Web form usability or online ordering is human
Today I received an order from a very large company. They ask to implement on one of their sites such a solution (the spelling of the original, the names are changed):
The user on the site enters the “Cost calculator for the solution of ZAO Horn and Hoof.”
There he answers 11 questions to calculate the cost of the solution. After that, the user should be asked to fill out their full name, position, organization name and email.
Notification should be sent to the specified email: “The cost of the decision will be sent to the specified address in the near future,“ ZAO Horns and Hoofs, ”based on the questionnaire filled out on the rogaiko.pyta website.
We need to come to our mail user contacts and answers to questions. During the day we calculate the decision and send it to the specified address.
(approx. avt. - the average cost of the solution is more than a million rubles).
When I received this letter, I really wanted to share with you thoughts of why you shouldn’t do this and what mistakes the creators of corporate portals often make in an attempt to increase their interactivity.
')
1. "Calculator" means a device that performs the calculation and gives the result immediately .
Calling the online service a “calculator”, we kind of promise the user that after he spends his time and fills in the questionnaire, he will immediately receive an important result for him.
If this is not the case, if living people work on the answer, and it comes in a couple of days, then we should not deceive the user by calling this service a “calculator”. This service is more correct to call the "request for quotation." This is an operation of a completely different nature, and such requests will be completely different people with a different purpose.
Especially, the user will be annoyed when he finds out that this is not really a calculator, only after he has filled and sent the questionnaire.
2. Most users of real online calculators count something on them, mostly for the sake of curiosity, even if not idle. For them, this is a quick way to find out whether they should spend time communicating with this company, or not, and if so, whether it is possible to somehow save on this or that decision. To do this, they can use the calculator several times, entering different parameters and comparing the results. This is done, as a rule, without much preliminary preparation, and the user can enter some parameters with a fair error, as they say, “from a flashlight”. The employee of a low position and qualification, or just a private individual will probably be engaged in this.
The fact of using a calculator does not mean that the user is ready to go ahead and place an order. The calculator only makes it easier for him to make a decision. And the ability to quickly, offhand, compare several results to him in this greatly helps.
3. Request for quotation - a transaction of a different nature. It requires preliminary preparation in order to enter the input data as accurately as possible, because the price can seriously depend on accuracy. It takes time. And before spending it, the user seeks to get to know the potential seller of the service in order to, in any case, be sure that the answer will come and it will be adequate. Such a request is made once, and it must be confirmed by living people - employees of the company who know what the request is and what needs to be done with it. Preferably by phone.
In practice, such a request is already the first step to an order, and either an inadequate response (or lack thereof) or a better offer from competitors can prevent further development of relations. The speed of response in this case is also important, but the client understands that his request is considered individually, and this takes some time.
4. For many users, sending a request via a web form without explicit feedback is psychologically similar to sending a signal to space, in the hope that there is life. In other words, such forms are not taken seriously by the user and he prefers to make a phone call if this is available.
This means that for pre-sales consultations on a serious product, such forms of communication are not suitable - serious people need serious means of communication, ensuring that the message will be received by who you need and time will not be wasted.
5. Many users (and I among them) are wary of sending their personal data to the Internet, even through the websites of well-known companies. This is a rather hackneyed topic, but you do not need to ask questions in web forms, the answers to which do not affect the result of processing. For example, if I know that in order to forecast the cost of an insurance policy for a hull insurance, neither my name, nor my home address, or the registration number of my car are needed, then the demand from me of this data in the questionnaire will make me alert and rejected. An unwanted advertisement often begins to arrive at an e-mail sent in this form. In general, it is not necessary to load forms with unnecessary questions, even those that you really want to ask the client (“how did you know”, etc.). They can be asked later, at the stage of selling goods to him, when they will not annoy him so much.
6. In some cases, the web order / settlement form is useless because of the nature of the product being sold. It can be said with confidence that the more expensive a product / solution is, the smaller the role in the process of its sale will be played by the means of communication with the client embedded in the site. For example, it makes little sense to create web forms for ordering (and even calculating) complex industrial plants worth several million rubles. At the same time, the form created for ordering cheap spare parts for them can work quite successfully.
Also, do not give these web forms too much weight in the business processes associated with the sale. So, for example, my other correspondents sinned by the fact that the client who called them by phone, which he recognized on the site, was sent back to the site so that he could place an order there or look at the price list. A completely blatant disregard is to send a client to the site (or call center) directly from the office of the company where he came personally (the latter, for example, is abused by Citibank).
The most reasonable, in my opinion, ranking of communication methods by priority is: web -> telephone -> on-site consultant -> office - both in importance and in the amount of information and services provided. When this ranking changes, customers start to have unnecessary difficulties.
You can make an exception for the web and move it forward in ranking if your product has a direct connection to the Internet.
