| Bad Websites: The Sequel |
(Nov. 06)
In the March/April 2004 issue, I wrote about bad websites. I’m running it again. That’s not usual practice, but it occurred to me that, after all that’s been said about e-marketing and website effectiveness, nothing has changed. For the better.In addition to my existing complaints, I have another: Contact forms. Now, if you go to a merchant’s site and want to ask for, say, the name of a local distributor, you have to fill out a form. You have to spend time providing a lot of information and await a response. For anyone using a website as a marketing tool, this would fall under the heading: Shoot Yourself in the Foot. The original article follows: In keeping the Blitz I mailing list perfect and up-to-date, I have to spend endless hours online. I’ve visited thousands of web sites and have found that most are just awful. And some of the worst offenders are ad agencies. Let’s say that I’m a French manufacturer. I’m launching my product in Canada, and I need a Canadian agency. So I start surfing. Site #1: This agency has the gall to greet me with ‘Patience Please’. This is followed by animation. Lots of it. I think: ‘When I want an animation company, I’ll find one. Do I want an agency that thinks nothing of wasting my time? Non.’ Site #2: No introduction. I’m right in. But, huh? Its home page has light blue type on a yellow background. The next page has red type on a dark green background. I’d need a new prescription to read it. Ciao. Site #3: Ease of access, easy to read, well organized. I read about the company’s service offerings. Bon. Now I want to find out who’s in charge. After some searching, I find the name of the president. But I can’t find the name of the creative director. There’s apparently a media department, a production department and PR expertise. But no names. Is this a one-guy guy agency? If not, do I want to hire someone who won’t reveal the names of his staff? Adieu. Site #4: This is a full-service agency in Alberta. The site is easy to use and well-designed. I want the name of the president and click on ‘Who’s the Boss?’ I find this: “Our Lord Jesus is the Boss!” Mon Dieu! Site #5: This agency’s site has a staff listing. And look! Employee pictures! But the agency couldn’t afford a professional photographer—the images are low-res and grainy. One employee didn’t wash her hair that day; another wears a dirty shirt, another slept in his suit. One has submitted a baby picture. Sorry, but I’m looking for grown-ups who bathe. Site #6: This one looks OK. I think I’ll contact this agency. Oh—in order to do that, I have to fill out a Needs Assessment Form. Bye! Site #7: Tres bien. I will write to this agency, and send it some information on my company. But what’s this? No address! Do I want to do business with an agency that doesn’t tell people where it’s located? Adios! Site #8: This one looks good. But look! Pages of copy, all in PR speak, trying to enlighten me on the elements of successful marketing. What’s with all this ‘outside the box’ and ‘synergy’ stuff? Au revoir. Get the picture? If a company is in the business of supplying perfection for clients, and if said company would never dream of producing promotional material for itself that is anything less than perfect, why would it mess up what is, in this day and age, its own key marketing tool? The same applies to other companies who should know better. The sites for many PR firms don’t include client lists. Photographers don’t have their portfolios online. Graphic designers use so much visual gunk that you forget why you’re looking at their sites. And many web designers’ sites painfully illustrate that they are not, in fact, designers. It seems to me that many people still haven’t grasped what websites are for. Websites are meant to put out, to a worldwide audience, the facts about a company and its services and products. They’re marketing tools and should, therefore, be clear, concise and easily accessible. And as I head back for another round of surfing, I’m wishing that people would quit with the bells and whistles, think about what their visitors want, and get to the point. |
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