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Added for You - Helping Your Visitors: a State of Mind
From a view point of a persons not involved in sales or marketing , sales & marketing are considered as one function. But the deeper you go in this field you will realize how different this two functions are and how bitter these personnel can become on each other even though they serve a common purpose to the organization.Every Sales man hates the marketing guy because "the guy in marketing sitting in the office gives him a useless leads and always ask to follow up on a non-consequential customers.""He is not involved in the reality of the situation how the sales actually happens, all he think is that creating beautiful brochures and creating a prospect list would result in a sale.""Sales is actually doing the hardwork of meeting people and convincing them, it requires
The design and text on the page immediately recognizes that some people are looking for home computers, while others are looking for networks for local government offices. Both audiences and more are addressed. The Dell.com page says, in effect, “Yes, you’re in the right place. Yes, we can help you. Yes, self-identify and please click here so we can help you find exactly what you need.”
If they can do it, why can’t the rest of us? Why can’t we design and write homepages that are primarily
Do you want to further your education? It doesn't matter if you are in high school wanting to get your college education or if you are an adult just wanting to learn more to hone your craft or to change professions you have the same decision that you need to make… where are you going to go? Fortunately for you there are more options than traveling to your state university or commuting to the local community college every day to further your education. With the introduction of the Internet it has opened a whole new way of learning and that is by getting your education online. But what exactly is an online education and how does it measure up with the more traditional way of getting your education?Online education, or distance learning, has really taken on a life of it's own in the pas
It means writing your sites, newsletters and emails in such a way as to help each visitor achieve his or her goal.
That may sound like a simple task, but it isn’t. Before you can write in a way that helps your visitors, you have to recognize and achieve a number of things.
1. Recognize that websites are hard to navigate
Even the simplest site is a lot harder to figure out than a catalog or magazine. We all know how to “use” a catalog. Start at the front cover and keep turning the pages. Same deal for every catalog you touch. It has always been that way and always will be.
If only it were that simple with a website. Unfortunately that’s not the case. With every new site we visit, we have to “learn” how it works, how its “pages” turn, how to find what we are looking for.
The fact that no two sites are exactly the same creates a roadblock or speed bump for each new visitor. When they arrive at your site they have to pause, look around and figure out exactly how this “catalog” works.
Recognize this moment of difficulty and you’ll see that the text on your homepage has to be very clear and has to help direct the visitor forward to the information he or she is looking for.
2. Understand what it is your visitors are looking for
We may pay lip service to being “visitor-centric,” but all too often our homepages primarily serve the needs of the organization, or even our own egos.
We carve up the real estate of the page to represent the different stakeholders in the company. Or we thrust our own views on design upon the visitor. Internal politics and ego are just two of the things that make it even harder for a first-time visitor to figure out how to find what she’s looking for.
And to write a homepage that really and truly is there to help the visitor above all else, we first have to understand the needs of the visitor.
At this point too many people just throw up their arms and give up. “We have so many different kinds of people looking for so many different products and services, we can’t possibly write our homepage for the visitor.”
Nice excuse, but no reward.
Dell.com does it. Dell has what is probably to most visitor-centric site of all the computer manufacturers. For years now they have built a homepage that holds back on saying, “Look at us, we’re great.” Instead they devote a significant part of the page to an area where visitor can self-select.
The design and text on the page immediately recognizes that some people are looking for home computers, while others are looking for networks for local government offices. Both audiences and more are addressed. The Dell.com page says, in effect, “Yes, you’re in the right place. Yes, we can help you. Yes, self-identify and please click here so we can help you find exactly what you need.”
