Web Strategy Case Studies:Amazon.com & RealNetworks
Preparing Content for the Web
There are consumption pattern differences among readers of print and Web media
Print readers tend to read in a linear fashion Web surfers may interact with an article and
read elements out of order Non-linear “Branching”
Design Issues
Some content specialists argue that vital information should remain “above the scroll” on all pages
Thus, some suggest that you write in “chunks” delivered one page at a time
“Chunks” Strategy
Repurpose print materials into “chunks” that each have a unique page
Add graphics and interactivity Each “chunk” is usually fewer than 150 words Text can be viewed on the screen without
having to scroll This is only one strategy – many sites do not
use it!
Examples of “Chunk” Style
McDonalds Nike Keebler
Web Writing Tips
More casual than print Use bullet-point lists Minimize use of hypertext links All links should be relevant Provide feedback option for readers
Building the Site
Ideally, the Web site team consists of: Copywriter/editor Graphic artist Web programmer
A public relations professional who can do all three increases their odds of getting hired
Usability Tests
Before publicly launching your site, it is not uncommon to conduct “usability tests” with a test audience to determine if the site is easy to navigate
Overview of Web Strategies
Success Story at Amazon.com Evolution of a Design Personalization and Automation
Failure at RealNetworks Communication is Content Development Rolling Stone Radio project
Success Story
Amazon.com is the world’s largest e-commerce site
During the dot-com “boom,” they hired aggressively as investor cash came in
“Bloated” and inefficient site infrastructure The site needed to streamline its content
development strategy This included a shift from an editor-created to a
user-generated content model
Has over 35 e-commerce main product categories and hundreds of sub-categories Each category has at least one full-time editor
Some have several editors Each editor is responsible for maintaining front
page of each “store” and sub-pages, including product detail pages
Amazon.com Content Management
With millions of products, Amazon.com needs help from the public to keep the pages up-to-date and filled with useful information
“User-generated Content”
Amazon.com Content Features
Reviews Listmania “How-to” and Buying Guides Product manuals Customer Images Ref-tags Discussion Forums Wikis
Listmania! Examples
Customers create their own lists to share with others Each item in the list is linkable to a product
Examples: Top 15 Movies of 2005 by fattyjoe37 The Best Albums of 2006 by volantsolo “Awesome Books” by fantasyrules
Guide Examples
Customers create their own guides to share their expertise with others
Examples: How to set up a wireless home network Taking a better picture with your digital camera
Visitor Experience
Customers indicate that they enjoy the “community” aspect of shopping
They trust the collective opinions of other shoppers more than the manufacturers
The “Amazon Review” has become a very powerful force in the industry Buying decisions are made for purchases both
off- and on-line
Customer Reviews
Amazon.com has thousands of unpaid writers voluntarily submit their reviews Top reviewer Harriet
Klausner has written over 12,000 reviews without pay for the site
Personalization at Amazon.com
Amazon.com developed an infrastructure where each visitor page is personalized
The homepage displays items that Amazon.com thinks you are likely to buy
Visitors indicate that they like the personalization
Amazon.com Personalization
Personalization technologies are also easy to manage and popular with visitors Previous purchase data collected Cross-referenced with other sales data A “personalized” store homepage suggests
products based on like-minded customers Includes “recommendations” embedded into page
Automation at Amazon.com
Data is king at Amazon Many examples of data driven automation
Channel management Web site real estate management system Automated e-mail measurement and optimization
Merchandising Customers who bought X also bought… Recommendations New releases, top sellers Purchase Circles
Advertising Automatic ad generation and bidding
Example: The Amazon.com Homepage Amazon’s home page is prime real-estate
The past: Every category VP wanted top-center Friday meetings about placements for next week were
getting too long, too loud, and lacked performance data Today: automation replaces intuitions
Home page is made up of slots Anyone can submit content for a slot Content is chosen based on real-time
experimentation
E-Commerce Staff Structure
Organized for execution How it used to be
This works rather better Small, cross-functional teams Able to execute end-to-end Self directed Established group goals and measure progress
TechnologyPeople
BusinessPeople
“Dumb idea!”
