Whether a website acts primarily as an online brochure, an e-commerce vehicle, a lead generation tool, or a community builder, it is always doing one thing – demonstrating and delivering a brand experience. Because it is often the first place potential customers go to learn about an organization, it’s also where first impressions are made. That makes it necessary to review how it is organized, how it functions, and how people interact with it from the perspective of what brand experience it delivers.

Consider the difference in the experience of Google vs. Yahoo. Both are search-related companies. Both offer multiple products and services around search and community. But, only Google has used its role of “search simplifier” to inform its site strategy – from user interface, to design, to architecture. The site is simple, clean and easy to navigate. People know what to expect when they go to Google and use it most often because it delivers a simple search experience.

For brick and mortar businesses, the website is almost even more important. It needs to continue delivering the same in-person experience in a virtual world – where it’s even more important to control the brand experience for the user. Consider Target, whose brand is built around connecting great design with affordability (tagline: Expect more. Pay less.). They deliver on this concept by offering a greater variety of web-only merchandise and discounts and providing a seamless e-commerce experience that users can choose to continue in their stores. Their website is not only an extension of their brand, it is a primary brand delivery vehicle and is designed and organized as such to reinforce the brand experience on every page – in design, navigation, functionality and form.

So what does a brand manager take away from this conversation? Focus on how customers feel and act, not on what you say and the design. Review your website ongoingly to ensure it’s delivering the experience you promise. And elevate the importance of your website as a strategic business activity.

Instead of spending all your energies on search engine optimization, spend some time thinking about how your customers feel once they get to your site and how to keep them coming back (among other things).

–Jen Travis