Here, in my opinion, are some of the most robust and working options for interacting with customers through the site:
Full online
All the details of the offer can be viewed on the website, the price is calculated automatically and immediately, the client’s “communication” with the website ends with an online payment for the goods or by downloading a finished invoice with a stamp and details for a non-cash payment. Delivery by courier or departure of experts for installation at the stipulated time. Confirmation by phone within an hour. Standard online store. Trite, beaten, but it works. Suitable for inexpensive products.
Online with registration and tracking
Applications via the web form are saved to the database, the client is registered. Quickly create a client account based on a form of 2-3 questions or issue an ID to an existing client. Assignment order number. Customer tracking of order status through the site. At the final stage, the client receives a notification that the work has been completed, the goods have been delivered, etc., and now a meeting at the office is necessary for reception and transmission and payment (if not already done). Suitable for support services, delivery, booking, any long-lasting processes.
Net Calculator
Based on data from some questionnaire, it creates a forecast of the cost of the decision. The result is immediately, with the proviso that it is approximate. Gives you the opportunity to play with the parameters and compare options. If the client is satisfied with the calculation and is ready to make an order, or he needs an exact calculation, he is sent to the “live” manager. Suitable for boxed solutions with a choice of equipment, for insurance and travel agencies, for the sale of cars and other complex equipment.
ICQ / Skype Consultant
A live person at the end of the wire. In some cases, this is better than a consultant on the phone, because in real time he can transfer to the client the links, photos, and other media materials he needs. Also a pleasant trifle is that the client does not need to record the received information by ear in a notebook. The consultant may accept the order or conclude an agreement on the time and place of the meeting with the manager. At the same time, the client may be offered to fill in any volume form on the site, since the consultant confirms the acceptance of such an order in real time. Suitable for large and expensive solutions.
Non-linear presentation
This is almost never met, but it will work. Online presentation with the possibility of branching content options depending on the user's choice on key points. Expensive, difficult, cool. In fact - an advanced version of the calculator, where each user choice is the answer to the question of the hidden "questionnaire". At the end, he submits to the order online or to contact the manager of the already prepared order. Also suitable for expensive projects.
What works "with a creak" or does not work at all.
So far, everything, I hope that these observations will help you optimize communication with potential customers through your website.
Good luck!
The user on the site enters the “Cost calculator for the solution of ZAO Horn and Hoof.”
There he answers 11 questions to calculate the cost of the solution. After that, the user should be asked to fill out their full name, position, organization name and email.
Notification should be sent to the specified email: “The cost of the decision will be sent to the specified address in the near future,“ ZAO Horns and Hoofs, ”based on the questionnaire filled out on the rogaiko.pyta website.
We need to come to our mail user contacts and answers to questions. During the day we calculate the decision and send it to the specified address.
(approx. avt. - the average cost of the solution is more than a million rubles).
When I received this letter, I really wanted to share with you thoughts of why you shouldn’t do this and what mistakes the creators of corporate portals often make in an attempt to increase their interactivity.
')
1. "Calculator" means a device that performs the calculation and gives the result immediately .
Calling the online service a “calculator”, we kind of promise the user that after he spends his time and fills in the questionnaire, he will immediately receive an important result for him.
If this is not the case, if living people work on the answer, and it comes in a couple of days, then we should not deceive the user by calling this service a “calculator”. This service is more correct to call the "request for quotation." This is an operation of a completely different nature, and such requests will be completely different people with a different purpose.
Especially, the user will be annoyed when he finds out that this is not really a calculator, only after he has filled and sent the questionnaire.
2. Most users of real online calculators count something on them, mostly for the sake of curiosity, even if not idle. For them, this is a quick way to find out whether they should spend time communicating with this company, or not, and if so, whether it is possible to somehow save on this or that decision. To do this, they can use the calculator several times, entering different parameters and comparing the results. This is done, as a rule, without much preliminary preparation, and the user can enter some parameters with a fair error, as they say, “from a flashlight”. The employee of a low position and qualification, or just a private individual will probably be engaged in this.
The fact of using a calculator does not mean that the user is ready to go ahead and place an order. The calculator only makes it easier for him to make a decision. And the ability to quickly, offhand, compare several results to him in this greatly helps.
3. Request for quotation - a transaction of a different nature. It requires preliminary preparation in order to enter the input data as accurately as possible, because the price can seriously depend on accuracy. It takes time. And before spending it, the user seeks to get to know the potential seller of the service in order to, in any case, be sure that the answer will come and it will be adequate. Such a request is made once, and it must be confirmed by living people - employees of the company who know what the request is and what needs to be done with it. Preferably by phone.
In practice, such a request is already the first step to an order, and either an inadequate response (or lack thereof) or a better offer from competitors can prevent further development of relations. The speed of response in this case is also important, but the client understands that his request is considered individually, and this takes some time.
4. For many users, sending a request via a web form without explicit feedback is psychologically similar to sending a signal to space, in the hope that there is life. In other words, such forms are not taken seriously by the user and he prefers to make a phone call if this is available.
This means that for pre-sales consultations on a serious product, such forms of communication are not suitable - serious people need serious means of communication, ensuring that the message will be received by who you need and time will not be wasted.
