Mint Digital

John Lovell, MD of Lovell Consulting, says:

“Very pleased with the work. The response from clients has been very positive. It’s a huge improvement.”

Matt Drought, MD of Natural Training, says:

“If you are (like me) a newcomer to the world of internet I suggest you choose Mint Digital as your online partner. They are very patient and explain everything in full (read: no ’smoke and mirrors’).

“Importantly, they have a knack of knowing how things work, from how the potential customer thinks when surfing, to choosing just the right words for your all-important headline. As for their promise of “websites that sell” - within a day of the site being live I had two enquiries from potential customers. Give them a try - you will be delighted with their care and expertise.”

Whwn we were starting Mint, Noam and I thought it would be hard to convince people of our approach to web design. These two clients understood straight away. They made it easy for us to work together to make sites that demonstrate what’s special and exciting about their businesses. Thanks for hiring us!

Everyone’s talking about blogging as a tool for business communication. The Economist had a piece this week on Scobelizer. Hugh Mcleod at gapingvoid is excited about using a blog to promote his pal, tailor Thomas Mahon.

I like blogs and I’d love to see them edge out traditional PR. But it is is worth noting that blog poularity follows a zipf distribution. Put simply, a few bloggers get most of the traffic… and most bloggers get hardly any.

Reading a successful blog makes publicity sound effortless. Something about their immediacy makes you feel like you could easily be as widely read as Seth Godin. You’d never start rapping hoping to sell records like Eminem.

Economic analysis suggests that in a market with no barriers to entry (like blogging) any marginal benefit - above what you’d expect to earn from doing something else - will soon getting competed away.

But then, economists make terrible entrepreneurs. A economist wouldn’t bend down to pick up a stray £10 note found lying on the floor, thinking that if it was really was a £10 note it would already have been picked up.

The Click #005

The week before last Mint Digital went to a pitch meeting.

The prospective client had been operating for 2 years and had built a profitable one-man operation. He was keen to replace his homemade, bug-ridden site with something more professional.

Towards the end of the meeting, he asked:

“Why do I need a website? My business is growing strongly with the current one.”

I mumbled something about web marketing being hard-to-measure but vital*.

In truth, I felt like a shop assistant in M&S being asked, “Why do I need pants?” The answer seems obvious. But it’s hard to explain when you are put on the spot.

If I’d had a week to think about it, here’s what I would have said:

“Evolutionary theorists have long pondered the peacock’s tail. Wouldn’t a peacock better off with something less showy, something that wouldn’t alert predators? The answer, many believe, is that a peacock gets use from its tail because it is a non-fakeable display of health. An unhealthy peacock couldn’t produce such a dazzling display. The tail is a great symbol for peahens looking for a mate.

“At the very least a website is a display of corporate health. (And a good website can be much, much more). It’s non-fakeable and highly visible. If you are selling a service it is often impossible for prospective clients to judge what the quality is like prior to buying. Instead they have to rely on symbols.

“As Harry Beckwith says symbols are incredibly important when you are Selling the Invisible. That’s why lawyers devote intense attention to having the right office
furniture and accountants take care to dress conservatively.

“Compared to office furniture, a website is a symbol on steroids.

“With this in mind, make sure the content of your website is non-fakeable.

“Library photos and empty slogans - like ‘An unrivalled commitment to quality and professional relationships’ - can be used by anyone. Case studies, client lists and detailed points of your methodology can’t be faked by inferior firms. That’s what your site should start with.”

I wonder if that would have closed the deal?

* If websites are clothes for companies, than Miucca Prada is stuck on the same problem. The ex-communist, PhD-holding founder of the self-titled fashion empire says:

“Everyone who is smart says he hates fashion, that it’s such a waste of time. I have asked many super-serious people, ‘Then why is fashion so popular?’ Nobody can answer that question. But somebody must be interested, because when I go to the stores, people are there. Thousands of them.”

If I was looking for web design and I couldn’t use Mint Digital, I’d get in touch with Poke, Design UK and egovision

Hey, if I win the lottery and Noam still hasn’t done more than a Times New Roman logo I’ll ask them to redesign this site.

When I started Mint Digital I was inspired by this article by Seth Godin:

You say to the prospect: I will work with you to build a four-page engine of revenue. The idea: the client loads it up with targeted traffic that he buys by regularly trying and testing adwords and other relevant, measurable media. Then, I will regularly, constantly tweak (or redesign) the four page site to turn those strangers into friends (and maybe, if your product is great and your followup is appropriate, you can turn those friends into customers).

The thing is, it’s probably cheaper to constantly measure and evolve and redesign a four page offer site than it is to build the annual 400 page website overhaul. And there’s no question it’s more effective.

It takes patience. It takes a lack of ego. It takes a willingness to be creative and to try new stuff, to measure what works and to do it more.

This sounds great in theory. Does it work in practice? So far, we haven’t talked to a client for whom this approach makes sense. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an example of this working… apart from maybe at the dubious GoogleCash fringes. Can anyone point to examples?

But I am convinced this approach makes sense. If anyone wants this sort of site, we’d love to discuss it. For the right client (sharing risk and reward) it could be free.

The Click #004

The last Click argued that a website has to communicate a firm’s personality in order to sell. I’m not sure many of you agreed. Everyone who replied said - roughly - that personality might work for quirky products, but it won’t work for normal businesses.

But a personality doesn’t have to be zany.

I imagine you want your dentist to be precise, your accountant to be meticulous, your train driver to be one-track-minded and your programmer to be geeky.

Websites should show these sort of personalities. To demonstrate this variety, I decided to find 50 decent ‘About Us’ pages.

Why ‘About Us’ pages? They are hard to do right. It’s where the temptation to blather away in meaningless platitudes is strongest. Also, it’s where people turn when they get lost.

50 ‘About Us’ pages is too much for one man. Here’s my first six. I’d welcome suggestions of others, drop me an email at andy@the-click.co.uk.

50 GOOD ABOUT PAGES (PART 1)
1. ThoughtWorks
http://www.fromthebottomup.co.uk/about.html
A story works better than a dozen adjectives. This page has great narrative.
(This is the best example I could find from a solidly blue-chip firm. I’d love more, otherwise my argument looks flimsy. Please email . )

2. Ryanair
http://www.ryanair.com/about/abouthome.html
This page demonstrates Ryanair’s fanatical devotion to low cost fares. On the other hand, their site is so ’special’ that you can’t link to the ‘About’ page without breaking the navigation.

3. Howies
http://www.howies.co.uk/about.php
It’s a big ‘About’ section, but every page works. David Carruthers at Oyster suggested this fabulous site. I’d never heard of them before. Now I want their t-shirt. Check out this story about their battle with Levis.

4. BusinessBricks
http://www.businessbricks.co.uk/aboutus.shtml
OK, we designed the site but we didn’t write this page. Clear, lively and enthusiastic.

5. FogCreek
http://www.fogcreek.com/About.html
Joel Spolsky is an inspiration for this newsletter. His firm’s about page conveys vision, intelligence and expertise.

6. Skype
http://www.skype.com/company/
Being believed is an essential problem when writing a website. Testimonials get round this problem, especially when written by recognised experts. Even better if that expert would be expected to rubbish you.

So, what do you are these effective sites? Or do they suck? Post your comments below…