Your website is your digital storefront, and when it’s broken, it’s like getting vandalized. This session will review approaches for evaluating the current state of your website, identify the root causes of your problem, and explain your options.

1. © COPYRIGHT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2016 ABILA
My Website Makes Me Go
“AAAAARRRGG!”
Now What?
JUSTIN BURNISKE - FUSIONSPAN
MARCH 31ST, 2016

2. Introduction
! Your website is your digital storefront, and when it’s
broken, it’s like getting vandalized. This session will
review approaches for evaluating the current state
of your website, identify the root causes of your
problem, and explain your options.

3. Session Overview
! Redefining your “website”
! Understand user issues
! Improving the user experience
! Taking proactive steps to monitor

4. Key Terms
! CMS – Content Management System
! Customers – Anyone use your website, not just members
! Customer Database – Your AMS (Association
Management System), CRM (Customer Relationship
Management) or other list of your customers
! HTML – Common online programing language

5. Assumption
! For your website to make you go
AAAAARRRGG, it must make your
customers go AAAARRRGGG! Addressing
your website issues requires improving
your customer experience.

6. Redefining your
website
IT’S SO MUCH MORE THAN
YOUR CMS…

7. What is your website?
Staff Perspective
! Content Management System (CMS)
! The Website
! Example – WordPress, Drupal, Joomla
! www.abcd.org
Customer Perspective
! Everywhere they interact with your
brand online
! CMS
! Customer Portal
! Event Registration
! LMS
! Social Media sites…and more!

8. Website Diagram: Customer View
Member Portal
Event
Registration
System within
existing system

9. Website Diagram: Customer View
Member Portal
Event
Registration
Systems with API
(automated)
connection

10. Website Diagram: Customer View
Member Portal
Event
Registration
Systems with manual
(import) connection

11. Website Diagram: Customer View
Member Portal
Event
Registration
Systems linked
together without any
data connection

12. Website Diagram: Your turn!
! Possible Systems
! CMS
! AMS/CRM
! Member Portal
! Event Registration
! LMS
! eMarketing
! Fundraising
! Any other…
! API Connection
! Import/Export Connection
! Linked but no data sharing

13. Understanding
user issues
YOU KNOW YOUR USERS, BUT
DO YOU REALLY KNOW
YOUR USERS?

15. DCA Airport Noise Complaints
2014
2015
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000
All Other Complaints Top Complainer

16. What can we take from DCA?
! Track customer issues
! Find way to “tag” issues
! Track long term

17. Where to track
! Most customer databases offer some tracking
! Plenty of customer support systems
! Free tool – Freshdesk (3 staff users)
! Process is JUST as important

18. Improving the
user experience
OUTSIDE-IN FOCUS

19. Out of the box
! Just because something
works out of the box
doesn’t mean you
shouldn’t change it

21. Change the focus
Inside-Out Focus
! Staff centric
! Focus on sales
! Less member input
Outside-In Focus
! Customer centric
! Focus on customer needs
! Member involvement
Great whitepaper by Elizabeth Engel and Anna Caraveli
on Outside-In engagement - http://bit.ly/1GPNUM6

22. Outside-In – direct links
Vs.

23. Outside-In – Change the language
!Register for our
upcoming
conference
!Learn about X at
our upcoming
conference

24. Outside-In – Ask your members
! Remember that member
you started tracking all the
times they called in with
issues?
! LEVERAGE THAT MEMBER!
They wouldn’t call if they
didn’t care!

25. One final note – HTML is everywhere
! What You See Is What You Get –
WYSIWYG
! NOT limited by editor button, just click
text/source/code button
! Add in all kinds of styles

26. Taking proactive
steps to monitor
THE BEST CUSTOMER
SUPPORT IS THE ONE YOU
NEVER HAVE TO USE

27. Improve your site
! Ensure site is working
! Check for bad links
! Make sure people can find you
! Free tool –
Google Search Console

28. Analyze your site
! Best used for answering questions like:
! What content gets the most activity?
! What content are customers not finding?
! How can we make content easier to
find?
! Free tool – Google Analytics

29. Monitor your site
! Make sure your site is up
! Don’t expect your hosting company
to inform you
! You should know before your
customers
! Lots of free options – search website
monitoring

30. Customer Issue
! On the back of the worksheet, answer
the first three questions on your own.
! Once complete, form groups of three.
! Take turns sharing your issues. Once
done, listen as the other two people
come up with as many possible
solutions – NO MATTER HOW CRAZY!
! Repeat the process with each person.
Once done, then have an open
conversation.

31. Summary
! Redefine your website
! Track customer issues
! Outside-in focus
! Monitor

32. Additional Learning Opportunities
! For information about additional learning opportunities visit
google.com – No, seriously. Type anything and you’ll get an
answer. Something like, “How do I clean data in Excel?”
! Other resources:
! http://www.w3schools.com/html/
! Outside-in White Paper - http://bit.ly/1GPNUM6
! Non-profit Tech Podcast

33. Contact Us
! Presenter Contact Information:
! Justin Burniske
! jburniske@fusionspan.com
! 202-330-0648
! Twitter - @jburniske
! Thank you for your participation!