Blog homeInteresting article in the New Media Age magazine this week (a London focussed media agency weekly magazine).
In the comment section the editor makes a case along these lines:
- The first 10 years of commercial web design - the emphasis has been placed on increasing the efficiency of consumer’s online journeys - for example by minimisation of the number of clicks to make bookings etc
- It may now be time to slow down user’s journeys, “encouraging a meander through a site rather than a headlong rush for fulfilment”.
This is backed up by a quote from Peter Ellen, Managing Director of Maxymiser, who was quoted as saying “Upto 60% of customer purchases offline are made through latent demand - products that catch the eye”
The case that the NMA editor puts is that sub-optimal journeys, which he defines as where users are “slowed down or distracted”, maybe the best way to replicate offline techniques.
In support, the NMA editor suggested that browsing through an offline bookshop is actually enjoyable (I agree!) - but browsing around, say, Amazon, “is a chore”.
VisitBritain.com, the official website of the British Tourist Authority, has rejected the concept. Harry Speller, a VisitBritain customer experience team member, was quoted as saying “You can’t put too much randomness into a site. If you sacrifice usability, you’ll lose both visitors and traffic”.
Can I find anything random or sub-optimal on VisitBritain’s website?
It didn’t take me long. Take for example this “Heart of England” itinerary for a 3 day car drive around Oxford and the Cotswolds, taking in Bath and Stratford (ideal for Shakespeare fans).
At the bottom of the page is a link for full details and to order…..I wasn’t quite sure what I would be ordering…. but as I wanted full details of the itinerary (for example a document I could print and take within me in the car) so I clicked the link:
Imagine my surprise when I landed on a page trying to sell me a road atlas!
Not only that - but priced in Australian dollars - and asks me when I am leaving Australia…… I had previously been navigating the website designed for UK users….not the Australian one…. it is also the 2006 edition atlas…. while Amazon, today, can sell me the 2008 edition…. come on VisitBritain - you can do better than this.
Going back to the previous page to take a closer look at where I went wrong…..
It does say, in the same font as the information about the itinerary, that actually I was going to get more details on the atlas. So my mistake. Ooops. This was an easy mistake to make when “scanning” a page (which is how users read web pages) rather than reading every single paragraph completely. If I were VisitBritain I would put this mention of the atlas in a visually separate box…. with a different background colour - and introduce an atlas covershot graphic….. then they may actually sell some.
This is not an isolated case on the VisitBritain website…. but there are a number of areas that are really badly executed. For example - currently most of the “about us” pages are just not there….. and the error 404 page (for page not found) is, on the British Tourist Authority website, showing a page from the official website for tourism in England…… I am sure that will keep the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland tourist offices amused! Take a look for yourself
(Yes I know that VisitBritain are responsible for promoting England….. it doesn’t make their website error page right though…. its probably a result of hosting multiple websites on the same server)
The big question is - did VisitBritain design their website to be sub-optimal on purpose? If we believe Harry Speller, and there is no reason not to, then the answer is no.
Summary
I wonder if this is going to be a new excuse that designers will use….. you know - when the CEO comes along and says - we need to improve the website….. and designers will turn around and say “but we designed it to be bad on purpose”….. ummm…. maybe not.
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VisitBritain has certainly been busy lately with its website.
Last week:
Striking a deal with Opodo for flight search and appointing a new SEO agency
Alex
You make a good point.
Just because demand is latent doesn’t mean you can use random activity to get people to respond. If that was the case Tesco’s would use dumper trucks to deliver their goods to stores and tip them in through the open doors so customers could have a good rumage. House wives and husbands would belay themselves up to the tomatoes and their trolleys would be 4WD to cope with the terrain.
Capatalising on latent demand is about creating linkages between products and services in a way that customers like and find interesting. Linkages occur in product attributes, patterns of consumption and market dynamics. Customers find them so interesting that they decide they want some of something they had no initial intention of buying. The resulting increase in demand for a product can be 100’s of %.
For example where a product is subject to a price change or something happens to bring it out of obscurity and into vogue. A flight to city X might appeal to user Y when price Z is offered and its reviewed in the Observer on Sunday, which user Y reads with his croissants every week. Prior to this user Y thought city X was type of vodka and they are amused to find out its not. So Mrs Y says what they hell, we need a break - lets go !
best regards
Peter Ellen
MD Maxymiser (services)
ps they spelt my name wrong in NMA
Peter - name corrected in post above. Thanks for stopping bye!
Hi Alex,
Thought I would reply and say hello, great to see discussion about the article and the website!
As Kevin pointed out we’ve been busy here, not least we have just finished launching all our brand new 48 www.visitbritain.com websites. Inevitably, given the large rebuild project, there are bound to be some areas that still need addressing, so it’s good to see the points you have raised. We have undertaken usability testing throughout the design and building of the new site which has enabled us to see the good and the bad, inevitably there are always going to be things missed. Compared to our old sites we have made huge leaps but understand that it is a beast that needs continuous improvement and development.
The product linking that you highlighted is something that I think does need improvements. Some of the ideas that you raised in terms of highlighting the product, are ones we want to experiment with and to see if can improve the experience for the user.
Again, thanks for your comments, always nice to get a fresh pair of eyes on it!
Harry