Only (Kinda) on Taking Aim!

by Dan Ward

If you’re like me, beyond being frightened by that thought, you also are annoyed by the constant claims by print and broadcast media that they, and only they, have THE exclusive on some breaking news story.

“Seen first on 6,” “exclusive to 2,” “you’d have to be daft to turn to 6 or 2 because the story is only here on 9” … the hyperbole grows with every story.  It’s not enough to present a thoroughly researched news report; you must also describe how your news organization got the story first, or how you interviewed someone nobody else did, or how your story led to changes in government leadership/renewed calls for transparency/a yet further decline in readers and viewers.

What we rarely see is one of these news organizations publicly questioned about whether they actually got the story first.  Until now.  Seems the AP’s Harry Weber is more than a little perturbed by New York Times claims that they have reported elements of the BP oil spill that nobody else has covered.

Says Weber, “their key assertions that the destruction of the Horizon ‘has escaped intense scrutiny’ and that the final hours are only now possible to piece together are patently false.”  He then goes on to describe, in detail, how AP staffers had covered many of these same story elements, and others, as early as May.

Does this signal the beginning of the end for “we got the story first” headlines?  Doubtful, though it’s good to finally see somebody question the accuracy of such headlines.

Just remember, in this case you definitely saw it here first … ish.

Happy Headlines

by Roger Pynn

I carp on headline writers often enough that I thought it my year-end duty to point to some that make me happy.  They ought to make you happy, too, and they have nothing to do with how the headlines were written.

Instead, they fall into the “good news” category … and prove that when there is good news to report media will tell the story.

I like this one the most because it tells me there is light at the end of this terrible tunnel we’ve been driving through since late 2008.

In the same vein, this one tells me consumers have money to spend again, and that means people are making money.  Hopefully they are making it through gainful employment rather than crime or gambling.

And I like this one because when I’m really old, I have less fear that there will be phone cords to trip on as I totter around.  You see, there’s a silver lining to every cloud.

As the year draws to a close, I hope the headlines bring a smile to you, too.

Google Tells a Story

by Roger Pynn

A CBS “Sunday Morning” story caught my eye this past weekend.  That happens almost every week, but as someone who is often in the role of copy editor, John Blackstone’s report really struck home and reminded me how often I’m looking for a synonym.

I’m frequently faced with a paragraph (sometimes even a sentence) where the writer uses the same word twice … or even thrice.  Now, at least there’s a tool … thanks to Google having digitized a database of more than 5.2 million books published since 1500 … to show us how the history of overused words.

You can search for all kinds of words and how they’ve been used over and over and over again … or when they peaked as terms writers liked to use … or when they fell out of favor in the literary world.

For instance, I wondered about the word I just used to refer to three of something and asked Google labs Books Ngram Viewer to tell me the history of “three times” and “thrice” over the past half millennium and got this incredible perspective.

I guess I’m about 400 years behind the curve, but I still like the sound of thrice.

Then, I thought, how about some of those annoying terms that I’ve been wishing lately would peak … like “awesome” and “dude”?  I’m afraid, when looking at this chart, that we’re nowhere near the end of “awesome, dude!”

 

The Dirtiest Seven-Letter Word in Business

by Kim Taylor

M-e-e-t-i-n-g. If there was ever a function of doing business I could live without, it’d be meetings. But, darn if most of them aren’t at least somewhat necessary … especially in professional services firms. Meetings are where ideas are generated, work is disseminated and people are brought up to speed. But, if you’re like us, you often wrestle with the sometimes-soaring people costs of these meetings.

A few weeks ago something great happened; I had the opportunity to join my peers from agencies throughout the country for “Leadership Camp.” And, while I took away more nuggets of wisdom than I ever expected, one tiny tip really stuck with me. It came from an exec at Texas’ best public relations firm:

Before you begin a meeting, jot down the total cost of the meeting (presuming that you bill time by the hour like we do) on your agenda, or if you’re like us, on your wipe erase wall.

Trust me, if you have even a few people in a meeting for an hour (or more!), the time and cost to the client really adds up. Eyeballing that price tag every 15 minutes or so is a surefire way to stay on track.

What’s your secret to being a good steward of your clients’ budgets? Or, do you have another meeting tip to share? I’d love to hear it.

“We Wish You A Merry Christmas in This Happy E-Mail!”

by Dan Ward

I’ve noticed that our reception desk is devoid of the usual clutter of holiday cards this year, and while I’m sure there’s a possibility that we’re simply no longer popular and have fallen off of many holiday lists, I think there’s another factor at play: the holiday e-mail card.

As the holiday envelopes have dwindled, the “please open your holiday message here” e-mails have quickly grown.

I’m curious whether others have noticed this as well, and whether you think this is positive or negative. Certainly an e-mail card is more cost-effective, important in today’s economy. It’s also more environmentally friendly. But does it still provide the same personal touch as an envelope and a stamp?

Personally, I’m happy for any holiday message I receive, whether in the form of a card, e-mail or tasty cookies (hint, hint).

