Scott Galloway, an NYU marketing professor and soon-to-be CNN host, suggests that when we assess a market, we start by asking how much one's experience using the service has changed in the past few decades. For example, when you go to your doctor’s office, if you were to spin around and pretend it’s 1990, how different is your experience today vs. 30 years ago? Scott often critiques doctors' offices, hospitals, and colleges because he believes they have not evolved enough in services and value.
When it comes to assessing our industry's websites, I propose website managers take: 'The Urkel Challenge.’ Urkel is a popular character from the 1990s television show Family Matters. If one visits a website and the site feels like Urkel would have trouble navigating it, then the site needs help. What is a dated e-commerce website? A few characteristics:
Does not have a mobile view
Has few products
Search doesn’t work well
Pages load slowly
Owner is on their own; the site doesn’t connect the owner to other similar businesses
Bridge helps stores pass the Urkel Challenge. We want to offer them an experience that meets or exceeds what they receive on other leading e-commerce sites. We want members and shoppers to feel like, if they spun around, they may even be in the future.
This is not to say that Urkel would be snapping his suspenders every time he visits a Bridge site. Bridge does have some gaps in its service offering, but we’re working on that.
When we have a television advertising budget, we’ll run ads with Urkel doing a website test. When he gives a Bridge retailer’s site a passing grade, we’ll have him proclaim, "Now, crank up the music, it’s time to do the Urkel!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S2kljloUHY
Thanks for helping us collectively build a platform that passes The Urkel Challenge.
How to take The Urkel challenge with a website:
Visit a website on you mobile phone. Does it tailor itself for the mobile device?
How many products does the site offer?
Does the search work well?
Do the pages load quickly?
Once the website's owner is logged in, are they connected to other similar business owners?