I loved your 7 simple steps to better usability….I’d like to recommend another viewpoint . Industrial buyers are searching for product/service information…before anything else, they need to know that a supplier makes what they want. This info needs to be clear on both the home and landing pages….following our VSET rule which is a concept ThomasNet uses based on buyer research. Buyers first want to Verify that you make what they want….if the supplier passes this stage, it’s time to allow a buyer to search and evaluate by giving them tools and easy navigation on the site. And, finally, throughout the process…suppliers need to give that buyer multiple paths to content and action such as calls, emails, downloads of CAD drawings, etc…

The biggest mistake we see suppliers make is designing their website based on what THEY THINK THEIR CUSTOMERS WANT, not what THEIR CUSTOMERS REALLY WANT. This creates a major disconnect between buyers and sellers that can easily be avoided if only the supplier would put him/her self in the shows of their customer/prospect.

Thanks for the opportun ity to post.

Linda Rigano
lrigano@thomasnet.com

Nice post. The only bit I wanted to comment on was point 5. I actually don’t think you go far enough! many visitors will land on pages other than the homepage. it’s worth including elements in every page (or even checking to see whether the current page is the ‘entrance’) & communicating how you meet the user’s needs there.

I look forward to reading more of your posts,

daniel