Figure 5-4. BestBuy.com landing page for the term “laptop”
Figure 5-5 shows how one of our clients, Massage-Tools.com, provides a textual guide for the methodical persona. This guide provides a lot of the details and methodology you need to follow to select the right massage table for your needs. Figure 5-6 shows how Massage-Tools.com used a guided widget to allow the spontaneous persona to find the right massage table. These types of tools are designed for people with a spontaneous persona who are looking for a quick way to find the information they need.
When designing wizards or guided selling tools, you should pay close attention to the options visitors have to select to find the best fit for their needs. Massage-Tools.com initially provided visitors with many options based on customer feedback. For example, visitors could select to view massage tables by price, brand, table width, table height, and frame material, among many other options. This type of design, although comprehensive, left many users more confused. Our recommendation is to start with no more than four options on the wizard. You might also consider providing two types of guided wizards—a simple wizard for people who are looking for a quick answer and an advanced wizard that offers experienced visitors more control over the features.
Figure 5-7 shows a TV buying guide from CNET. The page is designed to meet the different needs of the different personas. Understanding that budget is a major factor, the middle section of the page allows visitors to see what TVs they can afford based on their budget (LCD, CRT, plasma, etc.). For the spontaneous and aggressive personas, the page displays a list of best-selling products divided by type of TV: “Best 5 HDTVs,” “Best LCD TVs,” “Best cheap LCD TVs,” and so on. For those looking for more details on what to consider when buying a TV, the navigation panel on the lefthand side of the screen provides a large number of guides based on budget, HDTV basics, features and connectivity, and more.
So, how do you implement a similar buying guide for your business? Here are the steps you should follow:
Identify the major features visitors are considering when buying an item. In the case of CNET, the major features included price, type of display (LCD, plasma, etc.), and size of display.
Determine possible further breakdowns within the major features groups. In the case of CNET, the second level of breakdown allows customers who are within the price range (major features group) to view the types of displays (LCD, plasma, etc.) within that budget.
Consider creating different ways to satisfy the different personas for each major and subset features group. Aggressive and spontaneous personas are looking for top sellers in each group. Methodical and humanistic personas are looking for more detailed feature information.
Create detailed editorial guides that explain product features, as well as their advantages and disadvantages.
Ask customers (both existing and potential) to provide insights regarding what features are the most important, what features are the most difficult to understand, and the best way to present information for consumption.
