Listen to your customers It’s the only way to improve your business

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You have to buy this book!!!!!

Beyond Big Marketing is a small business marketing agency in Chicago. We learn many of our marketing strategies from the very best . Today I learned something about Steve Krug, author of Don’t Make Me Think. I recently visited his web site and thought I had uncovered a usability issue in his web site. I wrote Steve an email to let him know my thoughts.

I really wasn’t expecting a response, but Steve wrote me back and I thought I’d share the email with you. The reason I am sharing isn’t just because his understanding of usability and how people search the web is legendary, It’s because he took the time to respond to me. People who listen to their customers, never stop learning.

First my email to Steve …

From: Mark Cramer
To: Steve Krug
Subject: Problem with your site

Steve,

You are my hero. I use your book to make me look smart. I was on your website today and I had to think too much.

Your Version

“So if you know someone who’s going to buy the book, please do me a favor and ask them to buy it by clicking here.”

My Version

“So if you know someone who’s going to buy the book, please do me a favor and ask them to buy it by clicking here.”

Regards,

Mark Cramer

bigblackpencil.com

From: Steve Krug
Subject: RE: Problem with your site
To: Mark Cramer

Mark…

Thanks for the kind words. I figure we can all use all the help we can get to look smart.

About your suggestion: You’re right, of course, and it’s something I never noticed. (Which is exactly why I’m so gung ho about user testing: we’re all too close to our own “stuff” to see the blemishes.)

But this particular flaw also falls in the category of Probably-a-kayak-problem: Even though it may cause a question mark to appear over some people’s heads, it’s hard to imagine that most of them won’t eventually figure out what it’s supposed to mean (click one of the buttons over on the right that say “Buy!”).

My first instinct was to rush in and change it, and in fact I was already in DreamWeaver when I realized it was a little more complicated than it seemed at first. The two paragraphs actually say
Thanks to Amazon’s Associate program, if you use the links on this page to buy my book, they pay me a small commission.

So if you know someone who’s going to buy the book, please do me a favor and ask them to buy it by clicking here.

[“here” actually meaning “on this page”.]

I was going to change the second sentence to read
So if you know someone who’s going to buy the book, please do me a favor and ask them to buy it by clicking _____.

Except I realized I wasn’t sure what _____ would be. “The links on this page”? It already says that in the previous sentence. “One of the buttons on the right”? Kind of awkward, and why did I call them links in the previous sentence and buttons now? Maybe the first sentence should talk about buttons.

And on and on.

So in my book at least, the math works out like this in the long run:

Probably not causing most people a lot of trouble
+ No good solution obvious to me
————————————————————-
Leave it alone and hope for the best

It may not be the right choice, but at least you can see where I’m coming from.

Thanks again, though. It’s always interesting.

Steve