Happy New Year from all us Thinkers, to all you thinkers.

Depending on your view of calendars, the first year of the new millennium is either just over or just about to begin. Either way, it means another year is over and a new one about to begin.

We hope it brings new business, new successes, new horizons and much to cheer about. We wish all subscribers a happy, safe and prosperous new year.

In this issue

1. New Economy Thinking
1.1 Is it Time to Throttle the Choke?
1.2 Keep it Stupid Simple
1.3 Even Learning Institutions Need Educating

2. Marketing
2.1 Information - The New Literacy

3. Email Marketing
3.1 One to One Marketing Finds its Customers

4. Risk Management
4.1 Thankfully Car Fleets are not Websites

5. Squad News
5.1 There’s a New Squad in Town

1. New Economy Thinking

1.1 Is it Time to Throttle the Choke?
Up until 10 years ago, most vehicles on our roads came fitted with a “choke”. The driving experience would always begin with pulling out the “choke”.

Was it a great user experience? Do we miss it today?

Manufacturers installed the choke because it provided a level of control that hadn’t as yet been built into engines. Drivers learned to live with the choke because they had to, not because they wanted to.

Engine manufacturers understood this and as soon as it was possible, the auto choke provided the control and the manual version disappeared almost overnight. 

The lesson here is for online companies to take a close look at all the controls on their websites. How many are there because the customer needs them? Or are they there because the company thinks it needs them? 

In many cases they are irrelevant to the customer and hinder their progress. Take the “simple” questionnaire that needs to be filled in before you can receive information. 

I’ve seen some that want to know more than I would tell my mother.

It’s time to think like customers rather than manufacturers. If there is an alternative to the “choke” then install it as quickly as possible.


1.2 Keep it Stupid Simple
A new book launched recently reveals some interesting figures on how people use the online medium.

The book is entitled “Don’t Make Me Think”. Its author, Steve Krug distilled the contents of 5 years usability consulting and testing experience.

The main findings were:
1. Don’t make your customers think. 
It’s not that they’re stupid, it’s just that they like things plain and simple. Just as anyone would who is still learning the ins and outs of a totally new way of accessing information.

The number one usability rule is that web pages should be self evident, obvious and self-explanatory. If I have to think, then it’s too hard.

2. People don’t read, they scan.
People scan your pages in seconds. They’re searching for items of interest. Provide them with enough interest to stay and to return.

3. Rather than optimal choices, people “satisfy”.
People don’t keep looking until they find the best choice, they find the first choice that’s closest to what they’re looking for and then jump.

People like mindless choices. Make the navigation as simple as possible for them to understand. Try to navigate through your own site. If you have trouble finding information, imagine the trouble your customers are having.

4. Write as if you had to pay double for every word.
Online, people take in chunks of information. Provide them with ever growing chunks of information and let them decide how much they want to consume. 

For example, provide people with a taste of an article (a short descriptive line or sentence). Then provide an abstract - a longer section that expands the article further. Then, if they want more, give them the whole article. 

5. Navigation: Think in street signs.
There are certain elements that need to be clearly spelled out on every page:
a) What site is this?
b) What page am I on?
c) What are the major sections of this site?
d) What options are there at this level?
e) Where am I in the scheme of things?

Take a look at your site. If it can’t answer these simple requirements on every page, email info@thinking.com.au
  

1.3 Even Learning Institutions Need Educating
I was interested recently in a course advertised by a leading Victorian tertiary institution. It was Saturday. I followed the URL to their site and the course.

It looked like a designer had been there recently. One whose only contact with “customers” would be in a bar where there is too much brushed aluminium and black attire.

My experience:
1) Within three clicks (my first three clicks) I had four separate pages open on my screen.

2) There were links from one page that, when clicked, were answered on another page which had already been opened. 

How the average person whose screen resolution is set to 800 x 600 could have known this, beats me. You see neither page could be re-sized. 

So, even if I’d recognised this amazing piece of page swapping logic, the only way for me to see both the question and response was to flip from one page to the other. Both pages could not be viewed on the screen at the same time.

But wait, there’s more.

