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View Full Version : 10 Costly Assumptions about Your Website



vangogh
08-25-2008, 01:43 PM
Never assume, because when you assume you make an...well you know the rest.

A lot of people do make assumptions though when it comes to their websites and those assumptions can often cost you.

Palmer Web Marketing posted these 10 costly assumptions (http://www.palmerwebmarketing.com/blog/10-costly-assumptions/) and I'm sure all of us have made at least one of these assumptions.

The assumptions:



People will know how to find your website
People know what you sell
Everything will go as planned
People know where to click
People know how to get home
People know where they are
People know how to buy
People will volunteer loads of personal information
People will contact customer service if they have a question or problem
People will come back

More details on each at the post.

Have you made any of these assumptions? What would you add to the list?

KristineS
08-25-2008, 02:57 PM
I think the single biggest assumption is the idea that putting a web site out there is all you have to do. Kind of a "we'll build it and they'll come mentality". Getting a web site online is only half the battle. The other half is getting it noticed.

billbenson
08-25-2008, 03:33 PM
People that buy and / or manage websites rarely know how to do that. That is true from the small business people through to corporations. Every corporate webmaster or manager over the web department I have known had know idea about web marketing and how to best utilize their site. There are some out there that do, but its the exception. This is true even in high tech firms.

For one of the products I sell, when I call the manufacturer for product information for a client, they tell me to have him go to their website. They don't understand why we as a distributor would put their information on our website rather than just link to them. If I send them to the manufacturers website, I'll loose the customer. They just don't get it.

vangogh
08-25-2008, 04:43 PM
the single biggest assumption is the idea that putting a web site out there is all you have to do

I've known people who thought that as soon as they put up their site it would immediately lead to millions of visits overnight.

Bill I hope people are learning, but I think many still don't get the web.

cbscreative
08-25-2008, 04:56 PM
I think there is at least one I would add to the list based on my experience.

Assuming visitors will share your priorities or perspective.

What I am getting at is this, and I think it especially a problem where business owners build their own site with a template and/or do not hire copywriters. Too many sites try to sell based on the perspective of the business rather than the perspective of the customer. They really end up talking to themselves.

About Us pages are the worst. They may tell you how grampa got a flat tire on his way to his first appointment when starting the business, but fail to lay out why the customer should buy from them, why they are different, and what benefit their customer will receive.

Many web sites are full of facts and features, but fall very short on benefits. They might mention that Gertrude is in charge of customer service, or even tell you that she has a degree. So what? It would be better to say that, "Gertrude has done an outstanding job of making sure our customers are completely satisfied. You can be assured that she and her team will personally support you if you have any questions or concerns."

Too many web sites are written with a Joe Friday mentality, "Just the facts." So the owners assume the reader will figure out why that matters.

orion_joel
08-30-2008, 08:54 AM
It mostly comes back to the whole point with much of technology or things that require maintenance and repair. The initial cost is not only a small part of the whole but it is also just the first payment. Now of course the figures i say now will differ in every case but if you buy a printer, chances are you will spend 3 times the price of the printer on ink in the first years. In the lifetime of owning a car, you are probably going to spend close to double the initial purchase price on it and running it. With a website i doubt there is much difference, except that you may end up spending many times more then the initial price in marketing and maintaining it relevance.

vangogh
08-30-2008, 12:14 PM
Assuming visitors will share your priorities or perspective.

That's a really good point. It's easy to forget that not everyone will automatically do the same things we would do.

It's a good argument for the use of personas. We were talking in one of the other threads here about testimonials. Some people don't pay any attention to them. I generally don't (though I find customer reviews of products very useful). It would be silly though for me to ignore testimonials though, as there are many who absolutely need to see them.

Ideally any site will anticipate the needs of the different personas that may visit and be able to have answers to the questions each persona will ask. Some need testimonials and some need the long list of features. Both should be there and be easy to find for the specific persona.