In Tom’s recent post New Digital Benchmarks summarizing the extensive online 2016 findings by M+R, he noted a key observation by M+R on why some organizations are doing better than others:

“These leaders are for the most part doing just a little bit better in a lot of different places. They’re pushing harder on the same sorts of tactics you are probably already using.” [Emphasis mine]

What are some of these tactics or factors that distinguish one group’s performance from another’s?

With this question fresh in my mind I was instantly attracted to Gerry McGovern’s post, Customer Experience is All About Speed.  After all, donors and customers are virtually the same. Both have come to expect near-instant gratification when it comes to the digital world.

For more than 20 years web guru Gerry McGovern has spoken, written and consulted on increasing customer satisfaction and improving customer experiences on the web.

Here’s what he has to say about the importance of speed when it comes to pleasing, displeasing or frustrating customers/donors:

• The overwhelming expectation of digital is that it will be fast. Impatience is the defining characteristic of online behavior.

• An April study by the Financial Times aimed at determining the effect of speed in loading pages revealed that: “a one-second delay in page downloads caused a 4.9% drop in the number of articles read. A three-second delay caused a 7.2% drop.

• While loyal customers were prepared to be somewhat more patient, people who used the site less frequently “showed an extreme reaction to even a short delay”. In short, the slower the website, the lower the subscription renewal rate. There was also a negative impact on advertising revenues. “When it comes to the speed,” the authors noted, “even one second can mean hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of revenue either gained or lost.”

• “…an Alexa study which found that the top ten sites on the Web are significantly lighter than other sites. The study showed that while page size for the top sites rose until 2014, after that the size began to drop substantially, as the page size for other sites continued to quickly grow.

• “When GQ magazine reduced its page load time from 7 seconds to 1.5, unique visitors rose from 6 million to 11 million in one month. A 2015 study by Radware stated that “a site that loads in three seconds experiences 22% fewer page views, a 50% higher bounce rate, and a 22% fewer conversions than a site that loads in one second, while a site that loads in five seconds experiences 35% fewer page views, a 105% higher bounce rate, and 38% fewer conversions.”

You’ll find additional and fascinating insights by reading all of Gerry’s post and see why he concludes:

“The minds that are truly focused on customer experience are thinking in milliseconds. Speed, simplicity and usefulness are the defining characteristics of great Web brands.”

Again, please note the key traits when it comes to providing a winning donor or customer experience: ‘Speed’, ‘Simplicity’ and ‘Usefulness’.

Over the past year The Agitator ran a five-part series on Fixing Hidden Leaks in the Donor Experience. ‘Leaks’ in the donor experience that drive away donors. Leaks in the retention bucket.

You’ll find #1 here, #2 here, #3 here, #4 here and #5 here. Now I’m adding Hidden Leak #6: A Slow to Load Website.

How’s your organization’s website on speed? Are you adding or subtracting pages?

Roger