11-09-2005, 11:57 AM
Quote:Web sites have moved ...towards more interactive experiences in order to enhance the customer experience and ultimately their brands. Each successive wave of client and Web server technology has raised the bar on the previous generation, increasing capability and experience...
A co-worker and I were researching a competitor's site, which was only HTML with courier text. He commented, "That's so 90s." As I surf the Web these days, Flash, streaming video and Ajax are the norm...
Companies are working hard to gain a competitive edge online by providing site visitors with a rich and highly interactive experience...
But as much advantage and experience as these sites offer when this interactivity is available, the opportunity must be understood and dealt with in the context of the risk. Like most multimedia advances, there is a terrific opportunity to drive customer loyalty and engage customers more deeply with an enhanced experience. At the same time, there is the risk that customers may skip your Flash intro or videos altogether if they smell poor performance. These folks won't bother to send you an e-mail to let you know about their problems; they will simply go to another site.
full article: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/47172.html