5. Many users (and I among them) are wary of sending their personal data to the Internet, even through the websites of well-known companies. This is a rather hackneyed topic, but you do not need to ask questions in web forms, the answers to which do not affect the result of processing. For example, if I know that in order to forecast the cost of an insurance policy for a hull insurance, neither my name, nor my home address, or the registration number of my car are needed, then the demand from me of this data in the questionnaire will make me alert and rejected. An unwanted advertisement often begins to arrive at an e-mail sent in this form. In general, it is not necessary to load forms with unnecessary questions, even those that you really want to ask the client (“how did you know”, etc.). They can be asked later, at the stage of selling goods to him, when they will not annoy him so much.
6. In some cases, the web order / settlement form is useless because of the nature of the product being sold. It can be said with confidence that the more expensive a product / solution is, the smaller the role in the process of its sale will be played by the means of communication with the client embedded in the site. For example, it makes little sense to create web forms for ordering (and even calculating) complex industrial plants worth several million rubles. At the same time, the form created for ordering cheap spare parts for them can work quite successfully.
Also, do not give these web forms too much weight in the business processes associated with the sale. So, for example, my other correspondents sinned by the fact that the client who called them by phone, which he recognized on the site, was sent back to the site so that he could place an order there or look at the price list. A completely blatant disregard is to send a client to the site (or call center) directly from the office of the company where he came personally (the latter, for example, is abused by Citibank).
The most reasonable, in my opinion, ranking of communication methods by priority is: web -> telephone -> on-site consultant -> office - both in importance and in the amount of information and services provided. When this ranking changes, customers start to have unnecessary difficulties.
You can make an exception for the web and move it forward in ranking if your product has a direct connection to the Internet.
Here, in my opinion, are some of the most robust and working options for interacting with customers through the site:
Full online
All the details of the offer can be viewed on the website, the price is calculated automatically and immediately, the client’s “communication” with the website ends with an online payment for the goods or by downloading a finished invoice with a stamp and details for a non-cash payment. Delivery by courier or departure of experts for installation at the stipulated time. Confirmation by phone within an hour. Standard online store. Trite, beaten, but it works. Suitable for inexpensive products.
Online with registration and tracking
Applications via the web form are saved to the database, the client is registered. Quickly create a client account based on a form of 2-3 questions or issue an ID to an existing client. Assignment order number. Customer tracking of order status through the site. At the final stage, the client receives a notification that the work has been completed, the goods have been delivered, etc., and now a meeting at the office is necessary for reception and transmission and payment (if not already done). Suitable for support services, delivery, booking, any long-lasting processes.
Net Calculator
Based on data from some questionnaire, it creates a forecast of the cost of the decision. The result is immediately, with the proviso that it is approximate. Gives you the opportunity to play with the parameters and compare options. If the client is satisfied with the calculation and is ready to make an order, or he needs an exact calculation, he is sent to the “live” manager. Suitable for boxed solutions with a choice of equipment, for insurance and travel agencies, for the sale of cars and other complex equipment.
ICQ / Skype Consultant
A live person at the end of the wire. In some cases, this is better than a consultant on the phone, because in real time he can transfer to the client the links, photos, and other media materials he needs. Also a pleasant trifle is that the client does not need to record the received information by ear in a notebook. The consultant may accept the order or conclude an agreement on the time and place of the meeting with the manager. At the same time, the client may be offered to fill in any volume form on the site, since the consultant confirms the acceptance of such an order in real time. Suitable for large and expensive solutions.
Non-linear presentation
This is almost never met, but it will work. Online presentation with the possibility of branching content options depending on the user's choice on key points. Expensive, difficult, cool. In fact - an advanced version of the calculator, where each user choice is the answer to the question of the hidden "questionnaire". At the end, he submits to the order online or to contact the manager of the already prepared order. Also suitable for expensive projects.
What works "with a creak" or does not work at all.
- Questionnaire, devoid of interactivity, and sent "one way" without confirmation of reading it by "live" people. The same with confirmation, which is clearly sent automatically with the template (static) text. Causes the client to fear that it will be ignored. Often it happens.
- Free form “Send message”, where there are three fields - “your name”, “your e-mail address” and a field for entering a message. Of course, without feedback and even without confirmation. It is not clear why they do it at all.
- Offer "download price list in Excel format." As a rule, it is used as the only opportunity to find out prices, while it is filled with few speaking names and indices. Not being a seller or buyer with great experience, it is difficult to understand. Atavism and mockery of the client.
- Illustrated catalog for download is much better than the price list, at least there are pictures in it. But this is not interactivity. All the same could be placed on the static pages of the site, just too lazy.
- When to order, you need to click on the link “mailto” and write the letter yourself. Easier to call. And sometimes even to come. Takes too much time to sell cheap goods, and too frivolous to sell expensive ones. Another atavism. Does not work.
So far, everything, I hope that these observations will help you optimize communication with potential customers through your website.
Good luck!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/115414/
All Articles