10 March 2010

Five Tips for Creating an Effective U.S. Website

We've been asked recently by some global companies seeking to increase their U.S. business, "What makes an effective website for the U.S. market?" This article is addressed to them but the answer represents general best practices.

Before we get into the details of how to create an effective website for the U.S. Market, it's useful to understand key characteristics of American audiences.
Which of the below characteristics is true of the U.S. audience?

• Americans are in a hurry
• Americans like things to be simple
• Americans are benefit and not features-oriented
• Americans respond to self interest as well as corporate interest 
• All of the Above

Now that you've decided to do business in the States, these are the people you need to understand and to whom you must deliver value... in a way to which they will respond.

The 5 tips for creating a successful website that will appeal to American audience, are as follows:

1. Relevant content: Make it brief, clear and to the point
Content describes the text, imagery, audio and video of a site. The site needs to have an American voice, use American colloquialisms when appropriate and generally communicate in a savvy, no-nonsense style that pushes the benefits of your products or services rather than the nuts and bolts of why your product or service is great. On the practical side, all copy, including press releases should point to U.S. related news. I strongly recommend engaging a professional U.S. copywriter to help you tailor your content to meet the needs of the U.S. audience.

2. Brand Strategy: What makes you different and why does that matter?
America is a land of brands. People here identify with corporate cultures as well as products and services. Even in Business-to-Business marketing, it is important to understand the competitive landscape and position your company to differentiate yourself in this marketplace. The generic, hard sell will not work. As a foreign company entering a new market, you also need to understand your audience and what needs they may have that aren't being met by the competition. Then you'll be in a position to craft unique messages and establish a website that makes it clear to visitors why to consider your company.

3. Navigation: Keep it simple
It's tempting to include as much information as one can on a home page. You never know who may visit...unless you look at your analytics, which a surprising number of firms still do not do.

Americans view the homepage like it's both the cover of a book and its table of contents. They expect to be drawn in by a compelling message and great design and to be directed quickly to relevant content. If your value proposition is clear enough, and you can speak with the brevity favored by U.S. audiences, you will successfully guide the visitor on a concise information path of your choosing. Too many websites have multiple agendas, audiences and messages and present a confusing array of options, leaving the visitor confused, frustrated or bored. In a nutshell, keep it simple.

Some Navigation Tips
When thinking about navigation, again, consider your audience.
• If you are in many markets, perhaps the main navigation should reflect that multi-market strategy. An example of this kind of navigation is the site we did for Shawmut Construction at www.shawmut.com.

• If you have several distinct buyers, then, perhaps you should offer role based navigation option as Unica does at www.unica.com.

• Maybe there are a handful of business problems you regularly solve. A navigation scheme that allows users to identify with these problem areas might be the most intuitive navigation approach. Our site for software firm Open Connect is a good example of this "pain-based navigation" approach. Visit www.oc.com.

There is no one right way. By understanding your audience, you will better be able to create the web experience that best addresses them.

4. Design: Design sells
Design is a strategic tool for visualizing your brand strategy. The use of color, fonts, imagery and interactivity such as Flash are all ways to help you focus the user and differentiate your company. Although American audiences are analytical, they still respond to emotional cues. When I work with clients, I often begin with an exercise of printing out the homepages of all of their competitors and even a few companies they admire. When we lay them all out on a large table it is clear what are the predominant colors, image styles and navigation used in their market. This will be instructive for understanding the American business landscape in your field. You will then be prepared to determine how to differentiate from what's out there. At this point you will need a professional web designer to bring your brand to life.

5. Optimize your Website: Learn from your audience
Your website should be the hub of your marketing effort. All of your other marketing activities should lead prospects and customers back to your website to learn more or fulfill offers. The entire site should be "offers-oriented." Every page should include some kind of "call-to-action," a way for the user to interact with your company.

Your website content should be optimized by including key words and phrases that visitors will use to find you. By carefully embedding the right key words and phrases into your web code and content, your website will be more visible to search engines and more intuitive to web visitors.

Finally, to maintain relevance of your website, something critical in the U.S. market, you need to have your web designer set up a basic Google Analytics account. This will enable you to view user behavior and clearly see which areas of your website are most frequently visited or whether users are leaving the website after they get to the homepage. This data will be instructive in ascertaining whether you are successfully reaching your U.S. audience.

If you understand the character of the U.S. audience and focus on the 5 points I've discussed, you will be in a great position to succeed with your new website!

Categories: Web / Interactive
Posted by Paul Regensburg at 5:32 PM   |  No Comments

03 March 2010

5 Reasons to Hire a Professional Web Writer

In our many Web engagements clients often question whether they need an outside writer on the project. The reason for rumination is usually either related to budget or whether internal resources have the time to get the job done. From experience I believe that hiring an outside writer is necessary and often mandatory. Here are five reasons to consider:

1. Save Time
Most clients have a short timeframe in which to create a website. Content is arguably the most important component. In our experience, content development is the single thing that we've seen blow schedules. Content development takes time and a review cycle. Busy executives who have a web writing assignment added to their already full schedule, understandably tend to back burner it in favor of client work. Working with an outside copywriter takes that pressure off and allows the schedule to be maintained.

