Poor Web Design ....The Internet Death Penalty

05/29/2002

losing customers because of inadequate Web sites

That is the message from Enterpulse, an e-business services firm based in Atlanta. The company surveyed 301 "heavy" Web users - defined as people who used the Internet both at home and at work at least once a day.
Sixty-six percent of respondents said they rarely or never return to a Web site where they have a bad experience.
"This finding, which we called the 'Internet death penalty,' was a huge surprise," Michael Reene, the chairman and CEO of Enterpulse told Newsbytes.
Reene said the company felt it had identified the primary needs of sites and wanted to find the priority that people placed on characteristics such as ease of use, being up-to-date and simple navigation.
"We thought there would be a high tolerance for mediocre sites," he said. "The fact that such a high percentage of people would not return is shocking."
"A business owner cannot count those people who are going away and never coming back," he added.
Reene, who served as general manager of IBM's global telecommunications business before taking over the helm of Enterpulse in 1999, said 99 percent of the survey's respondents said a site that "works well" is very important. However, 43 percent said they were disappointed with site performance.
"We were surprised at that figure, also," he said.
The study subjects were not directed to view designated sites, said Reene. Instead, they simply visited the sites they use in their daily lives.
What can companies do? Reene suggested concentrating on three areas.
First, he said, it is important to meet customers' expectations for their Internet experience. "The Web is one way people meet you, so take it very seriously," he said.
Second, companies should understand their Web presence faces customers, and therefore sales and marketing should be in charge of the Web site, not IT or human resources, he said.
"Finally, companies should understand and embrace the minimum of expectations," Reene said. "Besides easy navigation and use, people want and expect a site to load quickly, to be visually appealing, and to have customization and personalization."
Other Web site features Reene suggests includes interactive tools - such as an interest rate planner for a tax site, or a recommender for book sites.
According to Reene, one-to-one marketing and deep personalization are not the exception any more.
"The Web is maturing as a customer channel, and customers are maturing to the Web faster than companies are ready," he said.
"Businesses need to adjust to the challenge, and if they don't, they are turning away a large group of potential customers and they'll never know they are turning them away."
Enterpulse is at http://www.enterpulse.com .

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Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com