Editor’s note: Sarah Hiner is marketing and operations advisor at RelevantView, an online usability testing company based in Westport, Conn.

When the Internet first burst on the scene it was a magical, technical and complicated treasure chest guarded by Young Turks speaking a different language and creating a whole new set of rules. We all had visions of glorious overnight success in which money would rain down from heaven — or through the wires as the case may be. As we are all painfully aware, that didn’t happen.

The good news: There is no doubt that the Internet is here to stay and will play an increasingly large role in our lives as an information resource and as a convenient shopping channel. As the Internet matures, it is clearly being integrated into the mainstream of business…and being required to follow rules of fiscal discipline.

The bad news: In spite of the growth and increased sophistication, there is still a huge amount of anticipated ROI being left on the table by site-owners.

The problem

Depending on the study you read, anywhere from 50-75 percent of online transactions are abandoned, with site visitors either going to a competitive Web site for their transaction or foregoing it altogether. Why? Because the Web sites they are visiting are riddled with usability hurdles — confusing navigation, incomplete information, and slow page loads, to name a few. A 2001 study by Arthur Andersen showed that more than 83 percent of Internet users are likely to leave a Web site if they feel they have to make too many clicks to find what they’re looking for.

This is not to say that companies have not attempted to manage their Internet assets. Many have taken advantage of assorted site log analysis and stress-testing tools. And, many have even done some usability research, though it is usually after a site has been developed.

While these tools are important aides in the management of Web sites, many of these site owners are missing the broader picture: Analysis efforts are most effective when part of a fully integrated research and development program.

Critical to understand is this: From a development and customer satisfaction point-of-view, Web sites are just different “products” in spite of the fact that many people perceive them as being a different medium. As such, a company’s Web site needs to follow the same rules of traditional user satisfaction studies — just like that for breakfast cereals, frozen vegetables or laundry detergents.

It’s a communication vehicle…it’s a product…it’s both

“But we don’t sell our Web site…it’s a different medium for communication of our message to our clients.”  Very true. But, unlike the other communication channels such as radio, TV or print, Web sites are directly controlled by each company and directly impact customers’ experience with a company’s product(s). You are in control of the format and design of the channel and the way in which your users interact with it. As such, your users must be satisfied with their experience of it — or they won’t use it or possibly your products.

Every marketer knows that lifetime value is the key to long-term success.

  • For consumer packaged goods, this means that a coupon in the Sunday newspapers can encourage trial of a new product, but product quality is what sells future purchases of the product.
  • Magazine publishers know that their real profit occurs when subscribers renew their subscriptions beyond the first year.
  • Retailers know that a customer will not return to their store if they did not have a satisfactory experience — finding the product(s) they need with an acceptable level of service.
  • Direct marketers are driven by the lifetime value of a customer — not how much they spend during the first purchase, but how much they will continue to spend during their lifetime with a company based on positive customer experiences.

Much like the retailers, the direct marketers and the CPG manufacturers, Web site owners must reframe their perspective on their Web sites to realize that it is a product that must be developed and managed just like any other in order to achieve maximum ROI.

What to do about it

Site owners must return to the basic principles of market research and new product/concept testing. In so doing, they need to incorporate site research into their annual budgets and schedules. Specific research elements to be incorporated include:

1. Identify the objectives for the Web site. What customer need(s) does it/will it satisfy? While this does not involve outside research, it is a vital first step to take for any and all new products, including Web sites. One of the toughest challenges for site owners is to determine who is going to use the site and for what. This may seem obvious for some sites, but it is an especially large challenge for the many sites that service multiple customer constituencies.

2. Brand equity/consumer needs research. Run qualitative or laboratory studies to gather consumer feedback on early Web site design concepts and the fit between the site concepts and the objectives/corporate brand equity. Does the proposed site meet consumer needs and perceptions?

3. Early-stage concept development. Run qualitative research to gauge broad directional feedback on site objectives and strategies.

4. Quantitative feedback to design concepts. Once concept options have been developed, use quantitative studies to help identify the leading choices in a statistically significant way.

5. Detailed review of live site, both qualitative and quantitative feedback. Once the new site is fully functional and near launch, run a series of qualitative and quantitative studies to gather detailed information about the site’s subtleties as well as statistically reliable feedback on the core functionality and the site’s look and feel. The research should include measurement of actual site usability and task performance in addition to measurement of the look and feel of the site. Disaster-checking a site before launch is far cheaper than launching a bad site and losing customers and credibility forever.

6. Competitive analysis. How do you stack up against the competition? Perform quantitative research on a regular basis to ensure your place in the market is secure. New online tools allow you to run head-to-head comparisons of designated tasks at yours and your competitors’ Web sites.

7. Continuous monitoring. As the Web site continues to change and grow it is important to monitor the changes. Pretest functional enhancements to the site to ensure their effectiveness. Are key tasks able to be accomplished in fewer clicks? Are all of the links still working? Do new design elements continue to support the brand identity?

Like with traditional marketing, Web development questions are best answered via a combination of qualitative and quantitative research. Conduct qualitative at the early stages of product development and use more quantitative methods as the site gets closer to launch and broader, statistically significant feedback is required to confirm multimillion-dollar decisions.

The critical thing to always keep in mind, however, is to be sure to start research as early in the development process as possible. Studies have shown time and again that monies invested at the early stages of site or software development have a huge return on investment in terms of software quality and usability while monies invested later in the process have a much lower ROI due to mistakes in development that must be reworked. Failure to invest money in research can be the most costly, resulting in poor sites, unhappy users and operational inefficiencies.

Where to find the money? If you have money allocated to Web site development and maintenance, then you have money for usability research. Jakob Nielsen, a leading usability expert, recommends that 10 percent of site development budgets be allocated to usability testing. This investment will garner, on average, a 135 percent increase in site usability. Keep in mind, when planning research and site development projects, the most significant increase in usability comes from improvements to form-filling and navigational activities rather than from changes to the site’s look and feel.

Throughout the life cycle

In order to successfully manage corporate Web sites, it is increasingly critical to measure performance throughout the site’s life cycle — from earliest development stages to mature maintenance mode — beyond simply tracking site traffic and log stats. Site owners must treat their Web sites like their brands, constantly measuring customer perception and satisfaction, benchmarking vs. the competition, and investing in research efforts to ensure that development efforts are effective.