Olesons Mercantile
Remember the days when corporate websites consisted mainly of an “about us” and a “contact us” section? Are these sections even relevant? Your corporate website should act as your “storefront” but is that really what is going to ensure that consumers explore and remain loyal to your store or in this case, your brand? I’m going to get a bit nostalgic and use a Little House on The Prairie example to stir up this discussion: What made Olesons Mercantile so different is sir Nels Oleson, not the fancy sign of the rocking chairs on the front porch. Or maybe it was his wife Harriet… we’ll never know!
Why not evolve the way we envision the corporate website? Maybe…dissolve your online presence into multiple touchpoints based on the consumers’ expectations. Adapt with your consumers the same way you do in ye old brick and mortar store: Celebrate your local and unique offering with your consumers.
Your corporate website should be a destination that serves people. It should be easy to find. If it’s a transactional site, offer the simplest UX and pay attention to product selection functionalities (zoom in, filters, etc). Make it fast and easy, clear shipping and billing instructions, great return policy. Make sure you don’t lose sight of your purpose - if people are there to buy, they don’t want to be annoyed by videos or multiple pages and flash animations.
Think about your last ad mass media campaign. Were you driving people to your corporate website? What were they able to do within this site? Communication is evolving to drawing plans and strategies that are perfectly nailed down. A precise behavior should be envisioned and the personas principle shouldn’t be limited to the web. It could definitely benefit your broad communication strategies. How long can we think about a target audience that is “mass” without thinking about losing millions of dollars. It’s harder. It takes more time. It requires more content. But what if instead of investing in a mass media campaign, you invested in focused tactics directly linked to specific marketing results?
Even if you’re corporate website is generating traffic, the last few years have demonstrated that a consumer’s decision process is based on more than a site. The tremendous growth of rates, reviews and comparison tools identified a huge gap between a company’s site and the consumer’s intent to purchase. To seal the deal, your corporate website is not the solution. It is much wiser to invest your budget in managing your online presence and joining the conversation that consumers have mot likely already started about your brand. Of course, this does not happen overnight but it’s an important step in building and maintaining a good reputation. I think that Mr. Olson would agree me.
It’s CRM x PR x MARKETING x HR …. It’s a whole new attitude that you should try to embrace. Because chances are high that the decision process happens OUTSIDE of your website. When they land on your site, consumers probably alredy know what they’re looking for. A brand’s responsibility is to ensure that those expectations are met and nurtured.
Post by Isabelle Quevilly, Jun 10th
