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Interactive and Fresh.

The key is to create something of 'value' for your visitors that keeps them coming back - gets them to bookmark your site. Remember, your website isn't something people read, it's something they do. Visiting your site is an activity. The tools for building and maintaining a website allow interaction with the visitor. Make use of these tools. When prospects read your paper brochure, they receive information in a passive manner. It is often said that if people read something they are aware of it, if they see something the can understand it, if they do something they can master it. What does 'do' mean? A page of text is read in a passive manner. A website that makes a visitor think and make choices, decide and take action, participate and learn will be much more successful than one that does not. ‘Point’ and click, email us, sign up, guest books, chat, webphone, shopping carts, newsgroups, etc. are all web-specific means of adding value through interaction. Engage the audience with content, promote feedback, and create interaction. The Internet is the only mechanism that allows for instantaneous interaction with the masses.

Get feedback from your customers.

Be sure to include a comments block on your forms or have a mail-to link on most every page. These sorts of things are key to soliciting feedback, which is the compass for any business trying to find its way through the unforgiving jungle of the network economy. Feedback comes in all flavors but there are basically three types of visitors with regard to feedback. The first type and the kind we all love is the glowing fan feedback generated by the grateful visitor who has been enlightened, entertained and/or enriched by the presentation of your web pages. The second, is that ‘complaint mail’ you can never seem to avoid. There is no shortage of folks who unfailingly point out every typo, broken link, or of those ill-tempered individuals who insist on persuding you to see things their way in LOUD CAPS. The third, and final, type are the non-participants or those who simply ‘hit and run’ with keyboard and mouse and race away with opinions unspoken. From a marketing standpoint, you might appreciate type ‘one’ who reinforces what you are doing right. If nothing else they're good for the ego. You may also gain valuable insights and suggestions from type two, the complainer, about what to fix and how to fix it. Feedback complainers are often loyal supporters underneath all that electronic hostility. You may not always want to hear what they have to say, but at least these folks are taking time to complain in order to improve the service. If they didn't care for it at all then they'd drift off with the ‘type threes’ never to be logged in again. The point is that the complimenter and complainer interact. The third type is the real marketing problem. The more interactive your website is the more type one and two visitors and hopefully customers you will have. On the other hand, if your site is bland and does not follow the principles we've outlined, then you will get alot of type three visitors. Regardless of how you view the types of feedback, it's important to go out of your way to coax it from your visitors and customers in as many ways as possible. Because if you don't ask, you don't get. And if you don't get you lose the bubble on what your customers need and want. To generate the maximum flow of site feedback include a feedback mailto on most of your web pages. Include a ‘Comments’ field in your guestbook form. Conduct periodic site evaluation surveys. Openly ask visitors to challenge your opinions, information, and your conclusions.

The Web is interactive so interact!

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