JewelryJean at cre8asite is asking about choosing between "homespun" design that is more cozy vs. a more sterile, professional design. The crowd jumps in with some terrific advice and points to a few resources that help provide evidence for the argument that professional design can improve trust and conversions.
I particulary enjoyed Ruud's reply, in which he compares styles of customer response and "about us" pages. I've extracted one example below:
Company A:
| Quote: |
| Mr. Doe, We have received your inquiry. You will be notified as soon as our customer department has processed your complaint. This notice does not confer any wrongdoing on our part. For future reference, your complaint number is AD-1829182. Please store this number as you may need to refer to it in the future. Due to privacy issues we cannot and will not communicate about this complaint without reference to this number. Sincerely, Company A |
Company B:
| Quote: |
| Hi John, I just received your email. Thank you for notifying us so quickly about the problem. I understand this is not pleasant for you at all. We're looking into the problem right now to see if the manufacturer or anyone else is at fault and who best to speak to to get this solved as quickly as possible. To help speed things along I've opened a seperate file on your case. If you could, please refer to that file in the future when you need to communicate with me further on this? The file number is: AD-1829182. Without that number it's very hard to find back your information and I don't want any delay at all to creep into this problem! Sorry for the problem and I guarantee we'll get to the bottom of it! Sincerely, Jean Doe |
Ruud's pointing out that "coziness" doesn't just come from design, but from every part of the communication you have with your customers and visitors. I think it's particularly telling because while design is something that needs to be professional, having an open, responsive communication line that's both friendly and personable is a great accompaniement.
Yes, professionalism doesn't have to limit courtesy of communication. People like to feel as if they're being taken care of by a real individual, rather than an automated system. Even if you send a form letter for customer service, the second would be much more effective than the first in securing customer comfort. (The only thing it lacks is it's not as consice.) In this way, courtesy or "coziness," as you might call it, wins.
Great read! I was thinking the first letter was better for business but you bring up a good point that people want to hear that they are getting taken care of by a real individual as katfive says. Great insight!