Humans are unique in that we have free will to think and act in distinct ways, so why is it that we often try to force site visitors to act like a machine? Too often sites are designed like an assembly line that tries to force all visitors down the same conversion path. We each have our own motivations, needs, and expectations that need to be satisfied before we commit to making purchase decision. Just as much of the manufacturing world has progressed from the industrial revolution where everything was produced for the masses to today where products can often be customized to our unique needs, so to do websites need to move toward appealing to the various segment groups that come to their site.

These segments aren’t a result of just the target audiences that have been determined by your company, but rather by the psychographics and demographics of those individuals who actually come to your site. Only then can you begin to see what motivates these segments to convert and begin to provide the relevant information that they will need. Some of these segments will share several qualities, but what makes them unique is the sum of these qualities and that is what will shape each segments purchasing process. Your site must appeal to each of these segments and not just to the “typical” visitor. By appealing to only the “typical” visitor you’ll end up with an average site that doesn’t convert like you would like it to.

In order to create a site that appeals to more then the “typical” visitor, you have to design your site based around experiences. Each segment will have a different experience on your site, but unless you understand what each needs in order to have a positive experience you’ll be losing out on an audience who will instead go to your competitors who are appealing to their unique needs.

Take Jim and Sarah for example. Each of them is looking to buy a new TV. Sarah is in her late 20’s and owns her own condo in a very nice area. She loves to entertain and often has small gatherings at her home. While she is quite well off, she doesn’t like to flaunt it by always wearing designer cloths or driving a high end luxury car. Sarah doesn’t watch a lot of TV, but does enjoy watching movies and would like to have a nice TV for those occasions. She doesn’t, however, like her TV to be the center piece of her living room and wants it to be able to blend in well with the rest of her living room. She isn’t interested in all the details and specs of her TV, but instead just wants to know that the TV she is buying is going to give her an excellent picture for watching her movies.

Jim is also in his late 20’s and owns his own condo. He has a high paying job and likes to show his status through the material items he possesses. He is a big gamer and watches lots of TV. He needs a TV that will impress his friends and transform his living room into the center piece of the ideal TV and gaming environment. He needs to know all the specs of his TV so that he’ll know how it will integrate with his other gadgets. It’s vital that he has all the latest technology built into his TV so that he can impress his friends with the most technologically advanced TV on the market. His goal is to have his condo as the place that all his friends want to come to on Sundays for the big football game and for when they get together to try out the long awaited Halo3.

While both Jim and Sarah are interested in buying a TV their purchase process will be very different. If the site they visit doesn’t appeal to both of them then the site will be loosing out on a potential sale. The entry page needs to provide basic information that will appeal to both segments and lead them to the content that will allow them to gather the information that is important to them so that they will make a purchase. Each subsequent page needs to provide links to additional resources that will reinforce the message and also give them the option to enter into the conversion funnel.

If you allow the visitor to be in control and provide them with the information they need, then your sites performance will be enhanced and you’ll have many happy customers. You can coax them along towards the conversion funnel, but you can never force them into it or else you’ll end up with a site that doesn’t meet your visitor’s expectations.

Filed under: Analytics on Thursday, September 20th, 2007 by Nate Linnell |
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