demo before it starts playing. It’s an impressive yet simple touch that saved me having to turn off my own music.
If you work in a shared office I’m sure at some stage you’ve come
in exploring their actual physical MediaSmart Server. Poor usability and design is the bain of my tech life so here’s a few free links for making such a thoughtful gesture.
If there was one industry related to my profession that I’d love to plan, design and build a website for, it’d probably be a Hosting company. UK, Scottish, Taiwanese, Canadian or Irish, they just can’t seem to communicate successfully to their target audience(s) and consistently misunderstand what potential customers are looking for. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t doubt for a second that most of these guys know their audience inside out but that knowledge rarely trickles onto their web presence. Perhaps it’s their technical nature that lets them down?
There is huge scope to dramatically increase hosting companies conversion rates and vistor numbers based on the evidence and feedback I’ve been listening to over my several years as a web designer. Sure, there are some companies out there that are doing it well but as both a customer and a family-member/friend/aquaintance to many, many people who have tried to source hosting services, I find that they are failing on key areas of their web sites and that this is losing them business.
UPDATE…(the above was drafted last week)
Just today I was wondering why hosting companies often have such terrible websites when I received a great little promotion in my email from hosting company, RackSpace. In an industry where most companies are in a race to the bottom and all about the lowest price, these guys are selling to me with clever campaigns, great design and benefit-driven messaging.
One of our favourite web stats providers has been bought by Microsoft and are no longer taking new signups. It’s a real shame because we have several new clients who we were ready to sign up to DeepMetrix and their excellent visitor tracking service.
While researching alternatives, I notice that CrazyEgg has just done a softlaunch and has started to take signups. One of the more interesting features that a lot of Web Analytics developers are pushing out are the use of ‘Heat Maps’ which display the ‘hot’ areas on your page by recording mouse movements and clicks etc.
Have you ever taken 10 minutes to fill out your own web site forms, seen how long it took to get a response, checked if the automated response had the correct sales details and telephone number?
Let me explain.
Internet marketing needs to learn lessons from already extablished bricks and mortar industries so they can draw upon decades of experience and not have to make unnecessary mistakes.
This email newsletter caught me eye this morning. I subscribe to a lot of newsletters and it’s great to see something come in that is pitched perfectly at their audience and has a creative theme applied to this message. I love the what they’ve done with the main banner (above). It’s creative, well executed, appeals to their audience and is refreshingly humorous.
But there’s one big problem…
EdenWeb met a client recently that expressed an interest in redevloping their web site. It’s a fairly large corporate web site and these guys are industry leaders with a name that is internationally recognised. In light of this, the focus of our efforts would not necessarily be to educate people that they exist, but rather, to get a better picture of the type of people that are using their site. When we have a more thorough understanding of the WHO (type of people using their site) and an expanded view of the WHY (what these people require from the web site) then we can end up with a web site that is
If we fail to get a better understanding of the type of visitors the site has and the requirements these users have then redeveloping the site would simply be an ‘event’ - an exercise that has happened for no real purpose. The client might end of with a nicer site but not necessarily a better site.
If you’re interested in reading more, then the guys at iQ Content have added great article called
How personas and scenarios can change your website for the better.
Happy reading.
Entrepreneurs with brilliant ideas about how to market and accelerate their business can sometimes find it difficult to break the mould, stick their necks out and follow gut instincts when everyone around them seem to be reading from the same cookie cutter design & marketing ideas handbook. Breathe for air!
Flashes of inspiration give way to uncertainty and a desire to stick to known quantities replace innovation.
Last week while passing by Foxtons estate agents in Kensington I came across a brilliant example of innovative and brave marketing that inspired and amazed me.
Here was an estate agent which
but chose instead to make the focus of their interior
So what do these cafe style estate agencies tell us about Foxtons?
Well, as someone who is interested in design and marketing it tells me that they are finely tuned into their customers needs and are willing to innovate* in their market.
But more importantly I believe the question should be
What do Foxton’s cafe-style offices communicate to their customers?
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I have no doubt that Foxtons are reaping the awards of such a clever and important idea as outlined above.
As this blog progresses you’ll hear me talking about understanding your customers needs and demonstrating this understanding across all your business marketing (albeit primarily through your web site) for a successful relationship with your customers.
Ultimately I believe people are more likely to do business with companies whom they feel understand them. Nothing ground breaking there but it speaks volumes to your clientelle about how ‘tuned in’ you are to them.
If you’re an Entrepreneur and a business owner/manager and think you have a truly great idea that noone else is doing but goes against the grain of every traditional marketing and sales rule you know then think about Foxtons and what they are doing today.
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* Yes, cafes have been part of most US and Canadian bookstores for several years but it’s still the books that fill the windows.
Have started working with an exciting new(ish) hi-tech company who are seeking level 2 funding and need their homepage and web site redesigned for a VC round which will take place in the US over the coming weeks.
