Don't Become Web-blind to Your Mistakes

Turning eCommerce and Social into a Sales and Content Machine

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 Hello  -Have you ever written a blog post or product description that you thought … no, you BELIEVED was a perfected work of genius, only to reread it a few days later to discover grammar and spelling errors riddled throughout your masterpiece? The simple fact is that in the act of creating something – anything – your brain knows what your intent is. It “knows” where you are going and takes you there in a kind of internal auto-correct. Your brain makes excuses for you and fills in the missing gaps. It doesn’t mind missing assumptions because it was your brain that made those assumptions in the first place (if that makes sense). This is why it is desperately hard to catch your own mistakes during the creative process. But come back a few days later when you are reading your perfectly worded product manifesto “with fresh eyes” and the errors shine through. Now think back to the times you have been perusing the websites of your competitors. Don’t you see every flaw and notice every slow-loading image or confusing button placement? You KNOW that you do, because we all do it. In many cases, those errors exist because your competitors have become blind to them. The same thing is true for the user experience (UX) in your online shop. You KNOW how hard you worked on your site, the time it took, and the process flow and engagement that you expected your customers to follow. This “knowing the plan” can make you miss out on miscues and ambiguities that would confuse a “normal” shopper. Social scientists and psychologists call this phenomenon “generalization,” but let’s coin a phrase for it … we’ll call it becoming “web-blind.” What you don’t know is that your competitors likely do the same thing to you. They might be snickering at all the errors and miscues on your site that you have become web-blind to. Every online store owner should secret-shop his or her own online shop. But you are likely web-blind, right? So, find an independent reviewer. Someone who can come at your UX with fresh eyes from the get-go to give an unbiased list of each time they experience something odd or inconvenient in your online store or check-out process. More importantly, this person must be experienced and sharp enough to “actively notice,” understand, and document each recommended fix AND be courageous enough to deliver this vital feedback.  We help lots of customers fix issues like this with our Website Review tasks. But whether we do it for you or you find the right person to help on your end, it can be an eye-opening experience that increases conversions and average sales — delivering a really good bang-for-the-buck ROI. Let us know if you have any questions. You can read more about generalization here. Thanks for reading, Kind Regards,Oreo