As for us, we’re sticking with snail mail and are keeping the tradition alive this year of a more than a little off-the-wall holiday card, because nothing says Happy Holidays like Frosty, WikiLeaks and the TSA.

Stay tuned for a major leak …

The Clark Howard Effect

by Roger Pynn

Popular consumer advocate/radio talk show host Clark Howard likes to refer to “customer no service” when companies blow off complaints or requests for help from dissatisfied patrons.  I had an experience the other day that reminded me that those of us in professional services firms have just as much at stake in the listening game.

On a routine visit to a medical specialist’s office, I checked in at the empty lobby and was quickly taken back to a treatment room to wait for the Physicians Assistant I was scheduled to see.  Because I was backlogged with paperwork, I had taken my monthly client reports with me to review and edit so I welcomed a few minutes to pour over the pages that chronicled our service to clients the previous month.

With a sign of relief, I closed the folder having finished all 12 reports and glanced at my watch … one hour after my arrival and appointment time.

Shocked I wandered out into the hallway wondering if I had been forgotten and found two young ladies chatting at the desk.  The look of shock on their face made it clear no one knew I was there, but they explained the PA had been called to an emergency room situation and promised that another PA was on the way and it would only be “a couple of minutes.”

Fifteen minutes later when I walked and said “goodbye, I’m leaving,” the other assistant proclaimed “well you can leave if you want to, but I’m filling out your charts right now.  Don’t you want to wait?”

When I asked “how long will I have to stay?” she replied not with an answer but instead by repeating “well, I’m filling out your charts right now.”

When customers ask questions they want an answer.  It isn’t as if you are talking to a reporter demanding information … you’re talking to someone with whom you have a commercial relationship.

In our Message Matrix® training program that prepares business people for interactions with reporters, we always explain that talking to a reporter does not require an answer, but instead provides an opportunity to respond and get your message across.

The same does not apply to conversations with your client.  They have (or will) pay for your answer.  Get to the point.

The Psychology behind Web Design – Part II: How?

by Dionne Aiken

In “The Psychology behind Web Design Part 1” I briefly touched on why psychology is so important to web design in that it not only enhances the user experience but also drives calls to action and thus business results.  But how do you get there?

Here are the “Hows” behind design considerations taking into account the user experience and psychological needs (click on each item to jump to a section):

1. Trust
2. Familiarity
3. Purpose
4. Imagery
5. White Space
6. User Flow & Information Hierarchy
7. Color Psychology and Symbolism
8. Logo & Brand Consistency

Trust

Safety is the second fundamental human need as defined by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. By meeting this basic need you can build trust with your users. The bottom line is that people spend time on sites they trust. To build trust, consider the following:

1. Design Integrity The overall look of the site must be of a certain level of design integrity to make a good first impression and build credibility. This is an extension of your brand. If your site appears unprofessional, users may see your entire business entity as such and it could deter users. (This includes technical considerations also; for instance, adhering to Web standards and best practices, providing working links, proper coding structure, and good overall functionality.)
2. Don’t Get Too Personal Too Soon Don’t ask for personal information up front or in ways that are counter-intuitive or inconsistent with the user expectations. If these request disrupt the user flow, are abrupt, unexpected or out of place they become a deterrent. Find intuitive ways to integrate these requests seamlessly into your website where they make the most sense.
3. Use Trustworthy Indicators  Adding testimonials from noteworthy clients, reviews, seals of approval, recognizable affiliations, certifications and other trustworthy elements add value to your site and help establish a sense of trust with visitors.
4. Deliver A website, no matter how superb, is only as good as the actual business entity itself. The business entity must deliver on their product and services to meet customer expectations.

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Familiarity

When you go into a grocery store you expect to see aisles of groceries and signage on each aisle that tells you where things are located. You expect shopping carts, registers, entry & exits to be at the front of the store. The same holds true for a website. Once your audience is introduced to your website, there are certain expectations of where “signage,” items and locations of said items should be.  Consider the following to assist with placing elements in a manner that will assist with user familiarity:

1. Don’t Send People on a Wild Goose Chase Off the bat, people want to know what you do and how to contact you … don’t make people search or guess for these key pieces of information. Tell them up front or offer clear ways to access them, i.e., “About Us” or “Contact” pages or even listing a phone number or address in the header or footer on all pages of the site will help too.
2. Provide Road Maps People want to know how to get from point A to point B and where they are in the site at all times. Have clear navigational elements that stay consistent throughout the site and strong indicators or “you are here” landmarks that show users what page they are on. This can be done with basic design elements, or even a breadcrumb. It also helps to include a sitemap somewhere on the site that lists all the links to your pages. You can have a separate page or section dedicated to the site map and then link to it or, if the site map is small enough, you can add it to the footer so it’s present on all pages of the site. Providing good road maps and directional indicators or “signage” not only helps users navigate your site but also helps search engine crawlers crawl your site pages and links and thus boosts SEO.
3. Above the Fold Because we are taught to read from left to right and top to bottom in our Western culture, it is good practice to place all of the important website elements in the “top fold” or “above the fold.” Logo, branding elements, header, navigation, search fields and so forth should at the very least be visible in the top 800 by 600 pixel-area of your Web page to ensure that users can easily and immediately view/access them. This isn’t set in stone but you should take into account factors such as varying screen resolutions, multiple stacked toolbars, browser window sizes and so forth when considering your top fold real estate. Creating layouts that auto center with the user’s window or fluid layouts can also assist with making sure key elements get the exposure they need.
4. Design Consistency  Design things and place things in an intuitive manner. How many times have you gone to a website and clicked on what you thought was a link or button only to find that it wasn’t a link at all? If all the links on your website are blue, bold and underlined, don’t make your headings blue, bold and underlined, especially if they aren’t links! Make sure you have specific design treatments for each recurring element on your site and that the same approach is carried out throughout the entire site. Design consistency and intuitive placement of items, will help users get familiar with your site.

