1. COMM 464 class 3 Agenda Marketplace news
Website usability and customer experience
Principles
Framework: 7Cs
Practice & Discussion
Project, teams and clients
Next steps: class 4

2. How do you evaluate website effectiveness?
Small groups: brainstorm.
What questions will you ask? -

3. Prep Qs What are the key principles of good website usability?
How would you user test?
How does customer experience vary across different online touchpoints (think social as well as company websites) and what are the implications for design and ongoing management?

4. What is the purpose of your site?
Gather information?
Raise awareness?
Direct enquiries?
Influence sales?
Transact sales?
Not all sites should try to do everything.
Who is your target customer?
How you will serve her/him?
Fit of website in total experience?

5. The good, the bad & the ugly
Webbyawards.com
Useit.com
Webpagesthatsuck.com
What did you learn from good and bad examples?
Are there broad principles to take forward with regard to web usability, and thus design?

6. The 7Cs of the Customer Interface
Context
Site’s layout and design
Content
Text, pictures, sound and video that webpages contain
Commerce
Site’s capabilities to enable commercial transactions
Community
The ways sites enable user-to-user communication
Connection
Degree site is linked to other sites
Customization
Site’s ability to self-tailor to different users or to allow users to personalize the site
Communication
The ways sites enable site-to-user communication or two-way communication
From “Internet Marketing”
Rafi Mohammed et al, 2003

7. A few more Cs Consistency of all experiences….
online and offline
Control: is the user in control? Really!
Customer service.
Chance of finding…from wherever I start!
Comparison versus other relevant sites.
C……………..!
…..and MOBILE version

8. Exercise
Small groups at laptops, pick a site and a comparison site (from same category)
Attempt to apply 7Cs framework
Not all are always present or necessary
Comment on gaps and opportunities
Make notes; be prepared for a brief presentation or discussion
Worksheet follows on next page

9. 7Cs Summary Content Context Commerce Customization Connection
Site A (focus brand)
Site B (comparison site) or best in class
Content
Context
Communication
Commerce
Customization
Connection
Community
Other

10. Synergies: eBay example
Connection
Ultimate destination
No links to other content sites
Context
Commerce
Functional layout
Effective design
Mostly text-based
Auction format
Facilitator role
No inventories
One-Stop Shop
Content
Communication
Trading Information
Auction Format
Transaction enabler
No contact with items
Rule setter
Toll taker
Highly interactive site
Mostly organization-users (interface)
No mass communication
Trade Only
Support Services
Customization
Community
User-customizable
Priority items only (bidding / selling)
Prompt information driven
Active traders
Shared transaction experience
EBay interfaces transactions
From Mohammed et al

11. Next steps on Usability
Will include:
add interactivity and individualization
explore levels of experience and design to achieve these at:
a minimum acceptable level
a superior, “winning” level
examine usability changes across relationship stages: what would you change? When and why? 11

12. teams, clients and project
Briefing guide on Connect
Outline for online marketing plan
What would make for a good client for this project?
What questions will you ask of client when you meet with them? Date per course outline. 12

13. Project deliverables Teams formed Client meeting: (instead of class)
Identify company and get Instructor
Client meeting: (instead of class)
Pairs/threes within team: assignments
Competitor web analysis
Competitor social media analysis
Team project outline
Final paper du
Minimum requirements
A full digital marketing assessment and improvement plan with detailed implementation proposals linked to testing and measuring against key metrics. Include adwords test campaign and active use of Hootsuite to monitor, converse, run tests and show analytics.
Stretch options
Build in some more of the tests to the development phase and report back on them: i.e. community management, twitter micro campaigns. 13

14. Next steps Teams, clients HSU: next module
Class 4 Preparation Questions (that can trigger your blog post research and thinking)
How do people search online?
What influences search behaviour?
What are the implications for marketers?
What is SEO?
How do paid and organic search relate?
What is Adwords? Who would use it, when and why?
Consider a blog post: on “search”.