Solution: Create Web experiences based on visitor profiles. Most corporate Web sites have lots of content—press releases, photos, announcements, event listings, news items and product data. However, most of this content isn't given any sort of relevancy to the goals of visitors. If intranet, extranet and Web site users can have individualized access to even some of the content they need at the exact time they need it, the organization will, with little extra effort or cost, earn far greater returns on its existing content.
A simple example is a corporate intranet. Each employee could have a different Web experience based on his or her job function. Ideally, a marketing employee could log on to the intranet in the morning and see any news items that mention the company, whereas an investor relations employee might need to see any financial reports that mention the company. Also, a customer service representative may need to see a report of the types of calls from the previous day.
Web site experiences should incorporate pre-existing content and sensibly deliver that content in different situations. Site experiences are quickly determined by limited "real estate" and timing. Valuable content already exists in your organization. To achieve the right results, it is up to the marketer to carefully and consistently present that content based on the needs of site users.
If a marketer wants to fill up seats at an upcoming event, it may promote the event on the company's home page. Site visitors who have already registered for the event may see a message to invite a colleague, while other visitors who have yet to register for the event might see a newly added benefit or session that could interest them, based on their user profile.
The more specific the content, the more valuable it becomes. Timely messaging and delivery are especially important when recipients are in the decision-making process.
Darren Guarnaccia is VP-business development and technology at RedDot, the Open Text Web solutions group.
|
