The Society for Technical Communication is an individual membership organization dedicated to advancing the arts and sciences of technical communication. It is the largest organization of its type in the world. Its 25,000 members include technical writers and editors, content developers, documentation specialists, technical illustrators, instructional designers, academics, information architects, usability and human factors professionals, visual designers, Web designers and developers, and translators - anyone whose work makes technical information available to those who need it.

The STC Toronto Chapter was founded in 1959 (then the Society of Technical Writers) and is the largest chapter in Canada.

About this Newsletter:

Web Content: Connecting with Customers
Part II of III
by Gauri Ahuja

Last month’s issue covered two basic expectations that customers have of a web site: intuitive navigation and perceptible knowledge.

This month, we delve into two more critical requirements:

What a Customer Wants #3:
Reliable Information

Customers want web sites they can rely on. A reliable web site is the outcome of maintaining updated, consistent and high-quality content.

Customers know that content on a web site can be updated continuously. Predictably, they expect the information on a web site to be up-to-date. This clearly requires greater focus on a strong content management team than technology. Organizations need to constantly update their web site or face the risk of undermined customer confidence.

Publishing reliable information is also about sending a consistent message. Contrasting information on a web site will only lead to confused customers. Worse still, web sites publish embarrassing, sloppy content with grammatical and spelling errors. These errors can threaten a company’s reputation and increase customer skepticism.

It cannot be emphasized enough – publishing inconsistent, outdated, or poor quality content negatively affects a company’s image.

How a Writer can help

It is not easy to create consistent error-free content. Every web site requires a dedicated maintenance and support team, which must include members responsible for updating content. Writers can play the role of content librarians and update content on web sites, adding new information and archiving the old.

Professional writers can create consistent and dependable content. To ensure consistency, writers can create a style guide for web content. They can eliminate inconsistencies that exist in various forms, including capitalization, spelling, font styles and format. Editors can help create grammatically correct content. The absence of spelling and punctuation errors increases content clarity and fosters customer credibility.

 

What a Customer Wants #4:
Enhanced Interactivity

Customers seek interactivity. Companies need to design web content that encourages interaction. Much like a video game that you enjoy only when you participate in it, content needs to stimulate customer participation. Customers can be encouraged to interact with real people in an organization, other customers visiting the web site or even an e-Learning or Flash application.

The evolved customers of today want to be able to find content quickly but make decisions at their own pace. Impersonal mediums such as web sites perfectly suit their information needs. However, in instances where they do need personal interaction, the web site should provide easy access. Most web sites list multiple contact methods: email, fax, phone and address. Interactivity can be taken a step further with live chats. A live chat is like a conversation with a sales specialist. In a live chat, a customer can ask questions and get immediate answers. Having ready access to a real person makes customers feel secure and increases their level of trust. 

Web sites can also provide customers the option of email subscriptions. This ensures continued contact and keeps customers informed.

Allowing customers to interact with other customers is an advantage that is unique to web sites. Discussion forums, feedbacks and reviews, and customer ratings help customers share their experience and learn from others. Online communities promote customer confidence.

How a Writer can help

The objective of interactivity is to stimulate the learner. Interactive content can do wonders for a web site, but needless invitations to click will only annoy customers and impede their learning. A usability expert can determine the level of interactivity suited to an audience.

If customers need extensive training in product use, online courses are a good option. Instructional designers can help design online training that increases learning and comprehension.

In case of email subscriptions, writers can help draft emails and newsletters that keep customers interested and informed.

Customer contribution and feedback generates enormous content. Writers and editors can act as content managers, routing content to the right teams and helping to phrase clear responses to customers. Teams that handle customer queries, such as Customer Service and Technical Support, can benefit from trainings conducted by professional writers.

Next time, we will explore another customer requirement.

Gauri Ahuja is working as a technical writer for TeleSynergy Research. She relocated to Toronto recently and looks forward to being an active member of the STC Toronto chapter.

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