When the Internet phenomenon started, many companies busied themselves having a website made, occasionally without even thoroughly investigating the reasons for doing so, and, above all, without asking themselves which advantages they in fact thought of achieving and what practical use could derive from it for the customer/surfer. The network therefore got soon crowded with sites that, having been constructed without a specific strategy, were actually more or less carefully designed from an aesthetic point of view, but often lacked a specific purpose. It took some time before companies realised that the Internet could represent much more than a simple window, in that it could become a new way of communicating with customers.
This is when we started to experience the Internet as a direct and immediate communication tool, and to understand the various potentials of this medium and realise how it should be approached. In other words, we switched from “having to be there”, because everybody was there, to being there because this was a real advantage, both for the company and (above all) for the customer. This was a crucial change, which resulted in the fact that the objectives of the site were clearly kept in mind in the process of designing it.
A practical example of this transformation may be offered by analysing the website of the Toro Assicurazioni. In its first version, dating back to 1996, the presence on the web was chiefly meant as a mere illustration, in which attention was focused on the company itself rather than on its products. The Toro Group was presented in a static manner, divided into macro-areas providing an overview of the Group. In its last version, on the web since 23th December, in addition to a presentation of the Group itself, of its values and history, more room is devoted to its wide range of products, as well as to services of practical use.
In other words, we have switched from a “Who am I” to a “What can I do for you” perspective.
This new formulation is immediately revealed by the way in which the Home Page has been designed, by offering two types of menu; one meant for those who wish to discover the reality of the Group and another one aimed at allowing immediate consultation with respect to certain areas of more general interest, such as calculation of the RCA (Motor Vehicle Third-Party Insurance) rates. Besides offering the surfer the unquestionable advantage of immediately working out the amount to be invested in the policy, this service conveys a feeling as to the Company’s open approach. The existence of a glossary is equally useful. Indeed very often firms take for granted that the reader knows the terminology in use. Again with respect to contents, special attention has been devoted to text drafting, to ensure that the traditional comprehensibility and transparency that is typical of the Group, could go hand in hand with the conciseness that is typical of the Internet. Again with respect to text, an extremely important choice concerns the way of approaching the client/surfer. In the Toro website case, for instance, the decision to address the surfer familiarly (with the use of “tu” in Italian) is the result of two specific considerations: the first is that the web is a means of communication which can in any case be regarded as informal, a “young” tool, in which the strict rules of bon ton need not be complied with; the second is the company’s deliberate intent to familiarise itself with the client, thus overcoming that sense of deference, and almost subjection, which used to be typical of the relationship between insurance companies and their clients. It is quite obvious that this successful presentation, made through just a few effective sentences, of products (whether insurance policies, pension schemes or savings investment schemes), has requested a careful study on the part of the company. Indeed, it should be stressed that many firms, in constructing their sites, devote more care to the graphic side than to text drafting. Whilst fully acknowledging the importance of the graphic aspect, the same care that is usually devoted to this side should also be granted to the drafting and finalisation of the texts. If the former is like the bodywork of a car, the contents are like an engine: an engine that has to be built to meet the requirements of all the clients, including the most demanding. Indeed, in order for a website to really prove an effective tool, it is essential to put oneself in the surfer’s “shoes” and try and understand what kind of information he would be hoping to find and arrange this in the way he would like to find it. To this end, an accurate and in-depth knowledge of the clientele is required. For instance, in the insurance field, on the www.toro assicurazioni.it site, you will find a piece of information which is certainly very useful, that is the procedure to be followed in the event of accident, with the telephone numbers of the offices to be contacted depending on the type of accident involved. In addition, great care has been devoted to the illustration of the products offered. Indeed, each product is presented as an accurate and effective response to meet a specific requirement, thus also showing how the Toro Group is capable of satisfying any insurance and pension scheme requirement. Furthermore, the possibility of identifying the nearest agency, besides offering an essential piece of information for the surfer to actually become a client, allows him to realise how widespread the Toro Group network is, with its 450 agencies, evenly distributed countrywide. On the other hand, the decision to allow those who do not feel sure as to the meaning of a word to have access to a precise but at the same time understandable definition of it, displays the willingness of the Company to facilitate the surfer as much as possible, thus making him feel at ease. Another major element in the construction of a website is its “surfability”, that is making it as easy as possible to move from one page to another without having to return to the Home Page. This has now become a crucial requirement, which is much too often forgotten. In the so-called “Map”, that is in the website structure, Toro Assicurazioni has chosen to allow the surfer to move about freely, making it as easy as possible to move from one page to the other and therefore first of all save time. In addition, the presence of the map in the services menu also enables the visitor to immediately reach his area of interest, thus avoiding intermediate steps One last comment should be made in connection with the introduction of components that, even though they may at first appear accessories, are in fact part of the site layout strategy. The presence of music, for instance, which may in any case be stopped at any time, and the following melody choice option are part of the desire to make the “stay” as pleasant and relaxing as possible; the possibility of sending in your CV, on the other hand, conveys the message that the Company is not an abstract entity, but it is made of people; finally, the decision to introduce a “gadget” section, containing some of the most evocative Toro images, besides having on the surfer the unquestionably positive impact that is naturally conveyed by any gift, also enables him to, even though indirectly, familiarise himself with the Company’s century-old history.

(trad.Interpres-Giussano)