Introduction to emanagement MGMT 230 WEEK 2: JANUARY 17 Planning, designing, and launching a website
Today s Class Planning, designing, and launching a website Develop a website plan Assignment Overview
Planning a Website
Web Planning Broken Down: Five Step Process Analyze Audience, demographics, consumer profile Key goals and desired outcomes of the website Organize Navigation Content Layout Design Develop Design implementation/ coding Implement Beta testing and launch Maintain Optimization Analytics and fine tuning
Getting Started: Process
Analyze From Monday... Technology is no substitute for a good understanding of the basic principles of marketing. Basic marketing questions: Who is the customer? What does the customer need? What does the customer want? What message do you want the customer to remember? How can information be presented to the customer effectively?
Analyze From Monday... Consider 2 bookstores: one that emphasizes on large selection, and one that emphasizes personal service. A focus on large selection should require a comprehensive database, and tools for searching for books in different ways, and to do so with ease and efficiency A focus on personalized service may result in forums for discussions among customers, interaction between customers and employees, etc., emphasizing personalized engagement as a value add Always remember who is going to use the site? What is there skill level with the Internet? Are they predominantly using desktops or mobile? How can I communicate effectively? What type of content are they looking for and how I can tailor my message to them? What is the optimal way I want them to use the website in order to convert website traffic to customers?
Analyze Research Spend time looking at other websites to assess what is working well and inspire creative opportunities that may exist. Don't be mislead by flashy looking websites, always maintain awareness of your goals and who your target market is. Think about Craigslist. Are there impending technological advances that you may want to consider now, or be well prepared to incorporate into your ecommerce strategy moving forward?
Organize: Architecture What kind of things are important here? Recall the Nixon video from Monday
Organize: Wireframes
Organize: Content Considering Search Engine Optimization What are users searching for? Search Engine Optimization Long tail Key phrases your audience are likely to search for Short tail Keywords your audience are likely to search for
Organize: Content Mapping What are users searching for? Search Engine Optimization How do I predict a user to engage with my website? How will they travel through the site itself? What do they want to know and when? How will you measure success?
Organize: Content Mapping Not simply text Images; Documents (usually PDFs); Audio; Video (i.e., embedded from YouTube or Vimeo, or self-hosted); Photos; Social media links; RSS feeds.
Organize: Why is this critical for managers? To ensure the goals you set out for have the best probability of success within the context of your goals, timelines, and expectations As emerging managers, you will be engaged in managing these projects. Ensuring the project is organized at the beginning is crucial Interdisciplinary teams - not everyone speaks the same language! (sometimes literally..) Vendors need to be managed, planning ahead creates clarity There are always things you don t consider Mitigate scope creep - there are always cool things to add. But do they matter?
Organize: Failing to plan... The designer or developer is forced to make assumptions, which may or may not be correct, about how certain content will appear on the website. The amount of back-and-forth communication about trivial matters can be multiplied many times over. Backtracking causes delays and missed deadlines. Work that falls outside the original scope of the project creates cost overruns. Confusion and client dissatisfaction are byproducts of an unorganized process
Next Week DETAILS POSTED ONLINE: http://carsonmcpherson.ca/mgmt-230/ LECTURE: MONDAY Assessing the value of ecommerce Internet marketing basics for emerging managers Organic, SEO, Social media, PPC, etc. LAB: WEDNESDAY Website project ASSIGN PART 1 In class time to begin project - I will work with you individually to provide clarity on project Time for team project discussion should your teams be ready