The Self-Service Web

A few days ago I wrote about continuously improving your web site. One argument against this type of effort is that 'our web site isn't for selling, it just generates leads which our sales people handle'. I heard a similar refrain just a few days ago from the VP of Marketing at a very successful enterprise software company.

This article over at MarketingProfs.com talks about managing a web site and refers to the self-service web. That's a great phrase because I think every web site has to at least aim for self-service. The brief history of the internet is that people are getting more and more comfortable making increasingly complex buying decisions entirely based on a web-based interaction. Several years ago, the argument went, books and CDs were the first ecommerce success stories because people knew what they were buying so the 'trust' hurdle was low. It took a few years for online clothing and financial transactions to take off. Today there is virtually nothing that isn't sold online - and in substantial quantities.

If your business isn't finding customers making purchase decisions based solely on interactions with your web site, then your web site needs more work. The first step: ask your sales people to list the most common initial questions and issues that customers bring when they first make contact. Take a look at your site and see if the answers to these questions are already there and need improvement, or (as is more likely) these issues aren't yet addressed online. Improve the site to cover this ground, and re-poll the sales people in a few weeks. Repeat this cycle until the first thing your sales people hear when they pick up the phone is "I'd like to place an order".

Then move ordering online...