What your Web Site Says About your Brand

Your visitor then waits a few minutes before you acknowledge his presence. After you finally ask him what he wants and begin conversing, he remains standing, because your office does not have an extra chair. He listens, uncomfortably, while you discuss his concerns and assure him of your willingness to help him address these concerns. You give him poorly photocopied, handwritten forms to complete in order to fulfill his request. As he begins completing this paperwork, you see that he is using a blue pen. You exclaim, "Oh no, this paperwork can only be completed with green ink. I'll wait while you run down to the office supply store to get a green pen. Be sure to come back." You hand him a business card, but it does not have a telephone number.

Would this happen in real life? Probably not. But how many times have you visited a web site with malfunctioning features like the broken door, or unintelligible web content littered with typographical errors? How often have you wasted time on a web site looking for a simple telephone number, waiting for pages to download or encountered a request to download special software just to view elements of certain web sites? Did these web site experiences leave a positive impression in your mind about the quality of the service you might receive from that company or organization? Did you feel that this organization valued your time, understood your needs or appreciated your business? Again, probably not.

Unintentionally, these types of site problems directly affect the customer or user's impression of the organization, company or entity that is sponsoring the web site. On the web, it is not enough to simply tell the customer that you are responsive, provide great service or have the best product; you have to demonstrate it as well. Welcome to the world of online branding.

Everything Has a Brand
Branding is most evident as a marketing characteristic of for-profit companies, yet non-profits, organizations and even the government have brands as well. Brand is the overall image or identity of any entity in the eyes of the customer. Those "customers" may be people who actually purchase specific services or product, but can also be as diverse as members, the media, volunteers, citizens and even other businesses. Your brand is the impression your customers have after their experience with you. It is the external representation of your image, expressing the real or emotional benefits and the promise of value, quality, convenience or uniqueness in the services, information, or product you offer in the minds of your audience. The web's highly user-controlled, yet anonymous nature creates a challenge. For each individual audience and user, the combination of features, functionality, organization and visual design are physical, tangible demonstrations of the characteristics of the organization, product or service that sometimes say more than the content itself.

On your web site, you can inadvertently hurt your brand by amateur design, outdated, poorly written content, confusing navigation, slow page loads and demands to download special software just to view your site. With the web now reaching as many people as those who subscribe to daily newspapers, it is no wonder that users develop impressions of organizations, companies and other entities through the design, content, usability and other features found on their web sites.

What do users want?
Hundreds of studies have been conducted on what web users like and dislike; want and don't want on web sites. Yet, every study distills down to the same two things--convenience and service. The same basic user expectations were reported across nearly all audience groups:

• Simple, intuitive site navigation
• Visual appeal
• Speed
• Availability and currency of information
• Online tools to speed up transactions
• Pricing information
• Customer Service

Simple, intuitive site navigation
An organization expresses an understanding of the customer through its site navigation. The site structure, nomenclature, consistency and functionality contribute to the overall user impression of quality and credibility. A site that presents inconsistent navigation elements or broken links leaves users with the perception that the organization does not always follow up on its promises and is somewhat unprofessional in its practices.

Visual appeal
When asked to evaluate whether they would purchase a product online from the web sites of Company A or Company B. Both companies were small businesses, selling nearly identical products. Not surprisingly, users overwhelmingly said they would purchase from Company A, the site featuring a more visually appealing design. Why? Company B's site, with an outdated, amateur design left users with the impression that they were not a very trustworthy business. In this case, amateur design communicated an amateur business, directly affecting the user's perception of this organization's credibility.

Speed
On average, a user spends less than one minute on any given web page. By forcing the user to wait for lengthy page downloads or structuring a site in a manner that makes it difficult to find specific information, your site makes it inconvenient for the user. This inconvenience leaves the user with the perception of a company, organization or entity that is difficult to work with and disrespectful of their time.

Availability and currency of information
In the United States, the sites receiving the most web traffic are web portals and search engines. Each focuses on helping users find information. If a visitor to your site does not find the information they need, they will go quickly go elsewhere. By not providing the information a customer expects to find on your site, your organization risks leaving the impression that you don't really understand what your customer needs. Content that is not clearly written frustrates users by creating more confusion or questions than they had in the first place. Outdated or undated information can inadvertently leave the impression of a lack of professionalism, deceit, or substandard communication skills.

Online tools
The number one reason people use the web is for convenience. If you can create this benefit on your web site, you leave your user with a positive perception of your organization. Online tools such as site search capabilities or account information help the user fulfill their needs faster, leaving them with the impression that you value their time and provide quality service.

Pricing
While pricing information is not always appropriate for all sites, since users want convenience, it is better to error on the side of too much, rather than too little information in this regard. By omitting pricing information, organizations make it easier for the customer to go elsewhere and risk leaving the impression that their prices are too high.

Customer service
Users go online to complete tasks conveniently and quickly. Yet, over half of the online service inquiries made by customers go unanswered within 24 hours, and about one quarter are never answered at all. If an organization is providing any information online, users will expect to be able to conduct inquiries online as well. Organizations that neglect this aspect of their web site risk enormous damage to their credibility. The failure to include online information on how to contact customer service or to respond to email inquiries in a timely manner demonstrates poor quality service.

The Hidden Cost of Ignoring Brand
Customers prefer sites that offer information, convenience and help them get things done. There is no indication that users prefer sites with expensive technological features or costly visual design. Any organization, company or entity that thinks they cannot afford to focus their online communication efforts on these critical branding components misses the point. By ignoring customer wants on your web site, you essentially ignore your customer. By attending to these basics -- accessibility, good online content and services and consistent, attractive packaging--your brand is effectively communicated through the actual demonstration of your organization's quality, value, expertise, credibility, professionalism and service.  Contact us and ask about our site analysis to see how effectively your site is communicating your brand to your customer.