There was an interesting post on Seth Godin's blog recently discussing taxi drivers.  The post describes how taxi drivers in New York were initially reluctant to start accepting credit cards.  They thought the credit card fees would be too expensive and they would lose money.  As it turns out, the tips increased......dramatically.  Seth explains:

Because most of the machines offer a shortcut for the tip: $2, $3 or $4.

You can decide to be a cheapskate and hit the $2 button. Except...

Except that if you had paid cash, you probably would have tipped 75 cents for that $4.25 ride. It takes a few more clicks to type in 75 cents, and hey, $2 is the lowest and it's a more 'normal' amount.

It's a three second decision that happens over and over. People really like cues.

 

The same snap decisions are made online every day.  Just like people choosing their tip prefer cues on what to do, so do the visitors to your website or blog.

Encourage Interaction With Your Website: Tell Your Visitors What They Should Do

The wonderful thing about the internet is that it is a medium where users can interact with your business in real time. Most other mediums, such as television, newspapers, magazines, etc. are one way communicators. A message is sent out and it is up to the consumer to take a subsequent action such as calling or going to your office.

With the advent of blogs, twitter, facebook, videos, interactive websites, etc. we can start a dialogue and nurture relationships with potential clients in ways that we couldn’t before. Unfortunately, many firms make the false assumption that simply having a website or blog is enough to encourage and start this interaction. This is simply not true. You still need to provide cues to your visitors that tell them what they should do when they arrive.

Your site should be setup in a way that promotes the user to engage with the site and take an action. This might be filling out a web form, downloading a guide, signing up for a newsletter, leaving a comment on your blog, calling your firm directly, etc. If you think that simply because they came to your site they will perform these tasks, you are wrong. You need to tell them, very directly, what you would like them to do with a clear call to action.

There is a great book entitled “Don’t Make Me Think” that discusses website design and usability.  The book’s basic point is that you need to make sure people don’t have to think too much about what to do when they visit your site. Make sure you aren’t making it difficult for your users to interact with you online.

Photo by Al Fed