FIVE BYTES: Does your website inspire loyalty?

A new study from the University of Melbourne has found that while internet shoppers are much more likely to trust websites now than four years ago, (partly because websites are much better looking now) they’re also less loyal.

The study shows that making a pretty website isn’t enough to keep a user’s attention. They want rich, relevant content.

While Australian SMEs are getting a lot better at dealing with web content, we’re still a long way behind. There are thousands of businesses out there that operate horrible-looking websites with nothing more than contact information.

Your website needs to be good-looking and rich in content. That is how you create loyalty.

Check all your legal liabilities

Yesterday the Cosmetic Physicians Society of Australasia issued a warning to group buying sites – make sure you aren’t advertising Botox products. The complaint was sparked by a fear the sites are actually breaking medical guidelines by advertising for cosmetic medicinal products and services.

But perhaps the most interesting point out of the whole debate was that Scoopon told SmartCompany it actually put up a deal on its website last year before realising it actually went against the medical industry’s regulations.

When the company realised it had breached some guidelines, it took the deal down halfway through. The damage may have been mitigated, but the deal is actually still up in cached format through Google searches.

The incident serves as a great lesson. Before you do anything on the internet, make sure you’re legally enabled to do so. You don’t want to advertise a product and find out from legal advisors you’re not actually allowed to sell it, then be forced to take it down.

Monitor your online store constantly

And speaking of websites, Dick Smith New Zealand suffered an embarrassing error earlier this week when it accidentally listed a number of products for free.

A group of users on a few message boards caught wind of the glitch and started ordering products. Of course, they were later told by Dick Smith they would have to pay for their $3,000 high-definition televisions. The chain was also quick to jump on Twitter and rectify the situation.

But while Dick Smith won’t suffer a financial loss from the debacle, it still shows just how quickly these types of errors can spread through social media – the company should consider itself lucky the glitch didn’t last longer.

When you run a website, you are open 24 hours a day. And someone, somewhere, is watching. These types of glitches can occur from time to time, but you really need to stay on top of them and make sure they don’t last any longer than they need to.

Otherwise, your customers might not be so forgiving.

Keep innovating

Last week Facebook responded to the introduction of Google+ by combining Skype and the existing Facebook chat features, allowing users to chat over video conferences.

The response highlights a key point in the debate over which social network will succeed over the other – that constant innovation is necessary.

MySpace failed to compete with Facebook because it did not innovate, and Facebook does not want to make the same mistake.

Often SMEs get flustered when they find a new competitor has disrupted their business model. The constant innovation of Facebook shows that you also need to be changing your offering. Don’t change your core model or what you do best, but keep looking at ways you can make your service better.

Keep it simple

Last week Optus was fined a massive $5.2 million for using misleading advertising for some of its broadband plans. The court found the telco giant didn’t properly express to users how the products worked and when their speeds would be capped.

The issue raised a key problem with the telco industry – products are too confusing.

This is a view expressed by both ACMA and ACCC. That telcos aren’t doing a good enough job of explaining how various voice and data products work. Users don’t understand how many calls and downloads are included in their plans.

Don’t let this happen to you. Not all products are simple but you should at least be able to express how they work in a few sentences.

Check all your websites, advertising materials, and even the pitch you give face-to-face. Is it simple? Is it easy to understand? If not, go back to the drawing board.