In fact the search for perfection might just be more detrimental to your website than anything else.

That homepage that your designer has been tweaking for weeks, stop fiddling and make it live. That ebook you’re still perfecting, launch it now. If you have doubts, test it.

In the web world we are lucky to have a friend: instant feedback. Feedback in the form of customers, analytics, surveys, etc. If you were developing a tangible product or print material, you don’t have this luxury. You have to get it right the first time. There is no excuse for a typo on the front of your catalog or a defect on your product. But a website is a living, breathing, evolving creature. Problems can be fixed. Inefficiencies can be optimized.

This isn’t an excuse for sloppiness, but rather a call for constant forward motion. As Seth Godin would say, just ship it. Nothing is more discouraging or counter productive then a long, drawn out website redesign process or new feature project.

Don’t sacrifice progress on the alter of perfection.

1. The belief that visitors always enter your website through the homepage
2. You send all of your traffic PPC, SEO, or Ad traffic to the homepage
3. Promoting products, content, email newsletters, or promotions only on the homepage
4. The belief that the “wow factor” is the most important impression to a customer, so you make your homepage do a flash based song-and-dance
5. A disproportionately large amount of your web design budget goes to redesigning it obsessively

The truth is that visitor behavior has changed drastically. Homepages don’t matter as much as they used too. First-time visitors enter deep into the site courtesy of Google’s more accurate search results. Repeat visitors enter through landing pages from email campaigns or bookmarks to specific pages that interested them. If you take a look at your analytics, I bet you’ll be shocked out how many of your visitors never even pass through the homepage.

Instead of obsessing over the homepage, take a look at other pages that are a required part of your conversion funnel (in other words, buyers must pass through these pages). Look at your  product category pages, the product detail pages, shopping cart, and checkout pages. Odds are, there’s some low-hanging fruit there.

Are you treating every page on your site like a homepage, or just one?

1. Completely redesign it – If you redesign your site from scratch, you’re probably throwing out the baby with the bathwater. No matter what your web design firm tells you, very few websites are so bad that it must be completely redesigned. When you do this, you end up distrupting features that worked perfectly fine just to fix features that didn’t. Instead, redesign your site incrementally around business objectives and customer needs, not the design whims of you or your company.
2. Do something drastic without testing it - I’d like to think that by now I could predict which features will increase conversion, but the truth is I still get it wrong – a lot. This is why testing is so crucial. It’s not fun to spend weeks developing something new only to have Google Website Optimizer tell you it actually hurt your conversion rate, but nonetheless it’s essential. Don’t sabotage your site by not testing major changes.
3. Forget first things  - Odds are your website has more than one conversion. In additon to your primary goal of getting a lead or a purchase, you might also want to get email subscribers, Facebook fans, or Twitter followers. These are all good things, but only if you remember first things first. If you keep adding buttons, ads, popups, and pages to support secondary goals, before you know it you’ve created unprioritzed, cluttered mess of a site. Don’t let your site become a Frankensite monster. Keep your first things first.

Now its your turn… in what ways have you unintentionally sabotage your website?

Odds are you have these pages on your website. Last week I raised a question about the value of site if your products disappeared. But here’s another consideration, what if the above pages disappeared?

If your About Us page was gone, would customers still be able to learn about your company, your beliefs, your values, your unique offering, throughout your site? Or is the About Page the only place you communicate who you really are.

What about an FAQ page? Is this the only place you answer common questions? If they’re really so “common”, why not answer them in context instead? In other words, it doesn’t make sense to answer common questions about your shipping policy on an entirely separate page, it makes sense to answer them with a popup box or mouseover in your shopping cart when people are actually choosing their shipping option.

Or consider your Customer Service page. You can probably figure out the common points of confusion on your website. Shouldn’t your contact info be right there, plain and simple, when and where it’s needed?

I’m not suggesting you delete these pages. I am suggesting you to think differently about how customers flow through your site. The pages above can be crutches. We assume customers will navigate to them when they’re needed. But will they?

