The importance of online evolution

BUSINESS 2000:The web is becoming increasingly central to businesses, which are realising it is essential to have a well-designed website with constantly updated content

SENIOR MANAGERS, marketeers and online teams from large corporations, Government bodies and charitable organisations descended on the Radisson hotel in Dublin's Golden Lane this week for a bootcamp.

Fortunately for them, they weren't forced to clamber over obstacle courses while being barked at by ex-marines, because this was iQ Bootcamp, an intensive programme for organisations keen to improve their websites.

Morgan McKeagney, managing director of iQ Content, which delivered the programme, shared some secrets with Business 2000 earlier this week as to how businesses can optimise their websites and deliver better online results.

"The very first thing is to really get a sense of who it is that you're trying to serve, who are your customers," McKeagney advises.

A number of techniques can be used to build up a clear picture of who the business is serving online. For example, personas of archetypal users can be developed.

User testing is another option, whereby the business brings in customers and observes them interacting with the website to find out what issues they may be having with it.

"Then you're into a redesign process, where you put the user at the centre of the process and you ideally involve them in that as well," he says.

"So when you're redesigning or reconfiguring your website you . . . actually involve [ customers] in the design process. That's a very, very powerful thing that companies can do.

"The brilliant thing about the web is you can physically measure absolutely everything that people do on your website."

By analysing website usage statistics, problems can be pinpointed and ironed out, while opportunities can be identified and exploited.

Businesses can use free software, such as Google Analytics, to track and measure exactly what customers are doing on their website, and use this data to make improvements.

It is vital that website content is as effective and clear as possible. When goods or services are being sold online, the content is the equivalent of an instore sales assistant. Good content can be a key driver of increased conversions - ie the percentage of visitors who take a desired action such as making a purchase.

One trend that McKeagney has observed since the iQ Bootcamp began in 2004 is that the web is becoming increasingly central to businesses.

Organisations have upped their game to respond to the increasingly high expectations of online customers.

Websites such as Google, which all internet users are familiar with, has set the bar very high, being simple, fast and effective. People now demand the same level of online service from other organisations, whether that's a Government department, their bank or a mobile phone provider.

Large corporations are investing heavily to meet these expectations, but companies in the small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector face a dilemma.

Although they may be keen to exploit the full potential of the web, they are likely to be constrained by limited resources.

"It's the classic challenge for SMEs," McKeagney says.

"They're ambitious and there are lots of things that they want to do."

The key is to weigh up the costs against the potential return, and to take a long-term view. So rather than trying to do everything at once on a shoestring budget, and ending up with a website that performs poorly across the board, SMEs should initially focus on doing one or two things really well.

"You invest in those and you try and get a return from that initial investment, and then you reinvest that," he says.

"So you take a longer-term approach to it."

Another major trend he has observed is a shift from the traditional view that developing the company website is a one-off project, to a realisation that it must be constantly improved.

"It's about ongoing investment," he says. "It's about an ongoing programme of work, so that you're constantly improving."

McKeagney says the concept of kaizen, a Japanese philosophy adopted by companies such as Toyota which translates to mean continuous improvement, is particularly powerful when applied to websites. "You don't have to do everything tomorrow," he says. "You can make constant progress."

In other words, the most effective approach is evolution not revolution.

"McKeagney says the concept of kaizen, a Japanese philosophy adopted by companies such as Toyota which translates to mean continuous improvement, is particularly powerful when applied to websites