"Some marketers believe the more choices they offer consumers, the more they'll buy. But research
shows that's not the case."
--Malcolm Gladwell, Blink
Malcom Gladwell, in his book Blink, illustrates that the more options prospects and
customers are presented with, the less likely they are to choose one. His example is taken from a study in which six different fruit jellies were
presented to shoppers at a grocery store display. Another time, twenty four jellies were presented in a similar display. The result? The display with
six jellies outsold the display with twenty-four, indicating that more choice does not necessarily lead to more sales.
As the study in Blink illustrates, more choices do not necessarily lead to more actions -- it will likely lead to less.
This is an important insight for designing an effective Web site, among other things. The first step in
building a successful Web site is to design it around a specific goal. Just one. This can seem like a daunting task, especially if you have a lot of
goals in mind. You can create a successful strategy with multiple
goals. But you need to work up to it. Start with defining one goal.
If you try to get
visitors to your site to buy your widget, download the white paper,
check out the corporate blog, sign up for the newsletter, and
check out every nook and cranny of your site, you have presented far too
many options. As Malcolm Gladwell pointed out, if you present people with
too many
options, it will be difficult for them to take action, and they will choose the only option that you have really
presented
them. They will leave.
Therefore, create a goal for your Web site. Generally, the goal should be well-defined in the
company's business or marketing
plans. In this document, lead generation strategies, branding, etc., should be fairly well laid out and it should be well understood where the Web
site
fits into the different areas of the marketing and business plans. From this information, you can align the Web site
with those needs.
However, in the real world, these documents aren't always easily available or they may not have been created. If this describes your environment,
here's a simple method to discover the purpose of the Web site: Write it down. Just take out a sheet of paper and write "The purpose of this
site is to ___."
If writing down a sentence like this feels a little silly to you, try it anyway. If you really can't
bring yourself to do this, then talk to a friend
about the goal, or draw a picture. However you feel like doing it, it is essential to externalize the process so that it can be reviewed by other
people.
This simple step will help you articulate the purpose; if you feel like you have to defend the purpose or that other people won't understand, you may
have uncovered a problem that needs to be addressed.
If you can't communicate it to your friends and colleagues, then you can expect that the visitors
to your site will be just as confused when they visit a site that was designed from such convoluted beginnings. By taking this step, by defining the
goal of the Web site, you have given it a singular clarity. Visitors to your site will not be faced with too many choices, but will have a clear
vision of what is expected of them. The experience you are providing is much more pleasant, manageable. And your visitors will thank you by taking
action.
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