Don’t we want that first time visitor, who might only see one page, to intuitively understand our unique value proposition, our mission, how to contact us, answers to common questions… without going anywhere else? How can we better structure our sites and write our copy in a way that avoids unnecessarily detours?

What detours have you seen on websites that can be eliminated?

404 pages. 500 errors. High bounce landing pages. A low open rate on a marketing email. I’m going to suggest a radical solution to these problems: ignore them.

Why should you ignore them? Because sometimes fixing a failure isn’t the best use of your time. That new landing page with a 70% bounce rate, maybe you can optimize it down to 50%, but it still sucks. Maybe you can increase sales on that failing product 50%, but it still isn’t going to make a dent on your top line.

Instead, flip the coin around. Forget what isn’t working, and focus instead on what is working. The landing page with a whopping 10% conversion rate. Or maybe a breakout product that you can’t keep in-stock. Ask yourself, how can I copy these successes?

Next week, try being a copy-cat, not a problem solver. Let me know how it goes.

If your answer is “no”, than you’ve successfully commoditized yourself.

If you’re truly passionate about your business, your site should be overflowing with content and community, both of which should be natural by-products of your real products. Content and community will endure, even if your products were gone.

What if, instead of your products being the main thing, they were actually souvenirs of a greater movement, idea, or lifestyle?

• Packing lists/invoices – Most packing slips are cold and formal. What if the person who picked and packed the order took an extra 10 seconds to write “thank you [customer name]” and sign their name with a red marker?
• Email notifications – Most shipping and order confirmation emails look like the digital equivalent of vomit. What if you added pictures of your staff and answered common questions regarding shipping and returns? What if you made it send from an actual person, instead of “donotreply@company.com”?
• Outgoing phone calls – Why is it that customers always call us first? Why do we so rarely go on the offensive with our customer service?  Try surprising your first-time or long-time customers with a quick call to just say “thanks.”
• The receipt page – There’s so much you can do with your thank you page. Don’t waste it with a generic thank you message and an order number.

The goal of each touchpoint should be the opportunity for another. Are you leveraging them for all they’re worth?

But now that everyone’s on the Facebook fan page bandwagon, how can you ensure your page stands apart from the fluff? Here’s 10 must-do’s for your Facebook fan page.

#1 – Give People a Reason to Fan You

People won’t fan you just because you have a page. (who doesn’t by now?!) Smart businesses tell fans exactly what they’ll get. Walgreens does a nice job of this with a teaser landing page. Give your visitors a preview of what your updates look like. Will they get discounts, exclusive news or content? Be specific so you set expectations appropriately.

#2 – Offer Fans Exclusives

If you’re using your page to regurgitate news and content from other company channels, think again. Your fans will see through this sham. Make it a priority to break news or offer exclusive promotions only to your Facebookers. They’ll show their appreciation by eagerly staying tuned to future updates.

#3 – Optimize your Profile Picture

Facebook doesn’t allow for much customizable real estate, so the space allowed for your profile image should be fully utilized. Unlike regular profiles, fan pages allow you to utilize much more vertical space. (see Threadless’ skyscraper style image for a great example.) Make sure to get the most of this real estate by including branding or a call to action.

#4 – Respond to Every Single Comment

That’s right, every single one. When companies ignore their wall, or worse yet, deny fans the ability to comment altogether, they’re openly declaring their only interested in a one-way conversation, which couldn’t be more opposed to the nature of Facebook. Fans feel honored when someone takes the time to respond. Why short yourself on such an easy way to build brand loyalty?

#5 – Strategically Time your Updates

Some evidence suggests updates get more eyeballs earlier in the week, but this will vary based on your users. Regardless, keep a close eye on the insights info that appears below each update, showing you what percentage of fans who engaged in a post. Time your updates when fans seem to be most active.

#6 – Cross Pollinate from Other Channels

Growing a fan page only through Facebook is nearly impossible since fans will rarely go looking for you. If you really want to kick-start your growth, you’ll need to funnel traffic from other sources. A tiny Facebook icon buried in your website footer isn’t enough. Go all out and promote your page in prime real-estate, including on the homepage, in emails, and even in-store.

