Service, not sales, growing part of outdoor industry websites
Even though the outdoor industry remains relatively strong in this sluggish economy, cautious customers still need to be courted.
People seeking information about specific products are always going to seek out company websites for that product-specific information. The question is, how do you get casual browsers to visit — and stay at — your site? The longer someone surfs through a single site, they more likely they are to develop a connection with that brand.
Merrell, one of the long-time leaders in the outdoor footwear market — and now one of the more innovative designers of active apparel — offers a redesigned website this week. The flash-based site includes a lot of multi-media content. Much of it is focused on their product lines, but there is also a lot of detail about outdoor adventure activities and participants. Their events page includes a variety of events, from the Boston Marathon, to the Big Blue Adventure (multisport race/participation event series that includes: kayaking, mountain biking, trail running, orienteering, and generation wilderness navigation.
The Merrell.com site also sports a nice visitor’s adventure blog section, so site visitors can add journal posts and photos from their own outdoor adventures.
This site is most definitely a commercial site, designed to help build the Merrell name and sell their products, but the fact that the company is adding non-commercial content is nice to see. Its a nod to the interests of their customers that extends past the contents of their wallets.
Of course, Merrell isn’t alone in this break from the normal business plan online.
Seattle’s own Outdoor Research – www.outdoorresearch.com — has long offered the Verticulture section. OR defines Verticulture as “The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns of human powered adventurers; a predisposition to engage in the exploration of wild country, oceans to high peaks, with a variety of tools in all seasons.” This section of the OR website is awash in adventure tools and journals. You can read about treks across the Andes, check calendars for important dates, such as the Banff Mountain Film Festival, and find detailed product reports and reviews.
Patagonia, meanwhile, offers some world class essays on public environmental activities, policies and practices. Patagonia.com also hosts their Tinshed section, which blog section that boasts some incredible esssay, news stories, and general outdoor commentaries.
The list goes on, but the fact remains that the Outdoor Industry is leading the pack when it comes to non-commercial content for the public on commercial websites. This is a nice trend to see.
