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 III of III
by Gauri Ahuja

This is the last part of the article series. In previous issues, we explored four key requirements for web content: intuitive navigation, perceptible knowledge, reliable information and enhanced interactivity. In this issue, we look at the fifth requirement, effective customization.

What a Customer Wants #5:
Effective Customization

Customers love special attention. Customization has always been a means of gaining competitive advantage. It is based on intelligence collected about the customer. By identifying the previous browsing habits of a customer, relevant information is presented each time a customer logs into a web site.

Customization begins with the Welcome message you see with your name when you login to a web site, continues with the product recommendations you see when you shop online, and culminates with the order confirmation you receive at your provided email address.

Customization involves sending a personalized message to each customer. Personalized messages communicate a company’s commitment to customers. It shows that the company has invested time and effort to learn customer preferences and maintain a profile. Personalized messages enable organizations to interact directly with each customer, building a stronger relationship in the long run.

How a Writer can help

Most people who develop web sites make assumptions about users based on their own experiences. This can hardly be called customer intelligence. Companies need to invest in people to analyze customer preferences. A statistics profiler can analyze the time customers spend on a web site and the pages they visit. Writers can use this information to create specific messages. Based on the customer profile, they can anticipate customers’ questions and answer them. Writers and editors can help phrase communication that is direct, concise and most importantly, personalized.

With web sites catering to global audiences, writers can help handle localization issues. Some writers, having catered to audiences from different countries, have extensive exposure to the expressions and idioms specific to a language or region. They can create truly global content by avoiding the use of vernacular idioms.

Conclusion

Web sites work best when customers are able to easily, constantly, and usefully interact with the content. Companies need to start focusing on producing customer-centric substance or lose out in a world that runs on content. Digital content is today an integral part of every organization’s bottom-line.

Companies need to invest in professionals that excel at communicating with the customer at all levels. Professional writers, editors and information architects already possess the skills needed to develop high-quality content – they only need to transfer their skills from traditional media to the Web. The same old principles of good information structure, content clarity and editorial excellence apply to web sites.

Web development is a continuous process that needs the constant support of an accomplished content team. This requires a close integration of the tasks of writers and editors with the web development process. Until that integration is done, organizations will never know what writing skills they can harness to connect with customers.

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Resources

1. Customer Relationship Management Essentials by John W. Gosney and Thomas P. Boehm

2. Content Critical by Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton

3. http://www.crm2day.com

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.