Growing Customers With Content
In a recent article on UX Matters, Colleen Jones discussed the pivotal role content plays in audience and customer growing online. She goes as far as to suggest that a site redesign might now be necessary if businesses and brands utilize content in more forward-thinking ways.
Now, some sites suffer from stagnant consumer bases because there are interface problems with their site that prevent the users they already have from experiencing the site in the best possible way. At one job I’ve had, there was no way content could save the consumer — the problem was with the site itself not providing what users needed. Simply put, there was content, and lots of it, but it was difficult to find and hard to relate to because of its connection to the rest of the site. No amount of content pushing could save a situation like that.
Barring structural, server and usability restrictions, Jones’ advice is solid, and she clearly understand that for a company or brand to jump into the Web 2.0 world with their customers, they need to take things step by step before they land in a Facebook group or start tweeting. This is another compulsion I’ve experienced on jobs. Management wants to use social networking sites but their core voice (the mothership, the loaf where all crumbs fall from, the main Web site) isn’t up to snuff. She advises, “I recognize the importance of considering user-generated content and social media in customer relationships, but many companies first need to improve their core communications with customers.”
In other words, don’t start scrambling Web 2.0 eggs until the hen house is clean and organized, sending a complete and singular message to users. Jumping into social media without first organizing the content and message on the home site is a huge mistake, and ends up confusing your brand.
The rest of the article is definitely worth your time if you work at all with brands and customers online. She goes on to discuss actual ways (using many examples) you can use your brand’s site to compel users to care more about what you to, simultaneously helping them feel like your brand works for them. Honestly, this kind of material is so good, it’s probably required reading for anyone with a product or brand that needs to reignite their relationship with their users.
21 June 2009 @ 12pm | Comments
