2. Provide Objectivity
It can be challenging to keep a fresh perspective when you work in a company and most of your exposure is to other company insiders. It is easy to become enamored of your product or service and view the world from that prism. Adding a professional writer, with a broad perspective and top communication skills, to the team will avail you of new ideas and potentially a different and compelling way to share your value.

3. Establish Messaging and Brand Cohesiveness
Nothing less than the success of the website is dependent on having the right messaging. A professional copywriter is trained to ask the right questions and distill pithy content from the answers. A good writer is also aware of all of the ways your brand is presented to customers and prospects and looks for ways to present cohesive messaging.

4. Be Brief
It's common knowledge that nobody reads anymore. More accurately, people skim web content, looking for relevancy. Not only does messaging need to be branded, it needs to be brief. As Mark Twain said, "Successful writing is not made of what is in it, but what is left out of it."

5. Optimize for SEO
Copywriting and SEO go hand-in-hand. Optimizing your website for Search is an important part of the web development process. The first step is to identify key words and key phrases. The skill then is in embedding those key words and phrases into the content. A good copywriter can liberally apply key words and phrases while maintaining brevity, messaging and a natural flow to the language.

Together, these 5 points present compelling reasons for adding a professional copywriter to your team for your next web project.

Categories: Web / Interactive
Posted by Paul Regensburg at 3:28 PM   |  No Comments

16 February 2010

5 Points for Determining the Price for a New B2B Website

In — what we're all hoping are — these post-recession days, we're happy to be seeing a lot of activity from companies wanting to remake their long dormant websites. When I get to the point in the conversation in which I ask about the investment they wish to make, the answer is often gray. The subtext is that they will let the market dictate price. Following are 5 points I recommend companies gain some certainty around, prior to speaking with potential web design and development partners. Being clear on these points will help avoid ambiguity and aid in identifying the best firm for the job, which may or may not be the low price option.

1. Tactical Need vs. Strategic Value
2. Impact of Having a Substandard Website
3. The Use of Technology to Enhance User Experience
4. The Level of Service Desired/Required
5. How the Website Integrates with Your Marketing Efforts

1. Tactical Need vs. Strategic Value
For some B2B companies, the website is an online brochure. Its chief value is to look professional, provide basic information, be current and not embarrass the company. Though such a company might have some aspirations for something more, the culture may not be marketing-driven thus the website is not strategic. In these cases, a low price for a redesign is highest on the list of partner evaluation criteria.

In situations where a B2B company has strong need to differentiate and their website is a place where customers and prospects will scrutinize them, the website becomes more of a strategic tool. These are some of the strategic drivers of a B2B website that may suggest you consider a greater investment than "lowest price."

a. Strong competition - The competition is strong, well-entrenched and has an impressive website. You know prospects are comparing you in an evaluation process.

b. Rebranding - When a B2B company repositions itself in the marketplace, there is no more ubiquitous place to present the new brand to the widest audience.

c. Introducing new products and services - New products and services have a material effect on the success of a business. The website is the greatest opportunity for a controlled presentation of that information and for inviting interaction with your clients.

d. Becoming more of a solutions vs. a product sell - The B2B website is a unique forum for demonstrating an understanding of the needs of your clients by presenting benefit-driven solutions to their problems and not just selling products. In the new marketing world, in which customers have greater control over the dialogue, pulling customers in with relevant content rather than pushing technology or products at them is the way to positively impact the bottom line.

2. The Impact of Having a Substandard Website
While a substandard website can be measured in decreasing traffic or a high bounce rate, the real impact may not be visible. At any time prospects may be considering your company. Before contacting you, the first thing they do is to visit the websites of all of the competitive businesses often with the intention of "narrowing down the list." If your content is stale, use of technology dated, user experience mediocre, there is a reasonable expectation that you will not get the call — and in this economy, ignorance is not bliss.

3. The Use of Technology to Enhance User Experience
B2B websites can be as simple as straight html or full of sophisticated content management, integration with CRM packages, SEO-friendly content, database-driven Flash navigation, e-commerce and so forth. The technologies and how they're used have a great impact on the price of a website. To ascertain the best use of technology, you must first define the user experience you're seeking. If determining technology requirements is beyond your capability, we sometimes recommend engaging in a brief, constrained "Scoping Process." This is often a great way to gain clarity and understand what the real costs will be.

4. The Level of Service Desired/Required
As the owner of an agency with account, design and technical people, clients have often shared how much they value our service. In situations in which budget is at or close to the top of evaluation criteria and a prospect may be comparing us to a freelance practitioner or 2 person-team, it's important to consider that great service has a value and that value should be built into a company's budget expectation.

