[Sigia-l] Segmentation -- examples needed

[Lamantia, Joseph C.]

Chris,

If you'd like to see an example of a self-segmenting tool in action, visit www.ptc.com, and look at the upper left panel of the homepage labelled "Solution Navigator".

This is really an entry point that allows visitors to select a specific business problem (that identifies them as a member of one of the strategic audiences we've defined) from lists that are split into three groups, and then walk through a discussion of that business problem and our recommended solutions.  

Visitors encounter more specific questions as they move deeper into the tool, and their answers determine the next set of information presented.

Since this is a marketing site, there is the inevitable call to action at the end of the visitor's path. However, each call to action - and all of the information they encounter on the way to that call to action - is targeted to the perspective we understand that user will have by virtue of their accumulated self-identifying choices.  The descriptions that inform these choices are written to address specific audiences (or segments), and based on the information needs that those audiences communicated to us while we were designing the application.  

I don't know if this example meets your criteria for user-centric, but it wasn't until the design team completed a substantial amount of user research (interviews, surveys, etc.) that we even begn to consider taking this approach to meeting mutual need for an effective way to conduct segmented conversations with key audiences.

While I'll be the first to admit that its visual treatment makes it's accelerated design / development cycle obvious, I can also say that the Solution Navigator is successful for our purposes, and seems to have inspired close imitation by IBM.  We launched the Solution Navigator tool in October of last year.  In short order, IBM deployed a very similar sort of application on their site called the "Solutions Profiler", visible at http://www-1.ibm.com/industries/businesssolutions/.  While I am well aware of convergent design and the simple possibility that IBM was working independently on this long before we ever started, I do find the timing interesting.

If anyone from Big Blue can shed light to the contrary on my speculation, I'd welcome the opportunity to discuss the factors that led us both to such a similar decision.  Perhaps we could pool resources? We might be able to cooperate on the next effort, and keep our respective superiors twice as happy with half the work :)

Cheers,
Joe Lamantia


Joe.Lamantia > Information.Architect > PTC
jlamantia at ptc.com : 781.370.5173





-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Chandler [mailto:chrischandler67 at earthlink.net]
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2003 11:17 AM
To: SIGIA
Subject: [Sigia-l] Segmentation -- examples needed


All,

The marketing team for the project I'm currently working on wants to include a "segmentator widget" -- where visitors to
the site would self identify depending on their level of experience with the product/services we offer, their interest
level, and their geographic location. Based on their responses, they would be directed to landing pages geared toward
their particular needs...

...I know, I know.

Anyway, my boss asked me to research some good and bad examples of this kind of thing, and since it's on top of the 15
or so wireframes I've got to get done this week, I thought I'd turn to my favorite "smart mob" for some pointers,
criticisms of the whole idea, and any creative thoughts about how this kind of thing can be done in a user-centric way.
I'd be especially interested if anyone knows of examples that relate to CRM systems.

Thoughts?

-cc

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