COMM 464 class 3 Agenda Marketplace news Website usability and customer experience Principles Framework: 7Cs Practice & Discussion Project, teams and clients Next steps: class 4

How do you evaluate website effectiveness? Small groups: brainstorm. What questions will you ask? -

Prep Qs What are the key principles of good website usability? How would you user test? How does customer experience vary across different online touchpoints (think social as well as company websites) and what are the implications for design and ongoing management?

What is the purpose of your site? Gather information? Raise awareness? Direct enquiries? Influence sales? Transact sales? Not all sites should try to do everything. Who is your target customer? How you will serve her/him? Fit of website in total experience?

The good, the bad & the ugly Webbyawards.com Useit.com Webpagesthatsuck.com What did you learn from good and bad examples? Are there broad principles to take forward with regard to web usability, and thus design?

The 7Cs of the Customer Interface Context Site’s layout and design Content Text, pictures, sound and video that webpages contain Commerce Site’s capabilities to enable commercial transactions Community The ways sites enable user-to-user communication Connection Degree site is linked to other sites Customization Site’s ability to self-tailor to different users or to allow users to personalize the site Communication The ways sites enable site-to-user communication or two-way communication From “Internet Marketing” Rafi Mohammed et al, 2003

A few more Cs Consistency of all experiences…. online and offline Control: is the user in control? Really! Customer service. Chance of finding…from wherever I start! Comparison versus other relevant sites. C……………..! …..and MOBILE version

Exercise Small groups at laptops, pick a site and a comparison site (from same category) Attempt to apply 7Cs framework Not all are always present or necessary Comment on gaps and opportunities Make notes; be prepared for a brief presentation or discussion Worksheet follows on next page

7Cs Summary Content Context Commerce Customization Connection Site A (focus brand) Site B (comparison site) or best in class Content Context Communication Commerce Customization Connection Community Other

Synergies: eBay example Connection Ultimate destination No links to other content sites Context Commerce Functional layout Effective design Mostly text-based Auction format Facilitator role No inventories One-Stop Shop Content Communication Trading Information Auction Format Transaction enabler No contact with items Rule setter Toll taker Highly interactive site Mostly organization-users (interface) No mass communication Trade Only Support Services Customization Community User-customizable Priority items only (bidding / selling) Prompt information driven Active traders Shared transaction experience EBay interfaces transactions From Mohammed et al

Next steps on Usability Will include: add interactivity and individualization explore levels of experience and design to achieve these at: a minimum acceptable level a superior, “winning” level examine usability changes across relationship stages: what would you change? When and why? 11

teams, clients and project Briefing guide on Connect Outline for online marketing plan What would make for a good client for this project? What questions will you ask of client when you meet with them? Date per course outline. 12

Project deliverables Teams formed Client meeting: (instead of class) Identify company and get Instructor Client meeting: (instead of class) Pairs/threes within team: assignments Competitor web analysis Competitor social media analysis Team project outline Final paper du Minimum requirements A full digital marketing assessment and improvement plan with detailed implementation proposals linked to testing and measuring against key metrics. Include adwords test campaign and active use of Hootsuite to monitor, converse, run tests and show analytics. Stretch options Build in some more of the tests to the development phase and report back on them: i.e. community management, twitter micro campaigns. 13

Next steps Teams, clients HSU: next module Class 4 Preparation Questions (that can trigger your blog post research and thinking) How do people search online? What influences search behaviour? What are the implications for marketers? What is SEO? How do paid and organic search relate? What is Adwords? Who would use it, when and why? Consider a blog post: on “search”.