Have You Had Your Objective Evaluation Today?
I’ve just come across this Industry Benchmarks for Successful Web Site Development by The Web Marketing Association. Basically it’s an evaluation of sites in industry groups based on common aspects of customer experience.
Some interesting tidbits from the document:
- Non-Profit websites have more “Outstanding Site” awards than any other category.
- Second most awards is Consumer Goods, and third is Health Care.
- The best sites based on rating criteria are in the Airline Industry, they are also tops in “Innovation.”
- Computer Retailer sites are the second top scoring and were also recognized with the highest design scores.
- The industries that scored the lowest average design scores include Directories and Search Engines, Portals, ISPs, and at the bottom – Auction sites.
- Airline and Computer Retailers tie for “Best Use of Technology.”
- Investment site made the top of the “Ease of Use” category.
Although I’m not a big fan of awards, I think objective evaluations of effectiveness should be done much more in today’s online world. I see company after company with self-referential websites that are based on their organization, rather than what is easy for their customers. Mostly it is not done intentionally, but an outside objective opinion can bring a lot of improvement momentum.
In the past year, I’ve been doing many “web site opportunity and issue analysis” projects for clients. I take some segmentation/targeting data from the company, and do a full best practices/heuristics evaluation of their site experience.
My deliverable is a simple powerpoint presentation with issues simply and clearly illustrated and grouped. It’s often an illuminating experience for the client who looks at the site all day. It really does provide a great “outsider’s opinion” on their experience. Some site managers get a little defensive, but since the evaluation is very objective, and I often show samples from other sites, most clients view it as a great tool to improve their sites. From there, a simple checklist of improvement projects is generated and work can begin.
Have you had an outside, objective evaluation of your site experience in the last six months? Do you know how your site compares not only to your competition, but to your customer’s favorite sites?
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