The Essential Ingredient for Every Start-up's Home Page: Proof

If you're working at a start-up and you're finally, finally, finally ready to launch your product or service, be sure to ask yourself this hard-nosed question: why should anyone visiting your Web site believe that what you're offering is worthwhile?

Sure, you're convinced you've created something great or close to great (otherwise why would you be toiling in a start-up?). But why should anyone else give your company more than a moment's notice? There are hundreds or thousands of new companies launching every day, each convinced that they've created something unique and compelling. No one, not even industry analysts or business journalists, can possibly give all these companies due consideration. So what specifically are you putting on your home page to seize your prospect's attention and prevent him or her from clicking away?

You need proof. Proof that you really have created something valuable to others (not just to you). And to be credible, that proof must be offered by somebody else (not you).

Here's a list of the types of proof you should post on your home page to demonstrate that you really are as worthwhile as you say you are:

• Customer testimonials - The ultimate proof—and if this doesn't appear after a few months, it doesn't really matter what other proof you offer. Preferably the customers you're citing paying customers, rather than users of a free version of your product or service. Ideally, they're leaders in their markets, so that when other companies see that these guys have bought your product or service, they'll interpret that investment as a serious endorsement.
• Major partners such as OEMs - While perhaps not as compelling as direct customers, evidence you have signed with resellers and other partners can suggest that you've passed a minimum level of scrutiny. Of course, the partnership has to be meaningful. Simply joining the partner program of a major network equipment vendor or database vendor, for example, doesn't mean a lot. These companies have thousands of partners. You may have passed some minimal level of scrutiny, but you're not necessarily valuable.
• Independent studies or benchmarks - Objective evidence that you really achieve the results you claim to achieve. Even better if the study or benchmark shows you outperform major players in your market.
• Praise from industry analysts - Again, nice to have, because it suggests that you've passed a certain level of scrutiny with people who know your market well. But some analyst firms have a reputation for selling their praise, so some members of your audience (especially engineers) may be skeptical.
• Investors - Like analysts, investors study markets closely. Their investment signals a vote of confidence. Their approval can at least make you a company to watch.
• Management Team - If your co-founders are recognized experts in their respective fields, the whole company gains some creditability. Eventually, though, you need to offer evidence of market traction—proof that your talented team has really delivered on their promise.

Take a look at your home page. How are you proving your value to visitors? Assume your visitors are lingering for just a moment before clicking away to Facebook or some other site. Can you hook them and compel them to learn more? If not, it's time to go back to the drawing board. You're probably not ready to launch.
Updated: April 23, 2012

How Good Is The Interface to Your Web Site or SaaS Application? Find Out Now

I've written before about the importance of customer experiences. When I look back on the companies I've worked with over a couple of decades in high tech, the quality of experience a product provided largely determined the success or failure of the product overall.

In the software market, user interfaces obviously play a major role in a customer's experience and, hence, in a product's success or failure. Complex, cumbersome interfaces confused users, prolonged sales cycles, and often limited buyers to sophisticated engineers working in solitary roles. Streamlined, easy-to-use interfaces, often developed in concert with customers, led to faster sales, more efficient operations, and greater business success overall.

There's a wealth of material available on the importance of user interfaces and customer-driven design. Jakob Nielsen, Jared Spool, and Steve Blank all have important things to say on these topics.

Of course, if you're in the middle of a product launch, or you're a product manager working to an aggressive schedule, or you're a programmer sweating to make your deadlines, you probably don't have a lot of time on your hands to do in-depth reading and learn a new set of best practices.

Nonetheless, you'd probably like to make sure the Web site or software you're building meets the needs of your customers to the greatest degree possible, since this is the most direct and cost-effective way to:

• ensure rapid adoption by customers
  
• shorten sales cycles
  
• reduce customer support calls
  

So, busy with development and probably short on time and money, how can you ensure you've got the best user interface possible? How can you nip a problem in the bud now, before it turns into a full-fledged customer support nightmare later?

Introducing Mad*Pow

You can take advantage of a new service I'm now offering with my new business partner, Mad*Pow.

I didn't want to merely write about improving customer experiences, wringing my hands without offering a concrete solution. Instead, I wanted to be able to help any interested companies address this problem quickly and directly. So I met with usability designers, explained what I was looking for, and ended up forming a partnership with Mad*Pow, a leading experience design agency.

They're great folks. They're based in Portsmouth, NH, and their clients include:

• Aetna
  
• American Express
  
• ESPN
  
• Google
  
• Intuit
  
• Journal of New England Medicine
  
• NBC Universal
  
• Starwood
  

You can check out some of their projects here.

Incidentally, Mass High Tech just named Amy Cueva, Mad*Pow's Founder and Chief Experience Officer one of its "Women to Watch" award winners.

The company was founded in 2000, and, as you can see from the client list above and from their Web site, they've clearly grown into a dynamic, successful company. I'm thrilled to be working with them to address the user experience problem.

Rapid Strategic Analysis of User Experiences

So what does our new service entail?

First, we’ll interview you to understand your business objectives and design goals. Then we’ll conduct a thorough assessment of your Web site or Web application. Our analysis will include:

• Heuristic analysis by multiple testers and designers to uncover usability weaknesses.
  
• Competitive analysis (2-3 competitive or comparative sites)
  
• Marketing and messaging analysis
  

We will then deliver an annotated slide deck and a written report detailing our findings, including:

• Analysis of content, navigation, design, brand, and messaging
  
• Vision for the future—suggestions for improvements in all areas analyzed
  
• SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis summary of the user experience overall
  

Our report will answer these vital questions:

• Is your Web site or Web application’s user interface as easy to use as possible? Are any design elements confusing or cumbersome? How well does the interface serve its users?
  
• How well does the interface serve your various audiences?
  
• Does the interface support customers making full use of your offerings? Does it facilitate upgrades and cross-selling?
  
• How does the interface compare to those of your competitors?
  

In addition, you can ask Mad*Pow's design team to offer various design alternatives for your site or application.

We've designed this process to achieve quick turnaround: we expect to work from kick-off interview to delivered report in 5 business days. And we've priced it in fitting with the budgets that are prevailing in today's, um, wonderful economy.

You can read more about the service here. (PDF)

If you're interested in having our team kick the tires on what you're building, please contact us at experience @ bennettstrategy dot com.


Lightbulb photo by rpongsaj, some rights reserved.