A frozen fish processor had trouble selling a new line of frozen fish because it tasted flat. The company tried everything to keep the fish fresh including holding them in tanks until just before processing - but to no avail. Then someone suggested: "Put a predator in there with them - that should keep them fresh." This idea worked like a charm. The fish kept moving and retained their vitality. Moral: have something at stake-survival, self-esteem, money, reputation-so that you'll be motivated to make your idea successful.

You have probably run into "predators" like this where you work or somewhere in your past. I used to really resent these people because they always kept things stirred up and kept me on my toes. I now tend to be this way myself and have learned that people like this in an organization makes everyone better because they keep everyone driving toward a goal.

Some people do this in an intimidating and negative way, which is not good. But it is important to have those drivers in companies to keep everyone living up to their fullest potential.

It seems like a very simple concept... "build your website from the standpoint of the user".... but how many companies truly take this concept to heart?

What does this concept mean in the real world? Here are some real life examples:

Don't make users have to remember your site's structure or have to remember where they have been on your website. Example: Drop down boxes used for navigation.

In theory, drop down boxes keep a site less cluttered and cleaner looking because all navigation is kept behind the drop down functionality. While this is a good thing in theory, it is very bad for usability. It forces the user to have to store in their mind the rest of the navigational links in your site as they navigate around the site. If they reach a destination that they do not wish to go, they have to think about your navigation and activate the drop down to determine where to go next. This is much more difficult than having the navigational links laid out before them.

You are probably saying, "but we have many navigational links and it is a large site!" Using categorization techniques employing color and boxes, you can make your site very intuitive and usable that won't confuse the user.

Also, this is better for search engines. Search engine spiders cannot follow links in java script mouse overs and drop down boxes. So those pages may not get spidered, nor will they be added to the search engine's index.

If you can't change this right away, a site map with links to all site pages will help facilitate the spider to these pages. 

Another research product that was conducted by the company that I was employed at a few years ago (I was not directly involved in the project, but it is very interesting) involved a lawsuit against a pharmaceutical company.

The pharma company lost the lawsuit and their lawyers came to us to research why this happened. We took a sampling of individuals matching the profiles of the jurors and interviewed them in-depth about their thoughts and perceptions of the case.

We found that the pharma company lost the case almost from the outset. In the opening arguments, the attorney for the pharma company said:

"I represent the XYZ Corporation and we began marketing this product in 1985." He later said, "we installed this product..."

The first sentence, rather innocuous, right? Not to the jurors. Do you know what they heard?

"I represent the XYZ Corporation (large, cold, unfeeling organization) and we began marketing (deceiving, going for big profits) this product in 1985."

As you can see "corporation" and "marketing" had some real negative connotations. "Company" was a far better replacement for "corporation." "Selling" or "providing" would be improvements on "marketing."

And finally, you NEVER use the word "install" or "installing" in relation to human beings!

Let's talk more about the importance of seeing products from the customer's point of view.

Several years ago I conducted a market research study for a company that manufactures boat spray. The spray was positioned as a lubricant which would help unstick corroded parts, etc. and keep them moving. They also included in the finer print information about the fact that the spray also provided 400 hours of rust protection.

We presented the boat spray's marketing brochures to boat owners around the country. Upon first glance, they saw the product as a very expensive version of WD-40 because the main focus of the brochure was the spray's lubricating features.

With this positioning in mind, boat owners questioned why they should go out and spend the extra $5-$10 for a product when WD-40 can do the very same things for much less.

This was disheartening for the client. However, as the boat owners delved into the fine print, a light bulb went off! They saw that the spray would provide them with 400 hours of rust protection... they were amazed!

They started saying things like "This is different" and "Now I can spend more time on the water rather than having to spray down my boat all the time!"

As result, we had the client position the product as a Protectant first and Lubricant second to take advantage of this differentiating quality so that customers could discern a clear difference between the spray and WD-40.

Unfortunately, I don't have any figures on the change in sales, but the positioning change was significant and it was all because we talked to customers.

If you want to build and effective website, build it from the standpoint of your users!

Many sites are built as a reflection for their corporate structure, which is good if you are IN the company, but bad if you are unfamiliar with the organization.

Take the time to find out what your customers or potential customers are looking for when they come to your site and make it very easy and intuitive for them to find what they are looking for.

Sure, the owner of the company may want to toot his horn and make his bio one of the main navigational links. Most users don't give a rip about the owner, they want to find the product, service, or information to meet their needs at that time.

Develop the site from their perspective, not yours. In depth interviews with even 8-10 customers/prospects can give you valuable information that can be implemented into your site.