Below is the presentation given by Stephen Pratley (Managing Director) at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2009 at London Olympia and 7th September 2009.
Download a PDF of the presentation including notes from here.
Building an ecommerce website is a complex process involving multiple disciplines. Business owners, developers, designers, operations managers, and marketing managers all have a say in how a site should operate, but how often do companies consult with their customers?
Letting the end users contribute to the project through user testing before the launch can help stave off potential problems that those involved too closely in the site might never notice. And it need not be a painful disruption to the project. Here are a few tips for involving users in the design process:
1) Accept that you can’t build the perfect site without involving your users. Inexperienced designers and developers often shy away from testing in case the users don’t like their ideas and leave them exposed in front of their clients. A good site is built for the users, not just the business, so make sure everyone puts his ego into check and focuses on the customer. The best sites in the world have big user-testing budgets, so don’t expect to launch a great site without some feedback.
2) Test early. Don’t wait until you have a working site to begin receiving feedback. Rough designs are good enough to obtain early responses to such questions as
* What do you think this site sells?
* Where would you click to find a [your product name here]?
* How would you get back to the home page/product listing/search results?
3) Test often. This sounds like a project management nightmare, as testing invariably results in change. But feedback from real users often results in less complexity in the final site, so early testing can actually reduce the scope of the project rather than expand it. Remember, it is certainly easier to cope with change before a site is set live than afterward.
4) It’s better to test badly than not at all. Well-run testing facilities come with professional moderators, two-way screens to observe tests as they happen, and good-quality video recording. These are undoubtedly going to give you a better result than DIY approaches, but don’t let the cost put you off doing any testing at all. Some friends, rewarded with beer and pizza, sat around a laptop in the office in the evening is a better test than no test at all.
5) Six users is enough. User testing is not research, so “statistically significant” is not your issue. Put six people in front of your website. If one struggles, consider ways of adapting the site; if two or three struggle, definitely make the necessary changes.
6) Use the right criteria in finding test subjects. Marketing managers tend to obsess about demographics such as age or income, but behaviours are usually more important. For instance,
* How much are your site visitors likely to know about your industry?
* How often do they shop online?
* How many hours a day do they spend on the internet?
Get a spread of responses to each of these questions and consider each user’s actions with his level of knowledge in mind. A less experienced shopper who stumbles but gets there in the end is less of an issue than a regular shopper having the same degree of difficulty using your site.
7) Watch, don’t guide. Try to get an independent party, rather than someone directly involved with the site, to sit with the user in the test. This person will be less eager to guide the user round the site and “prove” how easy it is to use.
8) Keep tests short. Two or three tasks is enough—for example, have the user find and buy a product, look for sizing and fit information for a product, and check on the status of a previous order. It’s tiring work, and don’t underestimate the amount of notes and video that each testing round creates.
9) Don’t expect your users to give you the answers. User testing is not an opportunity to get the user to solve the problems with your site; it’s a chance for him to show you where the problems lie. Your team will still have to resolve the issues—and then you’ll try the proposed improvements out on other users to obtain additional feedback.
10) Testing never ends. Never consider your site to be finished. Shoppers are coming into contact with new online tools and experiences all the time, and it’s important to see how well you are keeping up with the competition and ironing out creases that are, hopefully, smaller and smaller. As your online business grows, changes that were once not worthwhile will start to be able to pay for themselves as more and more people visit your site. Improving conversion rates almost always brings back better returns than generating more traffic, so when times are tight, make sure you are looking after the users you already have.
eCommerce specialist continues to grow from strength-to-strength
Continuing its steady expansion, Kingston-based Shine Marketing (http://www.shinemarketing.com), a specialist in building and marketing ecommerce websites for upmarket brands, has appointed Angela Davies as its new creative director.
Davies’ appointment strengthens Shine’s existing design team, in its core ecommerce web design business. It also makes way for the company’s broader involvement in branding and design projects, across its portfolio of retail, fashion, beauty and fitness clients.
Davies comes with vast experience, having worked for The Set Up, where she managed design projects for clients including: The Economist, Tamarisk and Gazprom.
In her role at Shine, she will be responsible for managing client design and branding projects, along with business development – working closely with commercial director, Domenica Di Lieto.
Commenting on the appointment, Stephen Pratley, managing director of Shine Marketing, said: “Angela’s approach to design has a strong focus on the audience, and therefore the commercial outcome. And, her work demonstrates that she always remains true to the ethos of the brands she is representing.
“Her role as creative director means that Shine’s online projects can now take the lead in our client’s brand experience. We firmly believe that Angela will play a central part in the company’s next major growth phase.”
Angela Davies added: “Shine Marketing specialises in online, a sector which is seeing continued rapid growth.
“I am excited by the challenge that lies ahead, and keen to be involved in helping to develop Shine into one of the leading ecommerce specialists.
“I believe that successful creative direction boils down to having immediate contact with the client, this is when ‘best of breed’ work is achieved. And that is what I am setting out to accomplish in this new role.”
-Ends-
Notes to editors
About Shine Marketing:
Shine Marketing (shinemarketing.com) is a specialist in building and marketing websites and eCommerce websites. Run by marketeers who have experience of running successful eCommerce businesses – Shine understands what is needed to create a successful retail business online with its strong focus on achieving return on investment for clients through user-focussed design and effective marketing.
With specialist interests in fashion, beauty and fitness, Shine Marketing has built and marketed websites for brands such as Sahara, Zelens Skin Science ZPM and DeviDoll.
Shine Marketing is based in Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey and was established in 2006.
Further information/interviews:
Katrina Suppiah
Business Accent PR
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Tel: 020 8543 6582; Mobile: 07809 028711
FOOD BUSINESSES: YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO “STAND STILL”
Stephen Pratley, managing director of Shine Marketing, http://www.shinemarketing.com, a specialist in building and marketing ecommerce websites for upmarket brands, will present a speech on ‘Preparing Yourself for Going Online’ at this year’s Speciality & Food Fair.
In his speech, Pratley will address the importance of creating a strong online presence for your brand. He will warn retailers, across the speciality food sector, that they cannot afford to stand still in this booming online market – particularly in the run up to Christmas 2009 .
Pratley will also look at planning your business vs planning your website, and will provide an overview of the goals that need to be set for the design and implementation of a successful website. Finally, he will show how to measure return on your investment.
He will address the importance of designing a website for your customers, whether they are businesses or consumers, and how its ecommerce function should be integral to this. He comments:
“Websites should not just be about the technology; wider product availability and smarter delivery options are now top of the list when it comes to online shoppers’ demands.
“Naturally, it doesn’t stop at the build of a website, retailers then need to place emphasis on its promotion, including Search Engine Optimisation, online PR and email marketing.”
The speech will also cover how a website can support wholesale business, as well as direct consumer sales, and Pratley will advise the audience on where to go to find out more about this.
Stephen Pratley’s speech will be taking place in the Small Business Forum on Monday 7th September, between 1.30-2.15pm.
-Ends-
Notes to editors
About Shine Marketing:
Shine Marketing (shinemarketing.com) is a specialist in building and marketing websites for upmarket brands. Run by marketeers who have experience of running successful eCommerce businesses – Shine understands what is needed to create a successful retail business online with its strong focus on achieving return on investment for clients through user-focussed design and effective marketing.
Shine Marketing is based in Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey and was established in 2006.
Further information/interviews:
Katrina Suppiah
Business Accent PR
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Tel: 020 8543 6582; Mobile: 07809 028711
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