#7 – Leverage your Fans to Attract More Fans

Your existing fans are the key to acquiring new fans. Every time someone becomes a fan, their action shows up in the news feeds of their friends. So the more fans you get, the more fans you get. Here’s a tactic I’ve used with much success: Try asking your fans to click “Suggest to Friends” link on your page.  Set a goal for reaching a certain number of fans by a certain day, and get everyone involved in helping. Offer a significant, one-time coupon as a reward if you hit the goal.

#8 – Relish Negative Feedback

Many companies claim they have great service. Here’s a way to actually prove it. How else can you show off your awesome service than by publicaly responding to detractors on your fan page? In addition, you’ll likely find that your fans will jump in to defend you. (There’s a reason they call it a “fan” page!)

#9 – Conversationalize your Updates:

When doing updates to fans, speak in a human, open-ended manner. Don’t let your copy come from that press release your PR firm just pushed down the wire. For example, suppose you just launched a new product line. Instead of writing an impersonal update such as “Newly released widget at Company.com”, try something like, “Just released a new widget and would love your feedback. Leave a comment with your opinion!”

#10 – Customize your Profile

Out of the box, Facebook fan pages don’t come with too many bells and whistles. But as the saying goes for another popular gadget, “there’s an app for that.” Customizing your page doesn’t require a lot of programing experience either. The popular Static FBML app allows you to easily add boxes or tabs to your profile that contain regular HTML and images. If you’re willing to invest a bit more time, custom apps open another world of possibilities. Best buy created an easy to use app that lets fans get advice from their network of friends on a purchase. It’s viral marketing and product research all in one.

What brands have you seen doing fan pages right? Leave a comment with your take.

Any at given moment, we’re bombarded with internet marketing and website optimization advice. We’re told to simultaneously be marketing on Facebook, Twitter, email and more. We know we need to be testing and optimizing our sites to the max.

These are all worthy endeavors. But I’m going to suggest that they aren’t always the most fruitful pursuits. I think we often bypass more obvious quick-wins in favor of sexier projects that we get excited about.

I was recently reminded of this at C28. For years, customers have been telling us to show the pictures of clothing on real people, rather than mannequins. For years we ignored the advice due to the impractical task of always having models on standby when new products arrived. So instead we optimized the heck out of everything we knew how. We overhauled the design of the site. We built a new and improved shopping cart. We ran incessant split tests on our marketing emails. But we started hitting a point of diminishing returns. All those a/b tests weren’t as effective as they used to be.

Then we decided to do the obvious. We actually listened to our customers and starting photographing all products on models. And the results? Let’s just say it was the single most effective optimization project we have ever done to the website. It wasn’t technical. It didn’t take an online marketing specialist, just a bit of old-fashioned listening to the customer.

You and me are online marketing junkies. We eat, sleep, and breathe conversion rates, CTRs, SEO, and SMO. Yet are we missing the obvious? What are the roadblocks preventing you from growing your business? You can have a flawless checkout process and fastest loading pages in the world, but if your basic product information is lacking, what’s the point?

Before you begin that next optimization project, take some time and revsit the fundamentals of your business.

1. Stop relying on discounts: Pretend that for the next year your business had to survive selling only full price products or services. Would you survive? What does your answer say about the health of your brand? Kevin Hillstrom reminds us that “discounts and promotions are taxes placed on brands for being unremarkable”. What truly sets your business apart? Why would a customer choose you over a competitor? If you’ve been overly reliant on deals during last year’s economic debacle, ask yourself when enough is enough. The sooner you start weaning customers off discounts, the sooner you’ll begin cultivating healthy, long-term business.
2. Stop relying on “best practices”: Internet business is maturing. It’s not good enough anymore to simply follow the wisdom of the crowd. We all know we need fast loading pages and easy to use shopping carts.  Now is the time to start testing bigger and bolder ideas. It’s ok to imitate for so long, but you can’t always play follow the leader. This year, be the one who makes best practices instead of the one who follows them.
3. Stop relying on “more”: When sales are slumping, the most appealing solution is often “do more”. That means more emails, more promotions, more ads, whatever. But more is a slippery slope, and only digs you into a hole for next year. What if your marketing budget was cut in half this year? How would you adjust? Start obsessing about doing better, not just more.
4. Stop drinking the feedback Kool-aid: Many businesses think they’re getting good feedback from their customers. The problem is the people who are most likely to give feedback (your best customers) are the ones you need it from the least. Start thinking about how to get the painful, yet necessary feedback from ex-customers or non-customers. Why have they not considered you or stopped shopping altogether? This year, do everything it takes to reach the people you really need feedback from.
5. Stop the analytics overload: Dozens of advanced web analytics tools have sprung up over the last few years. Yet we seem to be drowning in data and thirsting for meaning at the same time. How can we make sense of this paralyzing analytics overload?  For many etailers, it really all boils down to a few metrics worth tracking: visits, conversion rate, and average order size. Start with these 3 fundamental KPIs and move backwards, asking yourself what the root problems are preventing these metrics from improving. Take your top ideas and start testing now.

