Advice from a thoughtful CyclingNews fan
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For what its worth, I have personally managed site redesigns for major TV networks and media outlets in the U.S. I currently run a company that measures the effectiveness of online advertising and online media, including site UI development and inventory monetization, so I understand all the motives and complications your teams face. I also used to race bikes, participated in the Olympics and raced for 7-11 and Motorola, and CN is how I stay in touch with the sport. In other words, like all of the people who spoke up on your forums, I am a Cyclingnews loyalist and am concerned about its fate.
Your redesign was well-intentioned and has many features that even this group of die-hards will eventually get used to and come to appreciate. However, I have never seen a mutiny of this magnitude among a core user group, and although I know it is tempting to steadfastly stick to your guns and see this through, it would be a bad idea for you and your advertisers to not think very hard about what you're hearing, and the implications of inaction.
As one sage user said, "It is very hard to build brand loyalty, but easy to lose it." This is especially true in online media, where your competition is but a click away. Your core audience is your bread and butter. Anyone who cares about this kind of content is already here, or will eventually hear about it from a core user. There is no "new audience". Your strength has always been in (as another user put it) your reliable, knowledgable, and trustworthy reporting on the many many dimensions of this amazing sport. You are so far ahead of the competition that this audience is yours to lose. You cannot dumb it down for some fictitious broader audience and expect to retain the real, lasting audience that drives your business.
A few themes clearly stick out in the 40 pages of criticism:
- Spoilers
- Live reports
- Simplicity of content access and navigation
- Depth of content (and again, easy access to that depth)
- Loading speed
- Mobile access
None of these are simply trivial design issues; they are critical to the utility of the site and access to its valuable and unique content. The redesign should have identified these as key objectives essential to retain and attract users. In the sit-forward medium of online, function needs to lead form.
Google is an amazing company for many reasons, but the one that is relevant to this situation is this: they embark on plenty of experiments, some requiring huge investments of capital and talent. But when they realize they have made a mistake, they do not hesitate to swallow their pride and move quickly to throw the thing in reverse and get back on track. CN can recapture equity and earn respect by responding to the overwhelming criticism and reverting to the "old site" until the criticism can be digested and, as appropriate, integrated into the new design. It's probably unthinkable for you, just 3 days into the new launch, but you have already started shedding users. You have already damaged brand loyalty by the way things have been handled on the forums. This act would be an act of deference to your audience while you sort out the next steps forward. (On the issue of redesign: There is always a pull for "onward and upward". But consider two of the biggest winners in the online space: Google and Craigslist. Pure utility and simplicity - which fits the medium. To me, CN used to be a Craigslist for cycling. Did you know they earn $120 million dollars with a 30 person staff? Can you imagine how many people would love to "redesign" CL? New is not necessarily better).
You are lucky to have an audience that speaks so loudly, so quickly. Usually users just abandon without a peep. That your audience would speak so loudly says a lot about the value of your content among the plethora of cycling information sites. Harley Davidson is a brand with such strong loyalty that people will get tattoos of the brand. In online media, the ultimate indicator of brand strength is home page designation and visits per day -- both of which you enjoy. Somehow you have managed to stand out and apart from the rest, so great care should be taken not to squander that market position.
If the redesign is driven by revenue goals, then that is important. But do not forget that what attracts advertisers is target audiences and engagement. Retaining those is the prime directive. There are many monetization strategies that can improve revenue and CPM without undermining your audience, which IS your product. One more time: your product is not your cycling content! It is your audience. That's what you sell, isn't it?
Please listen carefully to your audience. Do not let the momentum of the redesign effort and the personal and financial investments that have been made overwhelm the undeniable response from your user community. These cricitisms are not simple design issues; they are critical to your survival.
Scott McKinley
CEO, Factor TG
scottsmack@gmail.com
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