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Brand Reputation And The Web

Knowledge is a dangerous commodity!

The Internet is a constantly evolving organic medium utilised by an eclectic mix of individuals and groups for purposes ranging from the benign to the divisive. It is owned by no-one but its participants, and only ‘managed’ in some areas by diverse and often contradictory bodies. Understanding its long term impact upon society in general and business specifically, remains largely academic as daily changes in technology and content impact upon both reality and possibility.

Planning for the associated behaviours of all participants to this phenomenon has so far trailed behind technological understanding, making it difficult for businesses to fully appreciate the potential effect of the internet on their customer relationships.

The sheer pace of technological development has itself placed unparalleled demands upon all stakeholders in terms of knowledge, expectations and capabilities. This in turn has deflected focus on social effects and limited our ability to take an in-depth and holistic perspective.

But things are changing. Site owners want results from their investment, not just visual wizardry, and society is increasingly demanding accountability.

Making significant headway in these areas has been difficult to date with organisations having to rely on single discipline experts, mythological technologies and the knowledge resident in conventional communications disciplines such as design and advertising, to drive their online initiatives.

If a commercial site is to be commercially successful, it should mirror the brand attributes of the organisation behind it. Not just in terms of look and feel, but also in terms of values-led behaviour that allows the customer to genuinely interact positively with the online brand.

The first step therefore with developing any website is to ensure you have a concise brand and behavioural strategy. The second step is to find design and programming suppliers who actually know what this means!

Under the influence!

If this new medium were classed as a drug, convention would demand that it’s needs were clearly defined and it’s effects subjected to years of rigorous testing and monitoring before being made available only to ‘experts’ in it’s application.

The web is a drug, but it’s unlicensed and available to all. It affects every aspect of our senses and emotions and it is both addictive and viral by nature, offering both cause and cure.

But it isn’t just an ordinary drug, it’s a ‘designer’ drug in every sense of the word with aspirations to grandeur that rival the great breakthroughs of modern medicine. The key difference with this ‘designer’ drug however, is that every participant can influence the design and many have the power to mutate the online gene to their own advantage.

If organisations are to capitalise on their online investment it is essential to understand the relationship between cause, effect and side effect in driving online behaviours.
After all, it is their reputations at stake and with a viral medium their reputation, the basis of which is their brand empathy, are especially vulnerable.

A new medium or just another communications tool?

Exactly why is the Internet, as a communications medium, so different? After all, it is just a collection of words, pictures and sound available through a new type of technology. nothing more irritating than standing in a queue (that shouldn’t exist in the first place) only to be finally confronted by an unhelpful or ill-informed clerk. The whole experience devalues expectations of the journey ahead.

But you are trapped! You have purchased your tickets and are committed. Not so with a website, commitment only lasts as long as it takes to press the exit button.

Are you interested in the sophisticated and costly processes and training the airline has put in place to deliver pertinent, real-time information, even if the output is satisfactory? No you

The answer lies in the unique nature of the audience relationship.

It is one to one, private and personal. Users have agendas and they are their agendas. The objectives may be singular or exploratory, but none the less they expect the site to guide them in their quest, whatever their level of sophistication or handicap.

Think of an airline helpdesk at an airport, there to aid passengers in their journey’s needs. There is are not! You just want answers and quickly, after all they’re not gifting you their time, they are stealing yours!

Usability

In the web world the behind the scenes processes are called usability, unfortunately they’re not always behind the scenes. As any management consultant will know, the best processes are discreet and functional. However, in many sites they are displayed in all their glory, driven by excitable web designers’ inherent need to celebrate their programming skills through mazes of time consuming and often bewildering options – enter the digital queue!

But this is just the start of the ‘wait’! For some reason that escapes me it appears fashionable to treat a website like a department store, forcing audiences down unsolicited avenues.

Department stores are designed with easily visible up-escalators to get you in! But how many times have you searched in vain for the exit only to discover it isn’t in the logical place but at a distance intended to expose you to other products in the hope that they stimulate your impulsiveness?

And how many times have you wished for a magic button that could transport you instantly back to your vehicle. Of course this is easily remedied online, as ‘impulsiveness’ is turned against the site purveyor by the way of the magic exit button.

Just behave yourself!

Websites, because they are interactive, exhibit tangible and potentially irritating behaviours, and in all walks of life appropriate behaviours are the basis upon which relationships are evaluated.

Organisations invest small fortunes in training and development initiatives aimed at improving employee and customer interaction. Behind these initiatives are often a long and costly history of investment in the brand reputation and its visual equity – key components in the delivery of a successful business strategy.

With a website, brand reputation can get customers there, the site’s visual attributes can welcome them with familiar cues, but it is the behaviour of the site that ultimately consolidates or devalues the brand promise.

Company leaders have long recognised the profound effects on their business that employee behaviours deliver; yet it appears to be with great reluctance that they take an in-depth interest in the human performance of their online activity. Instead it is left in the hands of technicians and designers, skilled in their own areas, but who’s polarised disciplines make them ill-equipped to rationalise behavioural criteria, especially if it conflicts with their personal project objectives. And it so often does!

Many sites are overloaded with functions and visual niceties, built upon platforms gained in different communications experiences that fundamentally hinder the user requirements.

Yet a website is so much easier to manage, with the right priorities, than a large number of customer facing employees.

A website is a singular entity, it’s in exactly the same place all the time, accessible to all, easily monitored and inherently fluid and amenable with the right expertise. But most importantly, that single source of customer interaction can potentially ‘talk’ to more customers per day than any other facet of the business.

Until brand guardians recognise that they do not need to understand the technology behind their site to contribute to online effectiveness, they will continue to invest capital that at best delivers marginal returns.

Success demands an understanding of the behavioural characteristics of both the site and its audience. This understanding should be at the heart of an online strategy that endorses the brand reputation by meeting customers’ emotional as well as rational needs.