Sunday, October 30, 2011

Snap Deal Frustrates Users with Bad Design

Snap Deal, one of the hot deal sites in India, recently introduced a Splash Screen to grab email ids of visitors.

This was perhaps thought to be an innovative idea to gather data and engage visitors. But it actually turns out to be frustrating users on the site.

For one, the designer has been very clever in keeping the close button rather small, indistinct and on the edge of the box curve (see pic 1)



When you hit the CONTINUE button, it says: Please enter a valid email address.

This is frustrating for users who want to continue browsing information on the site. If they can’t find the close button, they will most likely exit from the site (Snap Deal, I hope you’re listening).

On some browsers, even the small, indistinct close button is not visible, leading to further frustration.

I hope someone at Snap Deal will check their analytics and see the page exits; and quickly correct this - to offer users a choice to browse the site without submitting their email ids (see pic 2).



Let users do what they want to and if they find the site useful, they will come back. And do business with you.

Remember, it costs a lot of money and effort to bring frustrated users back to the site.

First Impressions are very important not just for people, but brands too.

Update: Life sometimes throws great surprises at you. Within minutes of reading this post, Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, who lead the Snap Deal team, responded "We appreciate your spending time on Snapdeal and encouraging us to keep improving. It is definitely something that we noticed too. and realized that it isn’t the best experience from a user standpoint. The design of this page is changing soon. We are always open to getting better at what we do."

I must say I was surprised at the openness and speed of response. That is what you expect from nimble e-commerce sites that are customer friendly. Good Luck, Snap Deal, the hottest deal site in India.

Note: Only parts of the response have been shared with readers. A shining new UI is what we can expect soon, they said.

Rajasekar Raju KS
You may reach the author at rajasekar (DOT) india (AT) yahoo (DOT) com.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Seth Godin Motivational Quotes

Inspiring quotations by Seth Godin, an influential marketer, who has been challenging traditional marketing thinking for decades.

I'm just not willing to believe we're as stupid as we pretend to be.

If the rice isn't right, it really doesn't matter what else you do, you're not going to be able to serve great sushi.

If you're not willing to face the abyss of choice, you will almost certainly not spend enough time dancing with opportunity.

The best way to be the next Mark Zuckerberg is to make difficult choices.

Everyone, apparently, is just like us, but lying about it.

There are more mirrors available than ever. Sometimes, though, what's missing is the willingness to take a look.

Everyone is capable of being missed.

Tell us how to do something.

Driving with your eyes on the rear view mirror is exhausting.

Just because there are no firestorms on the porch doesn't mean you're doing okay.

Don't set the clock when you're tired, set it when you are planning your day.

We repeatedly underestimate how important a story is to help us make sense of the world.

The shortcut to success is this: why not always act as if the other guy is doing the favor?

Discernment is the hardest part of marketing--seeing the world as it is, instead of how you experience it.

If you want people to speak up, be clear and mean it. If you don't, don't pretend.

If you do a job where someone tells you exactly what to do, they will find someone cheaper than you to do it.

The thing to remember about the short-term is that we'll almost certainly be around when the long-term shows up.

You'd be amazed at how far you can go, if you commit to doing it, not merely talking about it.

If you're going to waste time (and I hope you will) the least you can do is do it well.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Never Give Up without Trying one more time

Why should you give up when you want something badly. Try, try and with practice and perseverance you will succeed.

There's a never give up story I read about Muhammad Ali, the boxing legend. He said when he was knocked down once, he thought: "And I thought, OK. What’s next?

It dawned upon him that when you don’t get up there’s no way you can win. And he knew that getting knocked down is part of being in the business. It’s inevitable. But once you know you can get up, no matter what, you become stronger and resilient.

I urge you to be like him. Don't think of giving up, when in fact you may just be on the verge of winning.

The other never give up story that comes to my mind is that of Thomas Alva Edison.

It is popularly said that he failed 9999 times while attempting to invent the electric bulb. He nearly killed his associates when the equipment in the lab blew up. But he persisted telling them that he has discovered that he had failed another time. And was determined to give another try. And, the 10000th time, it was history.

He brought light into this world.

So don't give up Try one more time. It's your dream to win. Never give up.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

5 Ways to Get Kids to Do Chores

Simple techniques to get children to do chores at home. This could make them confident, independent and successful in Life.

A duty which becomes a desire will ultimately become a delight
- George Gritter

Lucky are those parents who need not tell the child to clean the bicycle every Sunday, look after the younger sister while at play, or take a bath before going to school. These children are responsible. They know their duties.

Later life they’ll turn out to be confident, independent and successful persons. But what about those who shirk responsibilities, argue, complain and seek excuses. Well. Don’t be upset with this. It’s normal with most growing up children.

And, the fact is.. you could easily change this situation.

Don't Sermonize, Set Eaxmples
The best way to make your child responsible is to first set examples. Parents must execute their responsibilities and let the child see it. The example sets the right pattern in him. Later, trust him with responsibility. Without giving him stern instructions. Tell him to clean his bicycle so that he can take a ride to the park in the evening. Trust him to do his work. Find out how he’s shaping up. No comments or criticisms.

Be prepared for disappointments. He may never do the job.

Do it with your child
If he hasn’t done it, sit along with him and show him how to do it. Teach him the joy of a duty. Make him experience the satisfaction of executing a task. Stand beside him. Let him know you’re there just in case he needs your help.

Identify areas of responsibility
Can you identify activities where he needs to be responsible? Baby-sitting, household chores or running an errand. Then work on that by doing it a few times along with him. Teach him how to do it. Do not blame or reprimand him when things go wrong. Tell him there’s always another time. Give him the time to learn.

Right way to compliment
Point to his shortcomings but relate it to the job entrusted. Not to his qualities or character. “Can we do it this way? is better than “You’re a lazy, good for nothing fellow who can’t execute a small task? Avoid doing what your dad did to you.
No duty in life should go unrewarded. A pat on the back or a compliment serves as a tonic to repeat the responsible behaviour. Sometimes it may be necessary to reward things with an ice cream, movie, or a new toy.

No overpraises please
Caution: do not over-praise responsible behaviour. If he has only dusted his bicycle, instead of cleaning it, don’t say “great job child”. Not only is it insincere but it will limit his sense of responsibility. He may begin to think that this is enough to satisfy any parents.

Note: The carrot stick policy may fetch rewards sometimes, but it’s advisable to make him savor the joy of doing things. Be patient and gentle. But be persistent. The rewards will definitely show up.

Action Result
Execute your responsibility See him learn
Trust him with duty Watch him grow
Don’t comment or criticize He’ll enjoy his work
Reward a good job well done He’ll feel proud
Join him as he executes Its not work any longer, its fun
Overpraise He’ll slow down work
Punishment for not executing task Builds resistance in him
Patience and persistence The rewards will show up