The hotel in downtown Cleveland is clean and quiet. The staff is courteous and helpful. The rooms are spacious, and fitted with nice-looking furniture and flat-screen TVs.
But, in room 528 at least, something is missing…
The king-size bed has only one night table.
There are only four lamps in the living area – one standing in the middle of an empty wall – and no coffee table.
In the bathroom, only two towels (stacked in an open niche under the sink). And aside from one tiny hook two feet above the toilet, no towel racks or hangers.
To a person staying in that hotel room, it feels as though some designer had looked around and said, “Here’s what you need in a hotel room.” But that designer hadn’t actually tried to USE the room to see if anything was lacking.
If you think your Internet business is immune to this problem, think again. Websites are often built by tech people who don’t understand how an average user thinks.
So make sure you test everything – your site, your products, your store – to make sure it works as it’s meant to. Better yet, have a friend, your spouse, and your grandma test things out for you. Get them to report back on what works, what doesn’t, what’s missing, and what’s superfluous. You’ll end up with a better product/site/whatever – and your customers will have a much better experience.
Which leads to trust… which leads to loyalty… which leads to more sales.
[Ed. Note: Testing is one of the most important things you can do for your business. To find out what you should be testing, and how to do it... plus, discover dozens of marketing techniques, website-building tactics, and more... sign up for ETR's Internet Money Club right here.]
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