Web Design ~ Marketing ~ Promotion ~ Strategic Development

Sales Oriented Versus Customer Oriented Web Sites

By John F. Wright

Should generating revenue be the prime motivator?

A pure sales site has only one purpose... to generate as much revenue as possible. I know what you're thinking, "isn't that the purpose of a web business... or any business for that matter?" Well, yes and no.

The prime motivator for some web businesses is solely to generate sales and revenue... at any cost. What does that mean to you? Well, "at any cost" means you are, what I'll term as, a secondary motivator. In other words, your experience--good or bad--is inconsequential to the ultimate goal of generating revenue. A pure sales site might well sacrifice customer satisfaction.

Unfortunately, many web sites, and walk-in businesses for that matter, have gone by the wayside adopting sales as the prime motivator and forgetting about the customer.

Let's take a closer look at what I'm talking about.

Why customer satisfaction should be the prime motivator

Ask yourself, how many times have you gone back to buy from a business you've had a lousy experience with? My guess is not very often. I know I don't go back. Now, ask yourself how many times you've gone back to buy from a business you've had a great experience with?

What was the difference between the two experiences? Did you get a better deal from the site you had the great experience with? Maybe. Maybe not. Reality is you probably paid a little more for the same item you could've bought from the first web site. So, why were you willing to pay a little more?

I'll bet it's because you came away from the site you had the great experience with a satisfied customer.

The site was well laid out, when you called to ask questions you got great service, you got a good price on your purchase, you received exactly what you ordered, and you got a follow up call or email to make sure your were totally happy with your purchase.

With the other site you probably felt like you'd been given the runaround and you were totally drained of energy after your experience... even though you got a better price. By the way, did you really get what you ordered? Just curious.

So, what was the underlying difference between the two sites? Do you think it might have been because the site you had the great experience with was customer motivated? And, might the site you had the bad experience with been sales motivated?

And that's my point here. Customer satisfaction should be the prime motivator of a web business... in fact for any business.

Why then do so many web sites and walk-in businesses lose sight of this basic core business principle? Is it because establishing a relationship with a customer in order to gain their trust and respect before they'll buy takes too long to nurture?

A business can't survive very long if it's prime motivator is purely focused on sales and revenue. Sure, it may last for awhile... but not long-term. And that's what we're trying to do here is to create ourselves a long-term business.

Remember, you'll continue to buy from the web site you had the great buying experience with for as long as you have a need or desire for their products. You are what is referred to as a life-time customer. Do you see the power behind a customer motivated web site?

No one does it better than Amazon.com

Now, I'm not saying all or even most web businesses are strictly sales-oriented. Because they're not. Take Amazon.com, for instance. Arguably one of the largest customer-oriented and most successful web sites on the planet. They're living proof that "build a customer-oriented web site and they will come." Customers are Amazon.com's prime motivator, not sales. Surprised?

Amazon.com goes out of their way to personalize the shopping experience for every single person. When I go shopping I see a very different selection of products than what Linda, my wife, sees when she goes shopping there. Why? Because Amazon.com is totally customer-oriented. They know what I've purchased in the past and understand my buying habits.

They also understand that my buying habits are different than Linda's and are different than yours. So, they tailor the individual experience for each of us. Wow! That's a powerful concept! They have gone to a tremendous amount of work to individualize our experiences. Why? Yep, you're getting the picture. Customers are their prime motivator!

Would it have been easier and cheaper to build a strictly sales-oriented, sales motivated site? Sure. Would they be the largest customer-oriented and most successful web site on the planet if they had done that? Do I really need to answer that one?

Unfortunately, not all web businesses or walk-in businesses are Amazon.com's. There's enough bad apples out there that have spoiled the shopping experiences for folks like you and me that we're now skeptical when we go web shopping. That's a down-right shame!

When you go web shopping, you should expect exceptional value, superior service and over-delivery on your expectations. It should be an unwritten, ethical expectation that web sites provide these things.

And you should know exactly what you're getting for your money. I mean, it's not like a walk-in store where you can see and touch the products before you buy them. You're at the complete mercy of the web site. Doesn't that make your feel vulnerable to being taken advantage of?

That's why we as web designers and marketers must work very, very hard to create a level of trust between us and our customers. We also have to create the equivalent of a walk-in store so our customers know exactly what they're getting. Amazon.com understands these concepts very well. They are the benchmark by which all other web sites should strive to measure up to.

What does this mean to you, the web developer and marketer?

The reason you're here at Sell Your Web! is that you're either thinking about creating your first web site, or if you already have a web site you're thinking about revamping it. Obviously you have something of value to sell and you want to sell it on the web. The reason you're interested in the SiteSell products is that you're hoping to learn how to create your web site so that it gets lots of traffic and lots of sales. Right?

Up until now I've been walking you through your past experiences as the customer buying something on the web. Your memories are of both good and bad experiences. If you're like me the bad ones stick out in your mind the most, though.