“Do this!”
Electronic Media and E-Commerce
What makes the site attractive to consumers? Strong reputation for good customer service Secure from “hackers” Large selection of products Easy navigation
Clean Web design that maximizes click-throughs and/or sales
Amazon.com Design Evolution
Started with a few “tabs” representing each store But Amazon.com was expanding… More products = More “tabs” Should the “tabs” go?
Amazon.com Design Evolution
A new design was needed
Lack of action could mean a mountain of “tabs” NOT A GOOD
DESIGN
Design Evolution
Initial redesigns focused on an index directory in the style of Yahoo!
This resulted in reduced sales
Design Evolution
More redesigns in the index style
Sales still declined Customers wanted
the “tabs” back
Return of the “Tabs” Now only three tabs
“See all 35 Product Categories” Roll-over with mouse
brings up the index of all stores
“Your Store” Personalized store with
recommendations Logo tab
Default to front page
Lessons Learned
Use focus groups and user surveys to test out a design before it launches widely
Design can play a key role in how a site is perceived by its public
“Above the scroll” real estate is valuable so don’t waste it! A user should be able to navigate successfully
through the site without having the scroll the screen
Lessons Learned
Be aware of the bandwidth of your average user U.S. has shifted from a dial-up to broadband
environment Multimedia-intensive designs and sites are only now
gaining traction Your design strategy will depend on who your typical
visitor is Consider how minimal Google.com is Compare this to YouTube.com
Cost Efficiency
Advertise your site using viral and cheap techniques Amazon.com has stopped buying ads on
mainstream TV, radio and print in favor on online referral programs
Media advertising did not bring in enough revenue to justify the cost
The site uses promotions with other sites and “street” advertising to get word on in the influential communities
Communication is Critical
If there is a dependency on technology developers, then the content experts must communicate early…and often
A good project can fail due to poor communication
Anatomy of a Failed Project
Example: RealNetworks’ Rolling Stone Radio
Goal was to promote new “G2” technology A new version of
RealPlayer with optimized streaming media playback
RealNetworks
RealNetworks asked me to create a G2-exclusive Internet radio service
A business deal with Rolling Stone magazine was created
Rolling Stone Radio was born
Content Development
My background is in editorial development and the music industry
I led the creative team Design of the player Partnerships with music industry
Another team was responsible for the technical infrastructure and development of the software code
Rolling Stone Radio
Rolling Stone Radio was the first “mainstream” Internet music service
Introduced in 1999 Co-owned by RealNetworks
and Rolling Stone Multiple channels of music Interactive voting
Rolling Stone Radio
Featured celebrity deejays David Bowie had his own 24-hour channel
Lots of “hype” from the media
So Why Failure?
Rolling Stone Radio had all the ingredients for success…yet it failed.
Why?
Communication Crunch
There was too little communication in the production team
The decision-making process was too decentralized Internal disagreements and chaos Technology team and content team clashed New technology changes were implemented without
informing the content team
Media blitz preceded the actual launch Several delays in the launch Release was late, product was ‘buggy’
Business Model, Anyone?
“Too much, too soon” Broadband wasn’t widely available yet Bandwidth was expensive
Customers enjoyed the site, but the cost of hosting the streaming media increased as more people “tuned in”
The project did not make money Streaming media is bandwidth-intensive Who is paying for the media servers?
Advertising revenue was not large enough to support the costs
Lessons Learned
Solid business model is necessary “Cutting edge” = “Bleeding edge”
Being first may not translate to success Key stakeholders in the content development
teams must meet and agree to “milestones” Each “milestone” is a mutually-agreed
“deliverable” in the product development cycle Deviation from the agreed-upon development is
discouraged