"There's no computer where the chickens are!"

• Janet Stevens
  Director of the Web Services Staff for the Food Safety & Inspection Service, USDA
  audience research finding while visiting a slaughterhouse

The overarching question for the recent F1 User Experience and Design Event last Thursday was: How do you engage the 5% of your audience that are most important to you?

Step 1: Look at the current stats
When doing research on the World Bank's audience, Nam-ho Park (Forum One) found that the bulk of the their web audience was college students and consultants. The audience the World Bank was most concerned about reaching (government officials and NGOs) were not visiting the site as often.
Key point: Just because a lot of people are coming to your site does not mean the top users are those you really want to reach.

Step 2: Visit your users or survey them at least
How well do you know your users? Visit them. Talk to them. Get to know them better. If you know your users, you can better design and organize your website. Janet Stevens (USDA) joined up with the Public Affairs office and tagged along to visit users in slaughterhouses, import facilities, warehouses, etc. In one location, she learned that they rarely used the computer. It was the fax machine that was doing all the business. In the slaughterhouse, they weren't logging on to the website from work. Usually it was on the weekend, at home. Needless to say, Janet rethought her web strategy based on these findings.
Key point: "There's no computer where the chickens are!"

Step 3: Give them what they want
The USDA manages food safety for meat, poultry, and eggs. Not peanut butter. Not spinach. Did you know that? Very few of us do, so we read Department of Agriculture and think food, all food. Janet Stevens (USDA) had to figure out a way to communicate that with her web audience. Users were coming to the USDA site, getting frustrated, and leaving unsatisfied. The solution: USDA added a Recalls page.
Key point: Help the users get what they want.

Step 4: Develop an ongoing dialogue with your users
AARP's Patrick Fitzgerald utilizes surveys (see Step 2) to gauge new members and direct communications strategies. When 10% of respondents replied "Yes, I am caring for an aging parent," AARP knew more about their members and could better direct information to them. Caretakers wanted to connect with other members in the same situation. AARP connected them and now they have a membership base that is talking each other.
Key point: If you do Steps 1-3, Step 4 is easy.

Step 5: Track, evaluate, test. Repeat.
Not only will this help understand your users, give them what they want, and develop an ongoing dialogue, you'll also have some stats to compare and see your progress. There is a population of computer-savvy, blog-posting, You-Tube-watching, online-community-living users who are changing the way we think about communication. Are you ready?
Key point: Your website is an ongoing investment. You must evaluate and adapt continually.

Image: Peter Morville's honeycomb diagram showing the facets of the user experience