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Making a Web site work for you:do's and don'ts

A good Web site is easy to get to, intuitive, and easy tonavigate, according to Paul Rishell, IntervalInternational's president of the Americas. "The messageshave to be clear and concise. You have to know what itis you want the person to do, and make it easy for themto do that. Youhave to accept them on-line immediately,recognize them immediately, and give them access toinformation immediately. People cannot stand the frustra-tion ofwaiting and waiting for a response. Youhave to scaleyour facilitiesto handle the anticipated response."

Bill Brown, Interval's vp / e-comme!£.e, concurred,"Web surfers are time-starved people. If you don't offerthem ease of navigation, timely content, and providevalue, they'll take away a negative message. And theInternet is so immediate and universal that this unfa-vorable message will get out there very rapidly."

Getting too fancy is a common Web siteblunder. "Mostpeople areusing pre-installed moderns that came with their1998computers," Brown said. "Only a tenth of all house-holds have high-speed accessinstalled,according toNielsennet ratings. Thereforebells-and-whistles like flash.stream-ing videos, and fancy multi-media presentations are su-perfluous. Developers and others should be using theWeb to build a relationship with prospects instead." Someother typical flaws: difficult log-outs, broken links, and"Under Construction" messages.

Both Rishell and Brown believe that vacation owner-ship Web sites are improving. Fewer neglect vital basicssuch as a privacy statement and fundamental informa-tion like phone numbers, addresses, and people to con-tact. In addition, obvious marketing opportunities likeoffering mini-vacs and virtual tours are more common-place. Interactive surveys are a particularly promisingand easy technique. "The consumer completes the sur-vey and indicates I'd like to vacation here," Rishell said."The mini-vac offer is made, specific this information.Personalizing the message and offers to what the con-sumer has told you they want is one of the great advan-

tages of Internet marketing."Responding to Web site engendered messages and

inquiries is imperative. "You have to have a strategy todeal with inbound correspondence to your Web site,"Rishell stressed. "At least an e-mail address and 1-800number should be displayed prominently. And if some-body uses the e-mail address, you have to be ready torespond. Youhave created an expectation that demandsa professional follow-through. Check e-mail at least oncea day and get back within 24 hours." Outbound e-mailis important, too - "a powerful and inexpensive way fora developer to build a relationship and ultimately getsomeone to take a tour for much less than the $250 in-dustry average." Further, the e-mailed addresses col-lected on the inbound side can be used on the outboundside. "These are people who have contacted you already,"Rishell pointed out. Brown sees another plus to outbounde-mail: high response rates. "Whereas direct mail re-sponses are low, e-mail response rates are very high," hesaid. "In one case study I have read, Williams-Sonomahad an 11%response rate over the course of a year fortheir outbound e-mail campaigns."

Realize the importance of a good Web site, Brownurges. "The Internet has got to be as important as the salescenter, the call center, and telemarketing because it has theability to improve all those functions if it's done right." Toreflectthis, says Rishell,everything sent to a consumer - aconfirmation, letter, magazine, directory, or what haveyou - must include a Web address. "You've got to edu-cate them. Tell them where to go. Otherwise they mightbe surfing to find you." Overall, "it's important to thinkof the Web as a brand," Rishell emphasized. "It is a mes-sage in real time to consumers around the world."

Afinal tip:show outsiders your site.Letthem use it.Watchthem use it. Seewhat they do. Are they frustrated and con-fused? Are they doing what you want them to? Brown said .this would help ensure "the Web site is ready to answer thecustomer in the way the customer islooking for the answer."

Timeshare Beat president Hackman advancesInternational Association of Timeshare Professionals, a benefits

organization targeting sales and marketing personnelOne-day promotional conference to be held in Las Vegas at the same time as ARDA's 2002 convention.

"There's an estimated 25,000 salesand marketing personnel in the time-sharing industry worldwide and 90%of them lack basic health, retirement,

disability, and other benefits," saidRod Hackman, president of TheTimeshare Beat, Inc. and founder ofthe International Association of Time-

share Professionals (IATP). "This isan established industry now. We aremainstream corporate America. But

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Vacation Ownership WORLD July-August/200l