Meeting Customers' Expectations Online

Mar 25

… or: Don’t make them work for it

This article is a continuation of the concepts discussed in “Small Businesses are Still Businesses.” You can definitely read this separately, but check it out when you’re done with this one.

Here’s the concept: You’re a business and you shouldn’t be ashamed of that. And since you are now no longer ashamed of being a business, you should act like one. And online, the most important part of that is:

Meeting your customers’ expectations

(That’s marketing speak for: “Give you customers what they want in a way that they can easily understand. Don’t make them work for it.”)

The key to meeting customers’ expectations is acting within the guidelines of how normal people expect the Internet to work. That may seem silly or just common sense, but think about it this way:

How many times have you gone to a web site and it didn’t work the way you thought it would?

Whenever that happens, people tend to start leaving websites. There are so many sites that provide basically the same services that there is no reason to hang around somewhere that is hard to use or has a frustrating or confusing interface. People have logged so many hours online and the Mega sites of eCommerce and Content have helped create a set of standards to which people are accustomed. If you don’t follow those standards, then you are deemed “not-customer-friendly” and it’s super easy for people to just go elsewhere.

Here are some common site visitor expectations:

If there’s a picture, you expect to click it.

If you see a product, you expect to see a price next to it, and a button to click to buy it.

If there’s a menu, you expect to be able to see what’s in it.

If you’re trying to buy something, it should be easy to find, click it, and check-out.

If you want to know more, there should be a place to sign up to get updates.

Another part of meeting expectations happens at the macro-level: Your site should *do* what people *expect it to do.*

If you create music, make it super-easy for me to listen to it. If you run a festival or a concert series, allow me to easily find out when it is and then buy a ticket. Don’t hide your most important information amongst layers of menus and clicks. Don’t make people work for it.

So, how do you make all this work?

It’s not that hard, really, just consider why people would come to your site and what you want them to do once they get there. Then, ensure that your site makes it easy to get that done.

Here’s a quick guide to help you build your strategy:

What do people want to get out of a visit from your site?
- Are those things front & center? (attention-getting)
- Do you easily name/identify them based on what a customer would call them?
- If there are many things they could do, are the most-important prioritized?
- Are these things easy to do?
  - Big buttons for clicking
  - Not too many clicks along the way
  - Not too many fields to fill out, etc.
  - Clarity of order to follow

This is obviously not a full lesson in website design but instead just a way to start getting your mind thinking in the right direction. Stay tuned for my next articles on How to Design your Site To Meet Customer Expectations.

In the meantime: Make your site experience easy and clear for your visitors; Don’t make them work for it!

by Scott Atkinson, March 25, 2020