More Thoughts about Planning: Think about ValueFor a moment, think about your web surfing experiences. If you have ever been to a Web site, consider what took you there. You probably went to satisfy your curiosity about something or to look for information you needed. Once there, did you find everything you were looking for? Did you need more information than was offered? More importantly, are there any reasons for you to return to that Web site? Most of us have been to hundreds if not thousands of Web sites since getting on-line, but how many have we visited more than once? It is fair to say that less than 10% of Web sites get repeat visitors. As a site owner, this should be a concern to you (it is to me!). The next question you should be asking yourself is what you can do to turn those one-timers into repeaters. The answer to this question is simple: offer value. The World Wide Web operates because of one principle: interest. If people are interested in what you have to say or offer, they will visit your Web site. Why did you visit this site? It could be that you are interested in having Web site designed and you found us in the search engines. Perhaps a signature on a posting in a news group caught your attention. No matter how you found out about us, the reason you visited was because of interest. The challenge for us (and for you when it comes to your site) is how do we keep you coming back? The key to this is value. But what is value? If people visit a Web site because of interest, then the information they are looking for constitutes value. When you are busy studying your server logs and looking at all the visits to your site, consider that the only reason people return is because THEY PERCEIVE the value in doing so. This is why we tell people to put aside their egos when designing their sites. I can get anyone to visit a Web site once. Getting them to return is a different story. I can assure you that people will not visit a site that is not valuable to them in some way. Your visitors define what is valuable to them, not you. So, what can you do to add value to your Web site? One of the first steps is to define what your customers think is valuable. Then put that information beside your goals and decide how you can provide that value to your customers and meet your goals. An example of this could be as follows: Company: Helicopter charter service Goal of Web site: generate inquiries Valuable information to target audience: aircraft profiles & performance, services offered, cost of charters Web site could offer: information on different types of aircraft offered by the company, information on their services and (here's the value) an on-line cost calculator showing the relative costs for different aircraft to perform a different mission. The value in this last feature is that it allows the visitor to determine which is the most cost-effective aircraft for a particular mission. This gives visitors the ability to quickly check which charter company offers the best price for a particular aircraft, saving them time and money. Value is what the visitor perceives it to be. If you know what that is, you have a much better chance of your site being a success. Web sites that offer value encourage repeat visits and allow you to develop a relationship with your visitors. In the long term, the customer relationship is what provides value to you. Building value into your Web site is a win-win situation for you and your customers. Internet
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