Week 7 Reaction Blog

In his article "The Conversion Imperative," John Lovett discusses investing in optimization and the positive effects that it can have on a business' website of social media page. Lovett defines optimization of a website as the process that includes both measuring and influencing each visitor’s progress toward an outcome that strengthens their relationship with your organization. Businesses which do not actively pursue optimization are at a high risk for bad online experiences from customers. Lovett lists three main ways to make the best use of optimization.

First, a business website that is properly optimized should be attracting lots of consumers. Those designing and optimizing the website can best achieve this by understanding that the customer is the most important person. Paying attention to these customers and providing them with a personalized experience on the website is a great way to enhance their overall experience with the company. Often, news travels by word of mouth (sometimes in the form of social media). Providing customers with great experiences should increase those talking about the business and therefore increase the overall amount of individuals who will be exposed to the company.

Once a website is attracting lots of customers, the next step of the optimization process is to engage those customers. Lovett points out three key ways to engage the target audience: make it personal, be accessible, and build trust. Creating a personalized experience for the customer is not only important for attracting an audience but also for keeping their interest. Lovett believes that one way to be accessible as a business is to offer multiple "touchpoints." Essentially, having a presence across multiple platforms (website, mobile, social media, etc.) is a major factor in engaging customers. Having an honest business plan and showing genuine concern for customers will build their trust and increase the likelihood that they stay with the company for a long time.

Along those same lines, the final step of optimization is to foster commitment. While this can certainly be achieved by building their trust, perhaps the biggest way to foster commitment is by simply listening to them. Customers will feel important if they feel like they are really being listened to. Far too often businesses push any concerns of their customers aside. Instead, if companies truly care for and listen to their clients they could build a long-lasting relationship that could become very beneficial for the business.