Paul Boag on Twitter

Hick’s law states that there is a predictable increase in the time it takes somebody to decide, as the number of options goes up. Yet we regularly bombard users with options on our websites.

Keeping options simple and straightforward on your website rarely works against you. In fact, I believe you are doing your customer a favour by reducing the need for weighing up options before proceeding with a transaction.

Paul’s, tweet reminds me of a post Lou wrote (back in 2015!) called Drowning in Choice.

Barry Schwartz in his book The Paradox of Choice, says that at the point where the effort to make an informed decision overtakes the benefit of having a choice, then “choice no longer liberates but debilitates. It might even be said to tyrannise.”

Carrie Webster writing for Smashing Magazine.

‘Whether it is a website, a software application or a smartphone app, it’s about first designing the structure of how your information is organized, and then translating this into a logical navigation hierarchy that makes sense to the users who will be accessing it. In this world where we can sometimes feel as though we are drowning in data, information architecture provides us with a logical way of organizing this data to make it easier to locate.’

Content structure is a core part of my web design process and in a large part informs the visual design of the website.

In my early design days I used to draw out the site using dummy text or images in illustrator, get the design signed off by the client then build the HTML and shoehorn in the content. We’d always get it to work but there was a lot of refactoring the design to fit. It’s completely backward when you think about it but it’s how most of the industry worked.

If you think content structure on a website is important (and you really should) then after you’ve read Carrie’s article you should also check out the book Content Design by Sarah Richards. It’s an easy read and explains why designing your content will have the biggest impact on your site visitor. Her experience is informed, in part, by her time at GOV.UK.

From mid October you can list your products in the Google Shopping tab for free.

‘Today we announced that we’re bringing free listings to the Shopping tab in countries across Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Just as we don’t charge sites to be part of the Google Search index, listings for participating retailers are eligible to appear in these results at no cost to them. Paid listings will continue to appear in ad slots and will operate in the same way as Shopping ads do today.’

I’m glad they’ve made this change. This used to be the norm for the product feed until they made it ad supported only.

Jason Fried’s forward to Bob Mesta’s new book ‘Demand Side Sales 101‘ has a few great sales tips. I cannot wait to read the Bob’s book as I’m an avid follower of JOTB.

‘It wasn’t until my manager encouraged me to shut up, watch, and listen. Give people space, observe what they’re interested in, keep an eye on their behavior, and be genuinely curious about what they wanted for themselves, not what I wanted for them. Essentially, stop selling and start listening.’

This can work in any relationship or negotiation. It’s something we all find hard, me included. Here’s another nugget

‘They didn’t care about the precise weight, or that this brand shaved 0.5oz off the model this year compared to last. They didn’t care what the color was called, only that they liked it (or didn’t). The tech- nical qualities weren’t important – in fact, they were irrelevant.’

Don’t focus on the features, focus on the benefit to your customer. It the case of shoes it could be how they make them feel not what they can do.

Listening is a crucial attribute of a successful sales person. If you listen well, your potential customer will always tell you what they want and how you can sell it to them.

Part of the business recovery workshop series by Start And Grow Enterprise

The pandemic has moved us to new ways of doing things. We’re having to adapt and change to meet the needs of our customers, which now include meeting the social distancing requirements. So how can you make the most of the online tools that are available to both market and sell your business virtually?

In this webinar, I will share some great ideas on using online tools such as Social Media, Video and Augmented Reality (AR) to connect with your customers so you come out of this stronger together.