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Moving communication campaigns into action |
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Web site case study Here is a back issue of Marketing Booster, the email newsletter that Richard Groom writes and sends free every fortnight to subscribers. You can subscribe here or read over 60 back issues using the back issues index page. Something different for this issue of Marketing Booster. For the first time, I am presenting a mini case study to see how some marketing communications theory and techniques have been applied to great effect. I am using the web site of a local artist as the subject for the case study: www.janishill-art.info. Here's what I think is so good about Janis's web site: 1. The right information. Janis gets people to visit the site through advertisements in interior design magazines, networking, emails to people who have joined her mailing list and mail shots to companies, interior designers and so on. So people are usually already interested in her work BEFORE they visit the site. Therefore, they will probably be looking for some practical information and Janis has thought about what this would include. They want to see her work, find out about the type and sizes of prints available, and of course see how much each print costs. (Janis found that many artists don't list their prices but she knew that this would be important information that people need to know.) So the right information is on the site and the search and purchasing process is easy to use. Janis has also done what too many sites fail to: she has provided contact information or a link to the contact information on almost every page. 2. Simple visual style. Janis has avoided unnecessary graphics or animation. She presents the information that visitors are interested in clearly and simply. The simplicity keeps the art as the main focal point, while the grey background works because the colour in the paintings stands out against it. 3. Text that's easy to read. Short paragraphs, text formatting (like emboldening the first line of most paragraphs) and links to other pages make for an easy read. Narrow columns with a maximum of about 14 words per line also contribute to reading ease. I think Janis has also found an appropriate writing style. She writes in an everyday language, avoiding flowery prose that is sometimes seen in art-related writing. 4. Product options. By offering the prints in several sizes Janis has given people choice. There should be a size and price to suit most people's walls and wallets. The prices haven't been plucked out of the air either: Janis did extensive research to establish the correct market value of the prints. Including prices in foreign currencies is another useful touch as it makes things easier for overseas visitors. 5. Persuasive content. Without going into marketing hyperbole, Janis has included a lot of information that persuades people to buy her work, including: * A great USP ('unique selling proposition'): 'A style that is bold, colourful and doesn't go unnoticed upon entering a room.' * The 'view' area that shows the pictures in place, giving people a sense of scale. * The explanation of the giclee print process demonstrates that the prints are of a very high standard. * To round things off there's a guarantee to take all the risk out of the purchase: important in most marketing materials but especially so with on-line purchasing. * Another effect of the information on the print process, trading terms and limited editions is that it gives the site and the artist credibility. It makes it clear that this is a professional artist and a proper retailer. 6. A human touch. Through a combination of a simple writing style and the artist's biography you get the feeling that there's a person behind this web site. Even big organisations could find ways to bring a human touch to their sites. What is your web site's weakest link? My view of web sites is that your aim is to make it the last one that people look at during that particular search. Give them enough of the right kind of information so that they don't need to look elsewhere. Any weak links could prevent you from achieving this and will actually drive people elsewhere. So I hope that by looking at a site that's working very well you will be able to identify some things that might need improving on your own site. Copyright 2003 Richard Groom |