Well, that's my whole point to this article. As a web developer and marketer, you must be sympathetic to the customer. Use your past experiences to create a customer-oriented site. Remember, you're going to define your customers experiences by how you build your site. You have a responsibility and an obligation to the customer to do it right!

So, what kind of experience are you going to create for your customers? What's your prime motivator--sales or the customer?

Your choice - a sales oriented site or a customer oriented site?

Good! You've decided on a customer-oriented site and the customer's going to be your prime motivator. Right decision!

While creating your new masterpiece of a web site, you'll build it to generate as much business and revenue as possible. However, you're going to do it the right way. You're smart enough to know that you need to understand and take into consideration your customers needs. Alright, then. Let's get to it!

Customer-oriented, customer motivated web site it is

You've decided your site's prime motivator is going to revolve 100% around customer satisfaction. You already know from your past experiences that customers will go back to sites where their experiences have been positive. On the flip side you know they don't go back to sites where their experiences have been less that stellar.

Your customers are no different! They'll either like doing business with you or they won't. It's all up to you at this point! That's why you're going to build your site so they'll want to return every time they're looking for a product or service like yours.

Remember, the web's a finicky place. It's a "one strike and you're out" environment. You're not going to get a second chance with most customers so you'd better get it right the first time!

So, develop your new web site using your own experiences as a customer as your guide. What did or didn't you like about the sites you've done business with in the past? For the sites you'd never go back to, why not? For the sites you frequent, what brings you back to them time after time?

Understand the dynamics of a good web site and recreate it in yours. Others have suffered a lot of hardship learning from their own mistakes. Why not learn from their mistakes too so you don't have to go down the same path of hard knocks!

You're getting the picture

Don't forget, treat your customers right and they'll be back... guaranteed. Treat them wrong and your competitor's are going to love you for driving them to their sites... again, guaranteed! It's time to do some serious thinking about your short- and long-term goals.

If you're in this for the short-haul you might--I say might--get away with a pure sales-oriented site where sales is the prime motivator...  but not for long. Customers are going to catch on to what you're doing pretty darn quick! My guess is, though, if you're doing some serious research you're in this for the long-haul. Of course, you've already decided your customer's going to be your site's prime motivator. Great strategy!

Who are you going to design your web site for?

Now that's out of the way, let's talk about who you're going to build your site for. Is it for you or the customer? No, I'm not talking about a sales- versus customer-oriented site. I'm talking about the cosmetics, the look and feel of the site and the page flow. Any ideas why I'm asking this question?

Too many site developers build their web sites with all the whiz-bang toys, buttons, bells and whistles. Why? Is it for the customer? No. It's to mainly impress other web developers. I mean, do you really think the customer minds if your site takes 90 seconds to load? Of course they do!

I know, you're saying, "but look at all the cool stuff they get to see after the 90 seconds." Wrong answer. Do you really think customers give a hoot about all the whiz-bangs? They just want to buy a product... hopefully yours.

Don't forget, the customer doesn't have your T1 line. They're using a 56k or even a 28.8k modem. So if your site's taking 90 seconds to load on your T1, how long do you think it's going to take over your customers modem? Let me answer that one for you... long enough to left mouse-click to your competitors site and you're history! Hasta la vista, baby!

Remember what I said about the finicky web customer? Well, as it turns out they're trigger happy too. You'd better rethink your web site!

Certainly if you're a graphics designer and that's what your site's all about then by all means, knock yourself out. However, if you're selling a product or service, do yourself and your customers a huge favor and create your site for them... not for you. Did you get the message? Your competitor's site is just a click away. Too, late. They're gone!

That's what I mean by not building your web site for yourself.

I know, I've probably bruised a few egos. Well, I can assure you you'll be thanking me down the line when you've got more customers that you know what to do with. So, put your ego to one side for awhile and focus strictly on what's best for the customer.

Ask yourself this, do you see any whiz-bang's on Amazon.com's site? Nope! And there's a good reason for that. Their site loads in under 10 seconds even on the slowest of modems. Think they're missing the boat by not jazzing up their site? Well, if being the largest customer-oriented, most successful web site on the planet means they're missing the boat, then I want to miss the boat with my web sites too. Bon voyage!

To summarize

Don't forget to wear clean underwear. Oh, no. That's another conversation. Don't forget:

• Offer an exceptional product

• Create a stellar, fast-loading, customer-friendly web site

• Over-deliver on the customers expectations

• Give an iron-clad, money back guarantee

Do these things and your customers will be back.

And remember, even in this age of e-business and e-commerce, word of mouth is still the most reliable, trusted and cheapest form of advertising. Satisfy your customers and they will tell their friends about you. Pretty soon your web site will be flooded with life-time customers.

Oh, and by the way, that means you'll be making lots of money! Enough said?

If you really think about it, you already know some of the answers to your questions. And we've just covered some of the fundamental basics here. For the answers to the rest of your questions you'd better buy Make Your Site Sell! 2002.

So, what's your decision... sales motivated or customer motivated web site?

Copyright © 2003 Sell Your Web!