Bon Appétit: Website as Restaurant

Information architecture is arranging information to meet the needs of key audiences. It’s also encouraging the audience to meet ours.

On a site that is a store, our goal for the audience, (after we meet their needs for product information, competitive advantage, etc.) is to sell them something. For an information-oriented site, such as an Investor Relations focused site, our goal is that the audience finds what they seek, and more. The “more” is often positive, but can also draw the visitor’s attention to issues. Above all we want the visitor to have accurate expectations of the company’s prospects: not too hot, not too cold.

For a restaurant goals are to maximize client intake and encourage return business. A typical well-stocked restaurant has a huge pantry and is ready to serve almost anything, in any quantity a single person could want. Guests aren’t expected to cook their own meals, nor sort through the pantry for the freshest produce or most important piece of meat of the sort they fancy. If they’re considering the lamb it may be mentioned that there is a problem with the lamb tonight rather than disappoint them later. With decent service they’ll be offered drinks, appetizers, suitable wine, dessert, coffee, aperitif and a mint. The extras are as important as the quality of the entré. Further enhancing the experience is the luxury of having needs anticipated, aroused, and fulfilled.

Now an IR site should do the same: serve up what the visitor thinks he wants, then anticipate-the-need-for/offer appropriate related information. These sides may be links to greater depth, history, stories, graphs, performance numbers, Q&A, related management speech slides whatever compliments the readers understanding of the main topic.

This is an improved service experience for site visitors. And we’re realizing our goal to encourage information intake. We move the visitor towards a fuller understanding of the company, and towards a full but fair valuation of the company, which is the goal of IR.

This micro-targeting of content to macro-topic items seems a bit daunting. Where will this content come from? How can it be kept up-to-date?

Well, as far as content, most companies have bigger pantries of information then they realize, with newsletters, executive slideshows, conference calls, annual reports, filings, photos, management opinions, sustainability reports, policies, bios, Q and A, Q and A anticipated and prepared but not used, etc. There’s usually a lot of great stuff there, trapped in previous buffet arrangements. Suitable sides are stored inconveniently in various print pieces, presentations, preparation notes, transcripts, etc.

As for offering it up at the right time to make a meal, well in a restaurant you could have an army of tiny robots fetching the appropriate bits (or waiters). But on a website you can have a database that holds both big things, and all the small parts comprising the big thing. This way references to one topic made in many various places can be brought together automatically.

It does take a little thought to plan how it will work, to consider what we have in the pantry that’s appropriate to go with this or that. But it’s worth it because we want this material absorbed or we’re failing. Nothing will happen without understanding. Frustration is not a learning aid.

We can open the freezer door for the website visitor and show them racks of meat and frozen noodles and say “help yourself”, or we can make them a little meal they’ll enjoy.