Last time, I shared results of an experiment we ran in the office. I had one of my persuasion architects write up two simple profiles that would be good potential prospects for XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Then I had two new, inexperienced support staffers click through the sites emulating these profiles. I shared their XM site experiences last time; this week, their paths on Sirius.

Cindy Arrives on Sirius

Cindy is a competitive, time-starved music aficionado. When she arrives on the Sirius home page, there are no enticing images or elements that provide an impression of the vast music choices she’ll have as a subscriber. The color palette is dark and masculine. The light grey “Music” button is almost invisible; Cindy never sees it. Instead she uses the top navigation and clicks the “What’s On Sirius” button.

On the What’s On Sirius page, Cindy becomes frustrated. She still doesn’t see genre listings in the active window. If she were a more patient persona, she might have noticed the rollover sub navigation near the top of the page, but she’s anything but patient. Underneath the main banner in the active window, she clicks on “Music.”

When she lands on the Music page, Cindy still doesn’t get any satisfaction. This page looks almost identical to the last one. At the fold, she spots the word “Pop” and scrolls, finally seeing a genre list. She clicks on a drop-down and finds an esoteric listing of names, which isn’t helpful. As she scans and scrolls down the entire page, she gets some resolve. Still, she’d like more mentions of specific artists she might hear. This page has no clear subscription call to action. Of course, there’s a free online trial button near the top, Cindy never sees it.

With no clear action to take, Cindy bails.

Continue reading my column at ClickZ…