Hello students,
Jeffrey's article 5 Universal Principles for Successful eCommerce-sites will launch us into further discussion on creating an environment of trust and (hopefully) engagement with customers. As you continue the product development and design process for your online stores, read and reflect on Jeffrey's follow-up article below. Using your assignment details as a guide, I encourage you to reach out to this designer and author to 'dig deeper' into social networking and how it benefits customers. - Lisa McMichael
Social Networking: Creating Engagement With Your Customer
by Jeffrey Olson, Sr. Art Director HSN.com
As we saw in the Smashing Magazine post, it’s not as black and white to simply have the knowledge and tools to create a functioning eCommerce site. There are factors to consider that include usability, creative design, writing, psychology, analytics and branding. When we employ these factors and balance them correctly, we create a user experience that persuades our visitors to trust and engage.
One big player as of late that helps drive home this element of engagement is social networking/marketing. In 2009 HSN.com has taken this relatively new trend and put some serious resources behind using sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and even created an iPhone Application which we’ve wrapped together in a focused objective which we call, “HSN: Where You Are.” We have been using YouTube and Facebook for a while but recognized that we needed to be more focused on reaching out to our customers and engaging her not only in our home, but the other places she frequents. By doing this we allow her to engage with us on her terms and not just what we want her to see.
You may have noticed that I refer to our customers as “her.” This is because our biggest demographic is predominantly female. It may seem odd, but it really helps when trying to identify with our customers. If we referred to our customers as “them” it’s almost as we’ve defined “them” as not “us.”
The effort put forth to stay on top of a social networking initiative is minimal compared to the volumes it speaks to customers in regards to their trust. It allows us to stay that much closer to her and hear her needs and wants.
Now take a moment to go visit HSN.com and look at the “HSN: Where You Are” section in the footer and visit some of the sites like our Facebook and Twitter profiles to see how we are interacting socially with our customers. Now, what do you think? Are we effective at creating trust, engagement and an experience with or customers?
Welcome to eCommerce Site Design
E-Commerce requires more than simply translating the traditional retail or wholesale sales environment to the Web. In addition to reviewing the technical requirements, students need to understand how to assemble the appropriate elements into an effective design, which supports and encourages commerce in an online environment. This course covers the design elements and the software support that contribute to online success.
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