Have you made any new years anti-resolutions for your online business? Share them below.

Tappers and Listeners

Consider this fascinating study, highlighted in the book Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath.

A group of people are divided in half. The first group, the tappers, are assigned with the task of tapping the rhythm of a well known song, such as Happy Birthday to You or The Star Spangled Banner, on a table. The listeners are assigned with the task of identifying the song that is being tapped out by the tappers, based on the rhythm.

The experiment resulted in only 2% of the listeners being able to identify the song correctly. Upon learning this, the tappers we’re shocked that the listeners couldn’t recognize the tunes. After all, they thought, these were common tunes, and they were tapped skillfully. The problem, of course, is that the tune was already in the head of the tappers, but not the listeners. (try this sometime with someone, you’ll be surprised how hard it is to recognize a well-known rhythm)

The Curse of Knowledge

Much like the tappers, we’re cursed by knowledge, which makes us incapable of acting as if we didn’t have that knowledge. In our head, the rhythm of our song plays out nicely. We tap this rhythm on our landing pages and product pages, listing the features that impress us the most, the ones we’ve worked hardest on. Of course we’re convinced of the value of our products, because we already own them. Of course we know how to complete the checkout process on our site, because we  built it. But what do potential customers (those without our knowledge) think?

Defeat the Curse by Listening to your Pre-customers

Unfortunately, we can’t unlearn what we already know. For that reason, we must seek the feedback of those with far less industry experience than ourselves.

Don’t rely too heavily on customer feedback. This may sound counter-intuitive, but it’s really the non-customers you need to hear from. After all, the return customers who are already giving you feedback are affected by the curse as well, since they already understand the value of your products and how to use your website. Do whatever possible to get an outside perspective from those who aren’t yet interested in your product. Learn about the barriers that you’ve taken for granted while under the curse of knowledge.

You can never unlearn everything on your website, but with the right perspective, you can begin thinking like a pre-customer again.

1. Shock your first time customers by calling them within a day of their order. Ask them for feedback and thank them for their support.
2. Post online profiles of everyone at the company, but ditch the boring executive bios. Instead post profiles from the rank and file, the people who actually interact with your customers on a daily basis. The profiles will remind your customers they buy from people, not an “organization”
3. Take one day a month and answer the phones yourself. Tell customers who you are and get their feedback first hand. Customer’s love to opine when they know they’re talking to a decision maker. (I guarantee you will walk away with loads of new ideas from this tip).
4. Include a manager’s business card along with every order, along with a note asking for feedback.
5. You know those feedback boxes on your website? Don’t just read them, respond to every single customer who leaves a suggestion. They took the time to leave their 2-cents, don’t they deserve a response? (from my personal experience, customers are utterly shocked when you respond to suggestions. Kinda sad, isn’t it?)
6. Leave smiley face and “thank you” penciled on your customer’s receipt. Restaurant servers do it. It reminds them a real human touched their order.
7. Give to a worthy cause. Make sure you communicate specifically the people who benefit from your donations, so customers feel the connection.
8. Include a picture of each customer service representative in their email signatures. Every time they engage a customer via email, they’ll be reminded a real, caring human being is on the other end.
9. Actually listen and respond to your customers via Facebook and Twitter. It’s shocking how many large brands still just push out updates and never bother to respond to comments or tweets.
10. Start blogging. Scratch the corporate-speak, and find an authentic trust agent from within the company customers will relate to. Zappos is the master of creating a window into company culture with their frequent video blog updates.
11. Publicly recognize your top customers, product reviewers, etc. Link to their profiles on your site. Give them e-badges that signify their loyalty, such how long they’ve been supporting you, etc.
12. Actively call your long-time customers before they call you. Not to sell them something, but rather to get feedback on a recent purchase or service call.
13. Assign a personal customer service rep to each customer. When a customer orders, send them an email letting them know who their personal customer service rep is. Assign the same customer service rep to the same customer each time they order and, voila, you’ve created a relationship.

