Interactivity: Get it Just Right

by Dan Burbank

Nothing ruins a store's shot at a sale quicker than when a customer has a question about a product and not a single soul can be found. And conversely, nothing ruins a store's shot at a sale quicker than when a customer can't shake a salesperson who's practically drooling on them. Interactivity, it's important to get it right.

There may not be any over-eager sales people chasing visitors around your Web site, but it is important that your site have the right touch when it comes to interactive elements like guestbooks, polls, surveys, newsletters and message boards. What's the right touch? That depends on you.

It's possible for a site to incorporate all of the elements above (and more) and not come off as overbearing. Implemented in a smart way, the visitor will be directed to the poll, survey or email address that's most important to you. Plus, you'll know exactly why each element has been incorporated. A poor implementation leaves the visitor distracted, unsure of which element is most important, confused about the site's goal, and most importantly, unable to find what they came for.

It's also possible for a site to take a minimalist approach towards interactivity. Not every site is good candidate for an online community. And if you're not interested in your visitors view on a particular issue, there's no reason to add a poll to your site simply for the sake of polling visitors. Unless you own a grocery store, do you really need to know what your visitors' favorite cereal is?

To maximizing your site's interactivity you must establish what you'd like to learn from your visitors. From there, you can decide what tools will best facilitate this learning.

Suppose your company has just released a new widget and you want to know what your customers think of it. Consider the possibilities:

Email: Simple and effective. Ask your customers to email their thoughts on the new widget. You could post the encouraging messages on your site as testimonials. Of course, if your customer base is large, corresponding with everyone could be difficult.

Email newsletter: Ask your customers to sign up for a newsletter that will tell them when the latest widget and widget accessories are released. Great for getting news to a target audience, though it's something a one-way street.

Poll: Ask your visitors to tell you what they think of the new widget. This is a fun way to show that you're engaged, however the results won't be terribly scientific. And will you be embarrassed if no one likes your widget and the poll results are public?

Survey: This can be a great way to guide the development of your product. Ask customers to answer ten questions about the widget and offer their own suggestions. Of course you'll need a good portion of your customer base to respond in order to give the results credibility.

Message Boards: Online communities are the height of interactivity, with visitors posting and sharing information. An online community of widget enthusiast might swap stories, exchange tips, ignite viral marketing and provide you with inspiration as you further develop your widgets. But if you do something they don't like, you'll hear about it.

A Web site presents you with the chance to exchange ideas with your customers like no other media. The trick is to find the interactive tool that can help you find out what you want to know and fits your personality.

09.05.2007. 00:06

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