If they can do it, why can’t the rest of us? Why can’t we design and write homepages that are primarily c
The healthcare industry is experiencing a great amount of job growth. There is a nationwide shortage of nurses, and this shortage is predicted to get worse. Jobs in the field of nursing are abundant worldwide. Unfortunately, not only are there not enough nurses, there are not enough nursing educators. This causes a high degree of competition for those wanting to get in to a nursing program. Potential nursing students are finding it difficult to find programs, and when they do, there are often wait lists. The wait is worth it, however. Since qualified nurses are in high demand - and will continue to be, the wages too, will continue to rise. Registered nurses constitute one of the largest healthcare occupations, with 2.3 million jobs. Even more new jobs are expected to be created for register
If only it were that simple with a website. Unfortunately that’s not the case. With every new site we visit, we have to “learn” how it works, how its “pages” turn, how to find what we are looking for.
The fact that no two sites are exactly the same creates a roadblock or speed bump for each new visitor. When they arrive at your site they have to pause, look around and figure out exactly how this “catalog” works.
Recognize this moment of difficulty and you’ll see that the text on your homepage has to be very clear and has to help direct the visitor forward to the information he or she is looking for.
2. Understand what it is your visitors are looking for
We may pay lip service to being “visitor-centric,” but all too often our homepages primarily serve the needs of the organization, or even our own egos.
We carve up the real estate of the page to represent the different stakeholders in the company. Or we thrust our own views on design upon the visitor. Internal politics and ego are just two of the things that make it even harder for a first-time visitor to figure out how to find what she’s looking for.
And to write a homepage that really and truly is there to help the visitor above all else, we first have to understand the needs of the visitor.
At this point too many people just throw up their arms and give up. “We have so many different kinds of people looking for so many different products and services, we can’t possibly write our homepage for the visitor.”
Nice excuse, but no reward.
Dell.com does it. Dell has what is probably to most visitor-centric site of all the computer manufacturers. For years now they have built a homepage that holds back on saying, “Look at us, we’re great.” Instead they devote a significant part of the page to an area where visitor can self-select.
The design and text on the page immediately recognizes that some people are looking for home computers, while others are looking for networks for local government offices. Both audiences and more are addressed. The Dell.com page says, in effect, “Yes, you’re in the right place. Yes, we can help you. Yes, self-identify and please click here so we can help you find exactly what you need.”
If they can do it, why can’t the rest of us? Why can’t we design and write homepages that are primarily
Personal and/or organizational change often is met by stiff resistance. Such resistance is however thought of something that is desirable to those who are resisting it.As such the instigators of the change itself then find themselves having to use considerable effort and/or ingenuity to affect others to make the required change. This strategy not only takes tremendous energy but is also, in my view, misguided from the start.The greatest impediment to any change is the "fear of change" itself. Now because many "think" that this is a normal human emotion that needs to be "overcome" in a manner of speaking, then this is the tack that many change management consultants find themselves taking. That is they put energy into trying to "overcome" it.I would like to suggest anoth
2. Understand what it is your visitors are looking for
We may pay lip service to being “visitor-centric,” but all too often our homepages primarily serve the needs of the organization, or even our own egos.
We carve up the real estate of the page to represent the different stakeholders in the company. Or we thrust our own views on design upon the visitor. Internal politics and ego are just two of the things that make it even harder for a first-time visitor to figure out how to find what she’s looking for.
And to write a homepage that really and truly is there to help the visitor above all else, we first have to understand the needs of the visitor.
At this point too many people just throw up their arms and give up. “We have so many different kinds of people looking for so many different products and services, we can’t possibly write our homepage for the visitor.”
Nice excuse, but no reward.
Dell.com does it. Dell has what is probably to most visitor-centric site of all the computer manufacturers. For years now they have built a homepage that holds back on saying, “Look at us, we’re great.” Instead they devote a significant part of the page to an area where visitor can self-select.
The design and text on the page immediately recognizes that some people are looking for home computers, while others are looking for networks for local government offices. Both audiences and more are addressed. The Dell.com page says, in effect, “Yes, you’re in the right place. Yes, we can help you. Yes, self-identify and please click here so we can help you find exactly what you need.”
