I’ve been pretty giddy about research uncovering the patterns users follow while searching on the Internet. One of the more popular information-foraging theories that’s currently being proven confirms what we’ve known for quite sometime.

As early as 2001, a Xerox Palo Alto Research study indicated humans track information in a similar fashion to the way animals follow a scent. According to an article on the study:

People… engage in what [Dr. Ed Chi] calls “hub-and-spoke” surfing: They begin at the center, and they…

...continue to read "Map Scent Trails That Lead to Better Conversion"

I know it’s been a while, they keep Persuasion Architects particularly busy this time a year.

As important as conversion rates are to companies, there are many important considerations and optimizations that can be made AFTER conversion.

If the visitor experience after conversion is important to you, you need to know about Mal Watlington. His speciality is helping companies optimize their internal sales processes and remove the barriers that prevent their employees from achieving success. He is a frequent public speaker at national…

...continue to read "Online Conversion Rates and Beyond"

We just finished tallying the results for our “2004 Online Retail Study for Customer Focused Excellence.” The study attempts to benchmark retailer’s Web sites using the least subjective criteria possible, such as payment option availability, shipping time estimates, length and ease of checkout processes, product descriptions, image views, and so on. The study doesn’t measure the entire user experience and purposely ignores some of e-tail sites’ more subjective attributes, such as price points, ease of locating products, and brand strength.

Mystery…

...continue to read "Fuzzy Customer Focus"

There’s a problem plaguing far too many companies in our technology-driven age. Simply put, the IT department is affecting critical decisions in departments such as marketing/sales.

We’ve seen it time and again. CEOs, marketing VPs, sales managers, and other powerful, intelligent people turn into quivering Jell-O heads around the tech-savvy and oh-so-knowledgeable IT department.

What does this have to do with marketing and return on investment (ROI) on the Internet?

More than you might imagine.

Playing off the technological ineptitude of department heads in…

...continue to read "Let IT Solve IT Problems, Not Marketing Problems"

Don’t get caught in the “stereotype trap” when you create personas for your Web site’s persuasive architecture

You sell aromatherapy products. Are all your visitors nature-loving women who are vegetarians, do yoga, mediate, promote world peace and wear Birkenstocks?

You sell football packages for a satellite service. Are all your visitors blue collar, couch-potato-type, middle-aged guys who drink beer, eat potato chips, have medium to minimal IQ and brag about the size of their TVs?

Careful … you may be falling into the…

...continue to read "When You Create Personas, Stay Clear of Stereotypes"