What is the role of a website?
Websites are often times employed by businesses to either provide information to existing or potential customers, to generate sales--or both. Other objectives of website include:
- Customer Service
- Retain customers and grow customer base
- Foster an online community through its platform
- Promotions and discounts
- Advertise products and services
Let's Examine Patagonia's Website:
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| Patagonia Website Homepage |
When customers land on Patagonia's website they are immediately greeted with relevant and eye-catching images that either promote a new product or allow consumers to learn more about a particular social justice issue the company is highlighting. This is both a way generating sales as well as raising awareness about Patagonia's brand and its values--something that is often times important to consumers.
On the top right hand of the website, customers can choose from four different graphic symbols that provide either a live chat for customer support, frequently asked questions and contact information, details about a customers account, as well as easy access to the shopping cart--making it easier for customers to navigate through the website with one easy click.
As seen in the photo, Patagonia employs the use of large, easily readable fonts to attract attention as well as to not overwhelm potential customers. At the top navigation bar, information is set up in 3 easy-to-read columns that navigate to even further links and options under the relevant categories.
One of the aspects that I really appreciate is the fact that Patagonia's website homepage requires no scrolling. All possible pertinent information can be accessed from a link that is visible from the moment a customer lands on the page--no scrolling is required. My personal favorite aspect is that because Patagonia is a company that differentiates itself on the basis of corporate social responsibility and transparency in business activities--As a consumer, I have direct access to a map (seen below) of Patagonia's supply chain activities, as part of their initiative called The Footprint Chronicles. I love that this map is interactive, updated regularly, and provides value and meaning to the company as a whole.
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The Footprint Chronicles initiative launched on their website in 2012. With the initial inception of the movement in 2007, Patagonia spent years collecting data and working with suppliers to provide full transparency to its customers--A very difficult task to achieve.Mobile Website:  
Pictured above is Patagonia's mobile friendly website. Although simple and not as visually intricate as the original website--the focus seems to be on easy navigation, usability, and simplicity. The mobile website has simple, large buttons that link customers to exactly what they may be looking for. Products are arranged individually and product details and options are available right at the moment of viewing.
The Result?
The four aspects of customer interface that combined create an overall customer experience include:
Based on Rayport and Jaworski's 4 Dimensions of customer experience, Overall, I believe that Patagonia's website presence is strong and relevant to consumers. Physical appearance is evidently very important to Patagonia as they utilize several Web 2.0 elements such as strong graphics, meaningful videos, and clean and simple fonts in all aspects of the customer experience. Emotion or attitude is also ranked highly for me because Patagonia not only uses visuals to create emotion within consumers, it also provides meaningful content and information to its consumers, particularly about their social responsibility efforts. Leading into the third dimension that I think Patagonia exemplifies is the aspect of connectedness--not just through the elements mentioned above but also by creating easily accessibility to customer service and support.
Although I am very impressed by Patagonia's website and their effort to engage consumers--I do believe that at times their website can become overwhelming for first time shoppers. Although informative and streamlined, I would also be curious to find out how a 1st time shopper visiting the site, unfamiliar with the company and its initiatives, finds the website to be. Even though it is not cluttered, their may be an overwhelming amount of information and categories on their website that can sometimes burden a consumer looking for just one specific thing. Perhaps it might be helpful if Patagonia employed a system of creating a customer profile--where customers could input information about themselves including height, size, etc., to tailor search results to their preference. Al in all, I commend Patagonia on keeping its customers informed about all aspects of its business while emphasizing usability.
Let's shift gears--Google Analytics.
I have been tracking my blog this semester and wanted to share a few stats. In total, I have received 549 page views, with about 20% being returning visitors, and 80% new visitors. Analyzing geography, the following is a depiction of where my sessions originate from.
The majority of activity is from the United States, however, to my surprise, there is a significant percentage that is from outside of the United States. Marketing has no boundaries :) I think in order for me to increase traffic to my blog, I should use more relevant and creative titles for my posts. As this is a blog created for class, most of my titles are simply the topics we have covered--perhaps if I created titles more relevant to the companies I am following, I would see an increase in traffic.
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Sources:
Roberts, M., & Zahay, D. (2013). Developing and maintaining Effective Websites. Internet marketing: Integrating online and offline strategies (3rd ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Patagonia Company Website. http://www.patagonia.com/us/home
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