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Understanding Your Audience.
Understanding Your Audience
T
he Web is a user-centric environment. Almost all of your users will approach your site with a
“what’s in it for me” attitude. Traditional businesses can, to a point, rely on the fact that by thetime a customer walks in their door, the customer has already invested something in the trip, such as
time and gas. Thus, they may be more likely to endure a certain level of inconvenience. On the Web,
your customers have invested next to nothing in getting to your site. Understanding your audience is
the key to being able to meet their needs and keep them on your site.
Market Studies
Companies have long understood the importance of studying the market in
which they plan to do business in order to target advertising and products
to their important customers. Many Web sites, however, forego this step, to
their peril. Web market studies are every bit as important as those for
traditional offline businesses.Demographics
Demographics is the study of populations. You need to get an
idea of the demographics of your potential audience in order
to ensure that your site meets their needs. General questions
to research include your audience’s age, educational level,
socioeconomic background, and more.Local Businesses with Global Customers
The global scope of the Web is one of its more exciting aspects. Even the
smallest of businesses can now reach companies on the other side of the world,
but that same global scope presents many challenges as well. How will you
handle foreign orders? Will you present your site in multiple languages?