If you want to keep users, send them away.
I'm into a couple of projects now that could roughly be described as "portals." Roughly, anyway. Sites with lots of different kinds of information, in some cases for very different types of users. If you build sites for large organizations, you run into this a good bit. We want one site, and because of who we are we really can only have one site, but we have three distinct markets (e.g., retail, wholesale, regulatory) -- how do we make it usable for all three?
Typically, the solution is based on the notion that you can funnel a user to a specific section of the site, where she will find information that's pertinent to her. Since the other section(s) of the site are targeted to other types of users, there won't be much need for her to go there, hence, she won't feel overwhelmed. Crossover stuff typically ends up on the home page, and is accessible to everyone. It's hard to make it look good, but it can be done. And the idea works pretty well -- as long as each type of user can easily navigate to the section he's interested in.
The approach, though, is ultimately designed to keep users on the site. Even the least sophisticated marketers today understand that you can't control the message anymore. Lots of people besides you have opinions on your product. But the more engaging and relevant you can keep your content, the longer you can keep users on your site -- and thus, the more they're exposed to your point of view.
So, what if you turn that thought on its head? What if you built a site that was designed to get rid of users as quickly as possible? Send them away instantly, by instantly pointing them to someone else's information. That's insanity! You could never build a trusted brand that way!
Here's one word for you: Google.
The article that inspired this post, here, on C|net, fed to my reader just after I'd had a discussion about building a portal that sections the site, in order to keep people on the site. It's a good article. And it made me think about the possibilities of creating more true portal-like, Google-like, things for brands that wouldn't ordinarily be predisposed toward sending people away.
By becoming the transparent source and collecting point for leads to information, you also become the de-facto trusted source for that same information. I'm sure it's what Seth was thinking when he conceived Squidoo. It strikes me that some brands could benefit from that type of thinking, too. It'll be a hard sell -- no doubt. Imagine going into a conference room to tell your client you're going to send his customers flying away from his site in droves, just as soon as they arrive. I can hear the crickets.
But maybe, for some brands, the very best way to get users to come back, time and time again, is quite simple. When they come to your site, send them away, as quickly as you can
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Advertising Marketing Creative Interactive Online Marketing Design Digital Design Blattner Brunner Ernie Mosteller BB Digital
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