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Purpose

A great quote from Andy Rutledge’s article best sums the purpose of website pages:

“In a very general sense, the purpose of a site’s index page is to convince visitors that they should venture further into the site – and compel them to do so. In order to do that the page must engage in advisable psychology (through design and copy) while avoiding distracting and irrelevant purposes that run counter to the primary function of the page. The index page must not attempt to dump the entire site’s content into the viewer’s eyes in one fell swoop. Rather, the page must make a concise and clean first impression; an impression focused on a specific rather than all-encompassing purpose.” – Andy Rutledge

Each page should be specific to its functional purpose. The home page should introduce, attract and direct. The internal pages are where you want to deliver your actual content and pull users further into other pages and areas of your site.

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Imagery

Careful image selection and treatment will support the content on your website and reinforce an overarching concept. Images should also be contextually appropriate and purposeful. If not, they will detract and lessen the impact of your messages.  

White Space /Breathing Room

“In a very general sense, a contextually inconsistent environment, clutter and cramped quarters tends to encourage a lack of interest while open space and a consistent context in the environment tends to encourage interest and openness to suggestion.” – Andy Rutledge

By grouping things logically and allowing adequate spacing amidst and between copy, you allow users to focus and read your content and thus pull them into your site.  An article published by Smashing magazine gives more examples of ways to incorporate white space into your layouts with additional links and resources.

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User Flow & Information Hierarchy

Here is an example of a home page layout that has strong information hierarchy and thus strong indicators for user flow of accessing information:

 http://www.onextrapixel.com/2010/06/24/a-closer-look-at-hierarchy-in-web-design/

Use strong design elements and employ basic design principles to highlight important areas and elements, support the message, and to direct the viewer’s eye and user flow.

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Color Psychology and Symbolism

Understanding the psychology behind the use of colors will make for better design decisions and will help better communicate and support your brand and messages.  For example, use blues to communicate security or yellow to communicate happiness.  There are many resources that talk about color and the psychology behind different colors*:

http://www.pepfx.com/articles/web_design/webdesign_colors.php

http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/Pantone.aspx?pg=19382&ca=29

*It is important to note that the above is in reference to colors in our Western society, the meanings people associate with different colors may vary across different cultural and geographical boundaries.

Logo & Branding Translation/Consistency

When you land on a company’s website is should be the same feeling as if you were to walk into their office building.  The website should be an extension of their brand, not an afterthought.  There is a certain lifestyle, a point of view, a culture, an attitude and aura associated with and unique to each company.  It is the designer’s goal to make sure all these elements carry over and are communicated in the look of the site.

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By addressing these key points, you can tap into the user’s psychology and create better web experiences.  In the long run, this will contribute to more calls to action and drive business results.

The Psychology behind Web Design – Part I: Why?

by Dionne Aiken

When browsing through websites, ever ask yourself “Why?” Why is the navigation at the top or on the left and then again at the bottom of the page? Why are all the links a certain color? Why does the overall website look and feel the way it does? These answers should be driven by conscious and purposeful decision, taking into account the user experience and psychological considerations, and not just because “I think the color blue and shiny Web buttons are cool!” (Although I must admit I’m a sucker for shiny Web buttons, myself!)

Basic design and psychological principles play a critical role in the push and pull of information between businesses and consumers by impacting the user experience in a way that generates calls to action and thus translates to business results.

An excellent article written by Andy Rutledge titled “Design Psychology” further attests to this as it goes through an extensive explanation of the psychology behind design and why individual subjective preferences should take a backseat to proven design principles and user expectations.

Similar to a step in our very own corporate philosophy “Analyze the Big Picture,” a video interview with Lance Loveday of Closed Loop Marketing and Eric J Hansen of SiteSpec  stresses the importance of a re-focus on overarching business goals to bridge the gap between developers, designers and decision-makers to boost ROI and business results. Throughout the interview they also make the connection between effective Web Design and ROI.

Here are additional articles written on the topic of psychology and Web design that further explain the “whys” behind the design decisions:

http://abduzeedo.com/psychological-study-web-designs

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2010/05/the-psychology-of-web-design/

As shown in the examples above, good design decisions take into account the user’s psychology, basic design principles and objective data, and lead to better Web experiences, user action and thus translate to business results.

In an upcoming post, I’ll explore the “Hows” behind implementing good Web design based on users’ psychological needs, so … stay tuned!