Have you ever been pleasantly shocked by a company “getting personal” with you? Share your experience below.

The Website Redesign Cycle

1. Company creates website
2. Company grows tired of website, and realizes it doesn’t meet all of their needs
3. Company redesigns website, addresses some of the weaknesses, but damages features that worked perfectly, annoying customers accustomed to the old site
4. Repeat (endlessly)

Website Redesign = Admission of Failure

The sad fact is, when a complete website overhaul is necessary, someone has been asleep at the wheel. Someone hasn’t been extracting actionable information from analytics reports. Someone wasn’t testing pages, headers, and buttons. If someone was, small, gradual changes could have precluded a redesign in the first place.

Who Are You Redesigning For?

If you aren’t designing with your customers in mind, the project is bound to fail. You can’t design for your CEO, because he’s not using your website. But don’t customers get sick of the same website? Not really. Come to think of it, most people don’t like change at all. The truth is, your company cares more about the look of your site than your customer ever will. Customers don’t know that your site hasn’t been redesigned in a year, as long as they can complete their objective.

Evolve, Don’t Re-Invent

Drastic is dangerous. By evolving your site, little by little, based on true customer feedback and testing, you’ll slowly but surely build a truly remarkable website. No, it’s not as exciting as a redesign, but it works.

On the contrary, I would argue we can learn much from the offline world. After all, with hundreds of years of experience, traditional retailers are in many ways much more polished than their online counterparts. Here’s 7 pointers we can take from the brick and mortar world.

1. Merchandising Matters: Countless hours of research have been performed on product merchandising. Grocery stores make a killing off selling prime locations on their shelves. I believe we are just starting to learn how to effectively merchandise online. How much thought have you given to how your products are ordered on your category pages? What about the way you order your categories in your nav? It kills me every time I see products or categories ordered alphabetically. Should accessories really be listed first if you’re known for your jeans? Probably not.
2. Packaging Matters: Few retailers consider packaging when selling products online. There’s a reason manufacturers spend millions on package design and testing, because it works. It’s a shame to not carry those elements online. Far from your typical product page, every product on the HoMedics website features a flash presentation, along with several tabs, one of which shows the product packaging. Too many product pages suffer from extreme boringness, offering a lifeless, overly-templated presentation of products. Showing packaging serves gift givers especially well, since they care about what the box looks like when the gift is opened.
3. Shopping is Social: Shopping mall empires are built upon the simple fact that shopping is a social activity. While our web is becoming increasingly social, online shopping seemingly lags behind. While services such as ShopTogether go so far as to allow customers to browse together, simpler website features such as “Get a Friend’s Opinion” email form can take small steps in that direction. I’m also a big fan of public wish lists, and allowing your customers to create and customize profiles on your site.
4. Social Proof: No one wants to be the first to try a product. When perusing the aisles of a store, its not hard to see what sells and what collects dust. You can also observe the shopping behaviors of other customers. Where do your online shoppers go to see what’s popular? Do you allow customers to sort by popularity or reviews on your category pages?
5. Product Bundling: Walk into any department store, and you’ll find products grouped together not only by category, but by common purpose. Some clothing stores have a shop by outfit feature, a perfect example of bundling. Product bundling not only serves to raise the average basket size, but it helps customers see practical  benefits from a group of products. After all, what’s more appealing, a t-shirt by itself, or a whole new look you can show off to friends on the weekend?
6. Location Matters: Setting up shop in a prime location makes all the difference. How does location translate in the online world? Domain names and search engine results. Are you on a busy street corner (Google results page 1) or a desolate backroad (Google results page 29). Is your virtual location (domain name) easily communicated, and credible sounding? Cheap-Laptop-Computers.com may help for SEO, but will it ever spread like wildfire via word to mouth?
7. Answers Matter: Have you ever made a serious in-store purchase without asking the store employee at least one question? Unknown millions have been lost in e-commerce due to unanswered questions due to inept product pages (And no, FAQ pages are not the solution) What about letting your customers answers questions for each other, like BackCountry’s Product Wall Q&A feature?. Customers are more than eager to help each other. The problem is most sites don’t let them.