3) The “submit” button shot off my request for further information. However, it was instantly returned as the delivery address was incorrect. 

4) I decided to use the email address on the newspaper advertisement. Same result.

The Course was Master of Multimedia. I assume it’s about understanding new media and how to use it more efficiently as a communications tool. 

I will think twice before using anyone with a Multimedia Degree from this Institution. It just goes to show that the most important element of any design is communication.

If your site is not communicating, it’s not working.

To ensure your customer experience is positive rather than negative, email newthinking@thinking.com.au.
  

2. Marketing

2.1 Information - The New Literacy
The University of Berkeley’s “How Much Information” report believes that the next stage of literacy is being able to decipher information. 

Why is this important? Information availability is growing at a phenomenal rate.
1) Currently there are over 2.5 billion documents that we know of on the internet and it’s growing by 7.3 million pages per day.

2) Include intranets, extranets and the like, and the figure spirals to approximately 550 billion documents.

3) A white-collar worker receives about 40 email messages every day. Some 10 billion emails are sent daily and this is estimated to rise to 35 billion by 2005.

According to the authors of the Report, our ability to create information has far outpaced our ability to search, organise and publish it. 

What this means is that we need to take a closer look at our content, make it more relevant, more pointed and more worthwhile.

To make your content more worthwhile, contact marketing@thinking.com.au 

3. Email Marketing

3.1 One to One Marketing Finds its Customers
Imagine if you could save up to 60% on the cost of your next direct mail campaign (the cost of printing, paper and postage). 

Plus go out and achieve response rates that range from 2.5% up to as much as 33% on highly personalised/targeted lists.

Following are the results online marketers are receiving via email promotions in comparison to other promotions:

Thinking has achieved similar results for a number of clients. Don’t underestimate the power of email marketing. Begin your email community now, contact emailmktg@thinking.com.au
  

4. Risk Management

4.1 Thankfully Car Fleets are not Websites
If corporate car fleets were risk managed like most websites no cars would ever leave the car park. We accept the risk of damaging an asset, even damaging a driver, passenger or pedestrian. In e-commerce it appears that most legal council would prefer to inhibit the opportunity to avoid any risk. 

We need to question this sage advice from a balanced viewpoint. If there weren’t a risk then there probably wouldn't be a return. As I recall, the purpose of being in business is to generate a return.

Corporate governance must ensure that the company is protected, however unrealised opportunity might be considered a greater risk than the associated costs of doing business.

Make sure the future of your business is not being put at risk. Ensure that your company is geared for the new economy; email risk@thinking.com.au.

5. Squad News

5.1 There’s a New Squad in Town
Throughout the last two years Thinking has noticed a lack of specialisation in the online industry.

Scratch the surface of many so called “internet experts” and you’ll find a “generalist” who has completed a degree in “online jargon” with a major in “acronyms” and “dotcomisms”.

To counter this, Thinking has put together a number of specialist Squads made up of experts in their field. Experts who have an understanding of the consumer as well as the technology.

The Squads are:
01 Think Squad: An experienced consultancy service that reports on, monitors and helps you manage the most important aspect of your online presence - your customer experience and voice.

02 Search Squad: Search Engine Optimisation that can dramatically improve your ranking in Search Engines and drive traffic to your site.

03 Content Squad: Great content is not merely a tool, but a powerful weapon to a more competitive online presence.

04 Report Squad: A useful reporting tool for marketers and managers. Its focus is on observing and commenting on the level of your online competitiveness and how to boost it.

05 Audience Squad: The most competitive advantage you can have is a vital, loyal audience. We know who they are, where they come from and how to maintain their loyalty.

06 Email Squad: Build, manage and maintain online communities through the power of opt-in email. It’s fast becoming the most responsive form of online marketing.

07 Site Squad: An experienced team of experts dedicated to offering you the most appropriate and efficient hosting service for your needs.

Obviously, getting such Squads up and running is not something that happens overnight. The first one to be launched is Search Squad. Its specialty is Search Engine Optimisation and its client list includes companies such as ANZ, Wishlist, Telstra, Falls Creek, Repco, Repco Auto Repair and Air International to name a few.

For more information contact search@thinking.com.au.