If they can do it, why can’t the rest of us? Why can’t we design and write homepages that are primarily
Many of us in sales are taught to believe that the most important job of the salesperson is to 'find the need' of our prospects. If we can uncover 'needs' then our job is easy; we just need to show our prospect how our product or service fills that need. Right?Well, the problem with that approach is that it only addresses part of the pie. Think about it. What do you do when YOU need something? Let’s say you need to buy a new computer; do you sit around and wait, hoping that a computer salesperson is going to call you? NO, of course not; you go out and you fulfill your need.So, as a salesperson, if people really NEED your product or service they will pick up the phone and call you to place an order. If that’s the case, why aren’t you selling more??? Oh, you say, they
At this point too many people just throw up their arms and give up. “We have so many different kinds of people looking for so many different products and services, we can’t possibly write our homepage for the visitor.”
Nice excuse, but no reward.
Dell.com does it. Dell has what is probably to most visitor-centric site of all the computer manufacturers. For years now they have built a homepage that holds back on saying, “Look at us, we’re great.” Instead they devote a significant part of the page to an area where visitor can self-select.
The design and text on the page immediately recognizes that some people are looking for home computers, while others are looking for networks for local government offices. Both audiences and more are addressed. The Dell.com page says, in effect, “Yes, you’re in the right place. Yes, we can help you. Yes, self-identify and please click here so we can help you find exactly what you need.”
If they can do it, why can’t the rest of us? Why can’t we design and write homepages that are primarily
You may have heard something about an ebook titled Affiliate Project X because there is a lot of hype in the affiliate marketing blogospheres out there right now.I buy just about every ebook available when it comes to affiliate marketing and adwords guides. I bought a copy of Affiliate Project X as well and I was curious if it would live up to it's hype. There is a lot of hype about it because that is what the author intended. It's one of those Super Affiliate methods that works.This is the same guy that wrote Adwords Miracle, which I believe is one of, if not the most practical and information packed Adwords products on the market.However, the reason I hate Affiliate Project X is because it reveals the secret techniques that Super Affiliates like me, are
The design and text on the page immediately recognizes that some people are looking for home computers, while others are looking for networks for local government offices. Both audiences and more are addressed. The Dell.com page says, in effect, “Yes, you’re in the right place. Yes, we can help you. Yes, self-identify and please click here so we can help you find exactly what you need.”
If they can do it, why can’t the rest of us? Why can’t we design and write homepages that are primarily created with a view to helping each visitor find what he or she wants as quickly as possible?
3. Accept that visitors scan your headings and links
You’ve done it yourself. You go to a new site and scan the page. You may read one or two headings and links in their entirety, but often you will skim over others.
Here comes excuse number two: “Hey, we have a huge site here. We have to create a large number of sub-heads and links on the homepage.”
Well, here’s a really big site that seems to have worked around that one: Microsoft.com. They may be the “dark side” to some designers, but they have a very lean homepage for such a huge organization.
And there’s something else to note about how they do things on the Microsoft page. See the link text? They say enough to get the point across. That’s helpful. All too often design constraints limit links to just three or four words each. When that happens, you often leave the visitor guessing about what is really behind that link: is it what they are looking for or not? Say enough to make it clear.
If you want to help your visitors, try to reduce the number of headings and links on the homepage, and make those forward links as clear and unambiguous as possible.
4. Be relevant in the words and phrases you use
If you want people to know how to find what they want on your site, be sure the language you use is relevant to their needs.
At its simplest, this means avoiding corporate-speak and industry jargon. It means taking the trouble to find out which words and terms your visitors use when thinking about your products and services.
Don’t use your company’s “hot terms.” Write in a way that is relevant to your visitors.
The words and terms you use are essential to helping people find what they want. Use language that they recognize. Write in a way that makes them sit up and think, “This is exactly what I’m looking for!”
How can you achieve this? The simplest way is to research your logs and see what search terms people are using when they arrive via the search engines. See which words and phrases they use in their searches. This is the simplest and most elegant way to get a feel for the language they use when thinking about your products or services.
And when you use the terms that people enter into search engines, you achieve instant recognition. “Hey, these guys are sp
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