Yes, we have a lot to learn from our traditional retail brethren. I’m excited to see how online retail transforms over the next few years. We’re still just a bunch of toddlers wobbling around in brave new world

I’ve recently been reflecting on lessons I’ve learned through this exciting but tumultuous experience. What follows is a list of 6 lessons I’ve learned, often the hard way. I hope these lessons are helpful to your business as well.

Lesson #1: Serve your Customers Offensively

All businesses give lip service to good customer service, and yet few are known for the truly remarkable kind. I believe this is due to a defensive rather than an offensive approach to customer care. Too much emphasis is placed on serving customers who initiate contact with the company rather than the company initiating contact with them. Would you be considered a good friend if you never called? Probably not. Your customers aren’t impressed that you answer the phone with a friendly voice, that’s an expectation. Do the unexpected. Call or email them first. Actually listen and respond to all feedback. Publicity recognize them. You can’t win in sports if you’re always on the defense. Neither will you win the hearts of your customers if you never go on the offense.

Lesson #2: Don’t Listen to Your Best Customers

Hear me out on this one. Over the last few years, I’ve succumbed to complacency in areas of our business because I believed the feedback I was getting. We sent out surveys. We brought customers in-house for testing. Everybody loved the website. Customers gave nothing but praise. The problem was in who we were getting our feedback from. When you poll your customers for feedback, understand that your best customers will respond. These are the ones you need the feedback from the least. They already love you, and probably don’t want anything to change. And yet growth necessitates change. Seek out the kind of feedback that is painful, but necessary.

Lesson #3: Redesign for Customer Needs, not Internal Ones

One of the most dangerous temptations in web business is to constantly be redesigning a website. Rather than driven by customer needs, these incessant redesigns are usually motivated by the company getting tired of their existing design. Website overhauls that are driven by anything but customer needs are a colossal waste of time and money. Trust me, we’ve done extensive overhauls that took months, and yet customers barely noticed, and conversion didn’t change.

Lesson #4: Deploy when you’re 80% finished

I don’t believe in perfection, especially when it comes to web development. While you’re busy getting to perfect, your competitors are stealing market share. There is no such thing as a perfect launch, so the sooner you discover the problems the better. If you launch your website improvements and new features when they’re 80% ready, and you’ll instantly gain priceless feedback your development team would never have encountered in testing.

Lesson #5 Create a Flexible Development Culture

I’ve been blessed to work with a group of incredibly gifted developers and designers who can adapt to any situation and meet any deadline. A flexible developer will realize that meeting a deadline is more important than 100% fully complaint code. (I’ve actually not hired incredibly gifted designers because they told me they couldn’t put out a page that wasn’t 100% standards compliant.) A flexible attitude is key. When you run an idea by your development team, are they excited for the challenge or give you a million reasons why it can’t be done or it will take too long?

Lesson #6: Don’t sell the product

The sooner you realize it’s not the product you’re selling, the better. C28 doesn’t sell clothing, but rather a way for its customers to express deeply held faith beliefs through clothing. When you address the ultimate need, your customers will see you as more than a business, but part of their lives. Sell the experience. Sell the meaning. Just don’t sell the product, that’s what your competitors do.

What are your top lessons you’ve learned the hard way?