Internet strategy consultants Net Brothers has launched eVal, a website evaluation service to assess, analyse and realign the design of a website to support effective e-commerce business initiatives.
The service comprises of two parts: eVal Inspector, a service to evaluate your customer`s experience of your website at the non-visual or technical level; and eVal Usability Testing Centre, where the visual elements of the website are analysed. Net Brothers, the Internet consulting company established by Internet guru John Ginsberg, specialises in advisory services to help companies make the most of business opportunities offered by the Internet.
eVal is a testing methodology wrapped in an analytical and interpretative consulting service. It uses traditional data collection and metering methods to statistically analyse the monthly progression of activities on a website. It then adds a layer of comprehensive analytical methodologies to track user trends and behaviour patterns to learn how customers interact with the website, how they navigate and how far they get before leaving the website.
It looks at the usability of the site and also identifies bottlenecks, pitfalls and shortfalls. It then adds a layer of consulting to help e-businesses understand why certain user trends are developing at the user interface and how the site can be changed to improve the customer experience of the site, build a relationship with the customer and promote customer loyalty.
"A website is the front-end of an e-commerce enterprise and while aesthetic and technical details have considerable time invested in them, activity does not necessarily mean sales," says Net Brothers MD John Ginsberg.
The eVal service differs from software products that purport to do the same thing in that it acknowledges and provides a solution to a core problem in IT, namely the need for human interaction and intervention. Customer relationships and customer loyalty are the pillars of e-business success. Internet technology offers all the tools to gain the required customer information, but not the expertise to interpret the results and find the solutions. This is the value-added component of eVal. In addition, the combination of the visual and non-visual analyses delivers a more powerful result than any software solution on the Market," says Ginsberg.
"The Internet is an extension of the real world trading environment, with one big difference," says Ginsberg. "On the Internet, the customer has been promoted. Understanding the customer`s needs and likes are core to increased sales and broadened market share."
Current methods of analysis involve running the website logfile through an analyser but this does not provide the answers about the customer`s experience and response to the site. eVal applies customer-centric evaluation techniques and a carefully designed methodology to ensure quantifiable results. Targets are defined at the beginning of a project to ensure quantifiable performance testing once enhancements have been implemented.
The eVal Usability Testing Centre examines visual elements, which are the cues that engage site visitors, turning them into customers. This evaluation is done using a sample of people from the client`s target market.
eVal supports the testing of new sites, enhancement of existing sites and provides definitive results for market research. It maximises e-commerce business as its in-depth website analysis allows alignment of the design of the site with the business goals. If the right market segment is aimed for, increased traffic and higher sales are achieved.
"The website is the primary means of attracting customers and making sales," says Ginsberg. "If it is not serving its purpose, the investment is wasted. eVal provides an accurate means of providing the on-line customer with a positive buying experience while improving the business` bottom line.
"The e-business environment is subject to rapid, progressive change. An Internet-based business needs to change management methodology to cope with the change," says Ginsberg. "Information cannot be interpreted by a machine. "No evaluation software is ever going to tell you how your end customer feels about your website. For that, you need the end customer to tell you. We believe we can help clients to better understand their end customers` needs through discovering their wants, problems, behaviour patterns, demographics and psychographics."
The service includes the maintenance of all records on Net Brothers` server where the Net Brothers` client can access them 24 hours a day via Net Brothers` extranet. Summary reports are available on request and Net Brothers consultants are available for presentations to management if necessary to explain eVal Inspector results.
Share
