Information Layering Accommodates Almost All Shoppers


We looked at lots of product information, all the way down to nutrition specifications, before we bought our La Victoria enchilada sauce, but an experienced MexGrocer.com customer might not have wanted to see as much as we did. He or she might have clicked only as far as the page that displayed "Salsas," hit the "Buy" button next to the tiny (thumbnail) photo of the can of La Victoria Enchilada Sauce displayed there, then moved on to select other items from other areas of the site. Someone with no knowledge of enchilada sauces, but no worries about their diet, might have read the description of the product, looked briefly at the tempting enchiladas in the large photo of the can displayed on the product page, and bought from there without going to the "Nutrition Facts" page.

Experienced MexGrocer.com customers who have previously tried and enjoyed La Victoria Mild Enchilada Sauce have yet another alternative: They can use the little search form on the main page (it's also on most other pages on the site) to go directly to the product page, click "Buy," and repeat this process for 20 or 30 products, all in 10 minutes or less. (MexGrocer.com CEO Ignacio Hernandez says this is typical behavior for wholesale customers who put in monthly orders for multiple case lots instead of buying single units piecemeal.)

MexGrocer.com has given us almost every conceivable navigation and selection option. All possible levels of customers, from first-time shopper to frequent wholesale buyer, are accommodated. The financial cost of making the site this easy to use for such a wide range of buyers was negligible. All it took was knowledge, whether conscious or unconscious, of information layering.

Information layering gives customers at all levels exactly as much buying data as they need without wasting anyone's download or attention time. The more complex the product you are selling, the more important this concept becomes. Consider a sophisticated touchscreen remote control device, as shown on the consumer electronics catalog page displayed here in Figure 3-9. This is a highly specialized product. Chances are, someone seeing this page for the first time didn't even know such a thing existed. There is no price shown for the item here; to get that information and learn more about this device, we click on the picture of the thing, which takes us to a page dedicated to this product.

Figure 3-9. ThinkGeek "Home Video" product display.

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In Figure 3-10, we see a feature list for this product, and the price. $479! Quite a chunk of change. You can get basic multi-unit remote controls for $20 or less in most discount stores. Obviously this is a specialty item that appeals to extreme gadget geeks, not the general public. Some may look at the feature list and small picture, say, "How cool!" and order one immediately. But a significant percentage may want to find out a little more before laying out close to $500, so there are links to additional information. Since part of the appeal of any "Look how cool I am" tech toy is visual, we have a "click for larger image" link (see Figure 3-11) that leads to a detailed picture of the device, along with several links to pictures of the remote's control screen for those who want to see more than one picture of the item before they consider buying it.

Figure 3-10. ThinkGeek "Touchscreen Remote Control" product page.

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Figure 3-11. ThinkGeek "Touchscreen Remote Control Big Picture" page.

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But the ultimate in geek product appeal is utility, not looks, so there's another link here, to a schematic diagram (see Figure 3-12) that explains all of this remote's many functions in pictorial form. Those who want this level of detail can get it with a click, and those who don't want it don't have to see it, same as with the nutritional information for the enchilada sauce. As is always the case with correctly-done information layering, the customer has a choice instead of having a vendor-selected set of information shoved down his or her throat.

Figure 3-12. ThinkGeek "Touchscreen Remote Control Schematic" page.

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The Online Rules of Successful Companies. The Fool-Proof Guide to Building Profits
The Online Rules of Successful Companies: The Fool-Proof Guide to Building Profits
ISBN: 0130668427
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2001
Pages: 88
Authors: Robin Miller

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