This blog title is shameless clickbait. But since the topic is about increasing engagement, I’ve indulged in the annoying trend of hyperbolic headlines.
At the beginning of a project, we undertake a process of discovery to establish goals and objectives aligned with the organization’s goals. We are building websites for several new clients, and increasing engagement with customers/members is near the forefront of each of their goals. To increase engagement, we seek to understand the target audience – what do they need that the organization offers, and what will they respond to. With that understanding, we can implement website features such as:
- Place key messaging up front
- Use images that make an emotional connection
- Organize the site so users can easily find their way to relevant information
- Make compelling and well-placed calls to action.
It sounds easy when you say it fast, but delivering is not trivial. However, we do have experience in building sites with these features.
Working on our current batch of projects, we’re finding the single most critical factor is the organization itself. Those that really know their customers/members, and are committed to putting in the effort to work with us, are reaping standout results. Some of our clients demonstrate insight into understanding their members/customers, skill in developing services to meet their needs, and the perseverance to continuously measure their success in engaging with them.
These stellar clients are a joy to work with, and they make us look good, as their websites are invariably successful. But it is not reasonable, or necessary, for a client to come into a project with a highly developed culture of member/customer engagement. We’re more than happy to help cultivate the techniques and provide the tools to enhance engagement. Provided the client is willing, we can help leverage their organization’s efforts to know their member/customers into a highly engaging website.