Does customer-centric content work properly? Doesn’t organization-centric content give customers what they really need? Let’s make it clear.
To find one example of customer-centric content and one example of organization-centric content on the web I decided to figure it out due to more or less real and actual task. Initially I chose a product which I as a customer would like to buy online. New headphones play a role of a touchstone.
Obviously, in accordance with searching request ‘headphones buy toronto’ I got numerous results. My purpose was selection of two well-known local retailers from the Google’s Top 10. There were Best Buy (http://www.bestbuy.ca) and The Source (http://www.thesource.ca). From the very first look at the both online stores it became absolutely clear which one of them has customer-centric content and which one is a strong advocate of organization-centric content. I’ll try to provide detailed comparison below.
How to find an appropriate product
That’s first step in my analysis. What I’d like to see in the online-stores is variety of options, categories, filters etc. I mean all useful site’s features that make my choice as objective as possible and very comfortable. I found numerous criteria like Departments, Current Offers, Status, Brands, Price Features, Earpiece Style etc. at Best Buy. On the contrary, dealing with The Source wasn’t so easy and clear. By clicking on Headphones button customer has a kind of all-in-one list of categories. There are Earbud Headphones, Audio Accessories, Monster Headphones, Sport Headphones & Earbuds etc. Even having significant experience in electronics and audio related products it takes some time to understand what is going on there. It’s a really weird mix of different ear bud types, styles, categories and brands.
To do further steps in our investigation it would be correct to choose a certain model of the headphones. My choice is top-segment Beats Studio Over-Ear Headphones from Beats by Dr. Dre.
1. Product description and specifications
Best Buy: Extended and good structured information which tell us about product features, packaging arrangement, technical data and available accessories.
The Source: Very brief and very superficial product description.
2. Visual content
Best Buy: Eighteen high-quality photos that portray different views and different colors of the headphones.
The Source: Just one picture of the black edition of the headphones.
3. Customer ratings and reviews
Best Buy: Overall customer rating and rating for separated characteristics – Ergonomics, Performance, Comfort and Value. Three reviews.
The Source: No ratings, no reviews
4. Comparison
Best Buy: There is intuitive and easy-to-find function of products’ comparison. What’s more, the site offers us an alternative product with quite similar characteristics.
The Source: No option to compare various headphones.
Summary
Without any doubts we’ve got typical representatives of customer-centric and organization-centric content. To be honest, I haven’t purchased headphones in any of these online stores. What is necessary to say, I’m sure I’ll return on www.bestbuy.com without fail very soon. Should I explain why?
