Pretending to be a Customer
by Mike Brown
It's a challenge to objectively examine your own website as if a prospect or customer seeking information would. There's an approach you can follow to get ideas flowing though: Look at a direct competitor's online presence, trying to shoot holes in it based on how a customer might view it.
You should really be able to get into it by answering a few questions:
After doing this, go back and see how your own online presence compares. Looking at yourself from a customer perspective should now be much easier!
Editor's Note: When you're in a pinch (or without a research budget), you could also use this technique with employees (preferably new ones) for more than just web sites.
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Mike Brown is an award-winning marketer and strategist with extensive experience in research, strategy, branding, and sponsorship marketing. He's a frequent keynote presenter on innovation and authors Brainzooming!
It's a challenge to objectively examine your own website as if a prospect or customer seeking information would. There's an approach you can follow to get ideas flowing though: Look at a direct competitor's online presence, trying to shoot holes in it based on how a customer might view it.You should really be able to get into it by answering a few questions:
- What misleading or out-of-date information is presented?
- What's not compelling about the website?
- What's confusing about the navigation?
- How much unnecessary detail do I have to supply to get a copy of the "free" download?
- What questions do I have that the website doesn't answer?
- Do I know where to get my other questions answered?
- In what ways did I get smarter by browsing this website?
- In what ways were my information needs left wanting?
After doing this, go back and see how your own online presence compares. Looking at yourself from a customer perspective should now be much easier!
Editor's Note: When you're in a pinch (or without a research budget), you could also use this technique with employees (preferably new ones) for more than just web sites.
Enjoy this post? Subscribe to our RSS feed and join our Continuous Innovation group!
Mike Brown is an award-winning marketer and strategist with extensive experience in research, strategy, branding, and sponsorship marketing. He's a frequent keynote presenter on innovation and authors Brainzooming!Labels: Mike Brown
posted by Blogging Innovation at 12:01 AM
2 Comments:
Great questions!
And it's always helpful to try to see things with another's eyes.
Thanks Susan, and beyond what Braden noted in the editor's comment about using these with employees, the questions can certainly be varied slightly and used in many more situations to help you better see other marketing materials or customer service experiences from a customer perspective.
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