As consumers become more Web savvy, they expect more from Web sites. Every good navigation, research or purchase experience raises the bar for other sites a user visits. So providing the best Web experience for all customers is key to getting the largest possible share of each visitor's wallet. Provide a lackluster experience and you will be leaving revenue on the virtual table.

Timberland understands that issue well. After launching timberland.com in May 2001, the Stratham, N.H.-based outdoor footwear, clothing and accessories retailer found that online sales didn't live up to expectations. Since then, the firm has revamped the site to make it more customer-friendly. The result: sales have climbed.

Walking a mile in its customers' shoes
After tracking sales for the first few months, company officials concluded that technical and design issues prevented the customer from enjoying his online experience. "We suspected there were navigation issues with how the site was organized and how visitors would be able to find products," says Tim Diaz, director of e-commerce. "We weren't sure exactly what [fixing them] was going to do for us from a customer-satisfaction perspective." So, he says, Timberland asked.

A benchmark study conducted in December 2001 by Web-based survey firm Vividence collected the input of 200 outdoor enthusiasts and tracked their progress as they navigated the Timberland site (Vividence competes with WebCriteria and Keynote Systems). Tasks included finding specific products, placing them in a shopping cart and checking out.

"We were able to get immediate feedback on the different tasks that were requested [as they went through the site], as well as [less-specific] questions we asked throughout the survey process," says Jill Areson-Perkins, Internet marketing manager for Timberland. Timberland based its site improvements on the study's results.

"A lot of what came out of the data had to do with site speed and performance," says Diaz. "The data showed that the site could be faster and people wanted to navigate products by gender as opposed to brand attribute. We had too many steps and we weren't showing customers enough information on the first few screens to give them a comfort level on how much they would be charged."

Timberland.com re-launched in April 2002, and now separates products into men's, women's and kids' categories, allowing visitors to find their desired destination more easily. "We tried to make it more friendly and provide better feedback throughout the steps," says Areson-Perkins. "Also, we embedded more functionality into the shopping cart to make it easier," she says, giving shoppers the option to change product sizes and quantities.

Satisfaction increases 31 percent
In May 2002, Timberland conducted a similar user study with 200 new participants. Ease of use increased from 30 to 75 percent and customer satisfaction increased from 55 to 86 percent. The likelihood to purchase from timberland.com increased from 28 to 39 percent. The site's revenue also showed double-digit growth after the redesign.

While the results are clear, Timberland is uncertain how much of its success can be tracked directly back to the site's improvements. "We're confident that the site is faster now and we're selling more, but it's hard for us to isolate the effects of the redesign from the seasonality of the business," says Diaz. "But we're very encouraged by the findings that, given the same script, a different set of people from the same demographic were much more enthusiastic about the experience."

Timberland doesn't currently have any online personalization initiatives planned, but as the firm continues to improve its site capabilities and see results from those efforts, it's likely that it will start to consider other revenue-driving opportunities that increase individual customer share.