5. How the Website Integrates with Your Marketing Efforts
More and more frequently, the true value of a website is how well it functions as a centerpiece of a complete marketing program. How does it fulfill emarketing or direct marketing efforts? Does it provide the best experience when your SEO or PPC program drive traffic? Is the content relevant and compelling? Does the site invite visitors to interact in a meaningful way? Determine what business goals you wish to accomplish with the website and rank them in importance. Quantify the impact on your business of not having these features in place. Being clear about your goals and the impact of not achieving them will go a long way to identifying the right vendor and will lead to the right price.

Considering these 5 points will help you determine what level investment is appropriate for your next website and which web partner is right for you.

Categories: Web / Interactive
Posted by Paul Regensburg at 10:06 PM   |  2 Comments

25 January 2010

5 Tips for writing Better RFP's

When asked for our elevator pitch, I describe RainCastle first and foremost as business problem solvers, with brand strategies and websites the mediums we happen to use to solve the problems. We've been most successful when clients have shared their business problems and we've collaborated on the solution. Inherent to this equation is the combination of our strategic value and tactical execution.

While most of our business is referral based, we do receive a fair number of RFP's. It's safe to say that most RFP's I receive are not focused on strategic value but more on keeping costs down. It is more often about the "apples to apples" comparison rather than strategic problem solving, i.e. what we will deliver rather than what problems need to be solved. This leads me to suggest 5 tips for writing better RFP's.

Define the business goals of the project.
It may sound obvious, but I receive quite a few RFP's that run down a laundry list of deliverables with little or no context. Describe the business problem, what has occurred because of the problem and what result you'd like to see from this project.

Define a basic set of services to enable a reasonable comparison
Clarify the format of the response in such a way as to ease your evaluation process. Providing clear instructions about the format of the response will go a long way to making your evaluation easier.

Allow for unique solutions or perspectives in a separate section
Make sure respondents know that unique perspectives are welcome and have their place in the response process. Too many RFP's are designed to keep vendors at bay and avoid engagement for fear of showing favortism. But the vendors are in the position to help, so engaging with them should be advantageous and not adversarial. Gaining their unique perspective is a critical part of finding the right team that will help you differentiate your business.

Meet the teams and have questions ready
Although technology makes remote communication a regular part of conducting business in 2010, team chemistry can't be underrated. If possible, RFP writers should meet the vendor teams and engage in a mutual Q&A, which will help ascertain if the chemistry is right between all team members.

Decide the criteria for a Winner, before issuing the RFP.
Most RFP's I've seen are written toward identifying the lowest cost bidder. But when asked about criteria, the generic response I've heard is, "we're looking for a combination of cost, approach and thinking." Be clear in your own mind how you weight vendor responses. Is it 80% price, 20 % approach or vice-versa. Also, be cognizant if those percentages change as you meet the different vendors. It's not uncommon to start with one set of goals and parameters and allow the process to change your priorities. If you maintain awareness of this, you can maintain control of the process thus resulting in the right vendor selection.

For writers and recipients of RFP's, I would be pleased to hear your thoughts.

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Posted by Paul Regensburg at 7:40 PM   |  1 Comment

15 January 2010

Waxing Poetic about RFP's

There once was an RFP
That seemed simplistic to me
It distilled strategic needs
Into tasks, steps and fees
Real value no one could see

With the focus these days on ROI and metrics to ascertain the value a website or a brand has to your business, it's surprising to me that more companies don't reflect an "attention to value (‘ATV' for you acronym lovers)"in their RFP process. While most of our business has always been referrals from current or past clients and others with whom we've worked, we routinely receive RFP's, which are sent out to a collection of firms more or less like ours.

Wikipedia defines a "request for proposal" (referred to as RFP) as "an invitation for suppliers, often through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific commodity or service. A bidding process is one of the best methods for leveraging a company's negotiating ability and purchasing power with suppliers. The RFP process brings structure to the procurement decision and allows the risks and benefits to be identified clearly upfront."

The operative words are "leverage" and "structure." "Value," or something synonymous is conspicuously absent in the description and consequently in the process. While I understand that leverage is advantageous for keeping costs down, and structure can be useful for making accurate comparisons among vendors, the need for control that these attributes enforce often tends to come at the expense of teasing out who in fact will be the vendor most apt to solve your business problem - who is the "value provider."

Wikipedia goes on to say, "The creativity and innovation that suppliers choose to build into their proposals may be used to judge supplier proposals against each other, at the risk of failing to capture consistent information between bidders and thus hampering the decision making process." When the primary goal of an RFP is to provide an "apples to apples" comparison rather than to engage with vendors in search of the true value provider, the result is "hit or miss" at best.

This is a significant topic, which I will be exploring further. I'm eager to hear your points-of-view.

Photo: Pete McArthur

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Posted by Paul Regensburg at 1:05 PM   |  1 Comment