Evolution of Web Site Strategy Stephan Spencer President, Internet Concepts LLC sspencernetconcepts.

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Evolution of Web Site StrategyStephan
SpencerPresident, Internet Concepts
LLCsspencer_at_netconcepts.comwww.netconcepts.com
Jim JustDigital Strategy Consultant, Internet
Concepts LLCjjust_at_netconcepts.comwww.netconcepts
.com
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Survival of the Fittest

• Last millennium, you could get away with winging
  it on the Web
• Nowadays, flying blind without an Internet
  strategy makes you stick out like a sore thumb.
• You cant afford to get it wrong. Internet users
  are unforgiving.

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Seven False Economies of Web Design

• Web design is an extension of our current
  marketing collateral - we can reuse the text and
  graphics from our print pieces.
• If more people work on it, well get it done
  faster.
• The Web is a place where you just try things and
  see what works - I have a friend who designs web
  sites in his spare time.
• Documentation is a waste of time and effort.

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Seven False Economies of Web Design (cont.)

• We can design the site ourselves and save money.
  We just want a group that will make the web pages
  we sketch out.
• Well send out an RFP and get lots of good ideas
  back for free.
• Web sites dont need much maintenance. We can do
  it ourselves. Itll be fun!

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Evolution of Web Site Strategy

• This type of planYour corporate brochure
• A site map
• Strategic brief,functional specs, project
  profiler, etc.

• Results in a
• First generation Web site
• Second generation Web site
• Third or fourth generation Web site

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Think Digital Strategy

• Concept comes from Unleashing the Killer App by
  Larry Downes
• Traditional strategic planning is dead! The plan
  is obsolete by the time its finished.
• Instead, conduct experiments. Test, evaluate,
  and repeat.
• Be ready to turn on a dime.

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Dont Put the Cart Before the Horse

• Objectives before strategies
• Strategies before tactics
• Briefs before specs
• Not technology for the sake of technology
• Site map should come much later in the process

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To Outsource or Not To Outsource?

• Experience
• Control
• Internal resource availability
• Conflicting priorities
• Accountability
• Cost considerations

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Selecting the Right Contractor

• Give them a completed project profiler.
• Use a selection matrix to objectively evaluate
  them.
• Hold them to the Client Bill of Rights. Abide by
  the Contractor Bill of Rights.
• Sign a Web Development Contract
• Fixed bid vs. time and materials

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The Players

• Client-side
• Team leader
• Decisionmakers
• Contentmaster
• Editor
• Webmaster
• Contributors

• Contractor-side
• Producer (Project Manager)
• Account Manager
• Design staff
• Production staff (Programming HTML)
• System administrator

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Do Your Homework!
Client X X X X
Contractor X X X X

• Project profiler
• Selection matrix
• Strategic brief
• Technical brief
• Functional brief
• Creative brief
• And thats just the beginning!
• Content plan, functional spec, engineering spec,
  technical spec

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Project Profiler

• Goals, requirements, and constraints
• Audience
• Content
• Functionality
• The Field Trip

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The Strategic Brief

• Describes the strategic direction for the site
• Mission statement
• Marketing goals
• Competitive analysis
• User requirements
• Branding strategy
• Measurements of success

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The Technical Brief

• Describes the visitors equipment
• Monitor size
• Connection speed
• Speed of computer processor, amount of RAM
• Color depth
• Plug-ins installed
• etc.

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The Functional Brief

• Describes what the site should do for visitors,
  now and in the future
• Separate functionality from execution
• Keep technical constraints in mind
• Avoid feature creep (use multiple releases)

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The Creative Brief

• Describes visual directions to explore
• Objectives of the upcoming creative exploration
• Audience
• Story the site should tell
• Tone
• Imagery

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Wait Dont Forget the Customer!

• Remember, its your customers site, not yours!
• Ask your customers what they want
• Focus groups
• Customer surveys
• Four quadrant analyses
• Interview your customer service reps.

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4-Quadrant Analysis

• 10-12 question survey for users to rate site
  features/usability
• Respondents rate each feature on a scale of 1 to
  7 for importance and for quality

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Build It and They Will Come?

• Not likely!
• Pull vs. push
• Two magic bullets
• Email (not spam!)
• Search engines

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Email Marketing Dos and Donts

• Deliver value
• Less is more. Be concise and use links.
• Ask for permission every step of the way
  (permission marketing)
• Publish abide by a privacy policy
• Monitor contact frequency. Avoid burnout.

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More Email Dos and Donts

• Make it easy to unsubscribe.
• Have it signed by a real person.
• Make sure the reply works.
• Avoid purchased lists! If you must, better be
  opt-in, not opt-out.

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Increase Your Response Rate

• Give a compelling value proposition.
• Make it relevant.
• Soft sell.
• Instill trust.
• Vary type and frequency of contacts.
• HTML email
• Test!

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Secure a Top Spot in the Search Engines

• Your title tags
• Meta tags (keywords, description)
• Say no to frames!
• The problem with database-driven content
• Every page has a song
• Link popularity
• No doorway pages

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In Summary

• A successful site
• Solves the customers problems
• Makes it easy for the customer to do business
  with you
• Is intuitive and value-added
• Is aligned with your business objectives
• Requires
• Planning (briefs, specs, etc.)
• Resources (in-house and outsourced)
• An audience (traffic!)

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Where to get more information

• Books
• World Wide Web Marketing, 3nd ed. (Sterne)
• Permission Marketing (Godin)
• Secrets of Successful Web Sites (Siegel)
• Unleashing the Killer App (Downes)
• Customers.com (Seybold)
• The Internet Marketing Plan (Bayne)

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Questions?

• Feel free to contact us atsspencer_at_netconcepts.c
  omorjjust_at_netconcepts.com