Website Design and the Grocery Store Checkout

The other day I was at my local grocery store.  I was in a great mood as I hurried up and down the aisles checking items off of the list my wife had given to me.  Generally I have no need to ask where things are in a grocery store.  I mean, it is fairly logically laid out, so I rarely have the need to interact with an employee until I get to the checkout.

Well on this day my good mood was slightly shaken by the face of this organization.

Okay.  I sort of get it.  As 16-17 year old, working at the checkout of a grocery store seems like it is the furthest thing from fun as it could possibly be; but PLEASE try to put on SOME sort of personality.  This kid had zero personality.  I mean ZERO.  No greeting.  No smile.  Not even any eye contact.  I’m sure the pretty girl two tills over, who was about his age, received a great deal more personality than I did during his break.  For Pete’s sake, you’re getting paid dammit.  Part of your job is to be the ‘face’ of the business once a customer makes their way to the checkout.

This got me thinking about the last conversation that I had with a prospective website design client I had recently in the Kitchener area.  He was so concerned about his search engine rankings, which is great, but he failed to take into consideration that a professional, properly designed website, in a prospective customer’s mind solidifies that you are actually worth dealing with.

Of course there is MUCH more to a proper website than just looking pretty (optimized architecture, linking structure, conversion analysis, A-B testing, sales cycle pathing, SEO, mobile device friendly, etc.), but you must take into consideration that your website is the digital face of your business.  In a lot of cases, this is your first and only chance to make a first impression.  Take it seriously.

Like the example with the disinterested checkout kid, there was nothing there to reassure me that this grocery store actually wanted or appreciated my business.  Nothing there to encourage me to spend even more next time.  What is to stop me from driving past my other options and spending my money there?

Same thing goes for your company’s new or redesigned website.  Give it the respect that it deserves.  Ask things such as:

• What your prospective clients EXPECT from you?
• What do prospective customers NEED from you?
• How will customer/prospective customers use your website?
• Do I need my website to be more easily found (SEO)?
• Does my competition do anything better than me?
• Do I do anything better than my competition?
• Once my website has been designed, what are the expectations I have for the site?
• Do I have a plan?
• Do I need help in putting my full plan together?

I encourage you to ask as many questions as possible of yourself, your staff and your customers.  That is probably the best, and potentially the only way, that you will be able to take into consideration all the elements that a properly designed website should have to serve your business needs.

Remember though… there is a difference between website design and development.  Pretty doesn’t drive traffic but it does encourage better engagement.