Monday, July 27, 2009

The piece of string

Here's a useful analogy that I'm borrowing from a book called "Gut Feeling", by Peter Urs Bender...

Take a 3 inch piece of string, lay it out on a table in front of you. Then PULL it along the table by one end. You can make it go anywhere and it will follow you. Now try PUSHING it. The string piles up on itself and nothing happens.

The same can be said for a website. You cannot push a person into a vacation, but you can pull them along a journey with great photos and narrative. You can influence them into wanting to take the same journey by outlining the whole thing from start to finish.

Flashing red buttons that say "Come Here, Come Here" simply aren't going to work. Putting your brochure (verbatium) on your site isn't going to work.

A steady tempting of what awaits them in your little corner of the world is a much better approach.

Nudge, encourage, listen and empathize.

Underperforming web tools (like your website or blog) are a reflection of the organizational objectives rather then the tools or technologies them selves. It really is about the organizational culture and the approach.

Later gators,
Beth

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