A new search engine, Cuil (pronounced “Cool”), was launched on Monday.  It was  developed by some folks from google and was introduced with great press and fanfare. So far, the responses have been mixed and the search results spotty.

Silicon Ally Insider called it the worst launch ever. That seems harsh. There are a number of interesting things about Cuil. I like the contextual nature of the results, although it doesn’t provide as much of an immediate a snapshot of what’s available. I also like that they don’t store my search data. But there are issues…start by searching Cuil and you don’t get anything about the site. It still seems very beta to me.

Here’s what some of the folks at Catalyst have to say about it.

“The appearance of the Cuil search results is more refined, but I’m used to (and like) the dump that Google provides.” — Pete

“I wasn’t a big fan of the results page when it did show up… out of the three columns does it go down the first and then to the top of the second in order of best results?” – Dan

“I’ll stick with Google…” — John J.

“It’s got some merit, it just needs some more refinement.  It almost feels like it got announced before these guys were ready.”  — Justin

“I like the pictures associated with the websites.  The visuals are great! I also like the “explore by category” section on the upper right hand corner of the page.  It’s good that they offer up other ways to search for what I am looking for. — Julie

“I like the interface – simple and clean.  I like that the results include an image of the site if available.  The interface somehow reminds me of an iPhone which I’m sure is no accident.” — Rich 

The big question on everyone’s mind is how are they going to make money?

I’m proud to announce the new ParagonSports.com is live.  If you live in the NYC area, chances are you’ve heard of Paragon Sports.  If you’re not in the area (just like me) their newly redesigned site (designed by Catalyst) has 30,000 of their products and major brands available.

The NEW ParagonSports.com

Going to the physical store is a great experience… it’s like visiting a niche specialty shop for running, or camping, or baseball, or rock climbing or… well you get the idea.  They have a ton of brands and a ton of lines in those brands.  That same breadth is available online too!  If you don’t believe me, just check out their brands page; the list is huge.

As you can imagine, that’s a lot of products to organize and wade through to find the right one.  They were available on the previous site (see screenshot below), but we really wanted to make it quick and easy to find the right one.   We also wanted to pull the feel of the store and what it all represents into the design and interface of the online store.

We also had to do quite a bit of research, as we questioned what someone in downtown Manhattan might need a kayak for.  It all made sense after some user research discovering the enthusiasts who walk the walk and appreciate Paragon’s authenticity… or the aspirationals only talk the talk, but they do it with style… or some of the other types of shoppers like jumpers or NBLBs (Need-Based Loyal Buyers).  I could go on and on about this… let me know if you want to hear more!

So, all in all, it’s a new navigation, a new page structure and user interface, new content, a new back-end to support it all and a brand focused visual design to bring it all together.  The products have been reorganized into the way you would shop and how you think about the products.  As you drill into major categories, the guided navigation gives you relative and appropriate attributes to help filter and narrow your search.  And, it’s all wrapped in a new look and feel that really targets in on the urban living sports enthusiast (and yeah, I love that phrase)!

The Previous ParagonSports.com Site

It’s been pretty busy here at Catalyst Direct recently, but not too busy to work on our new website. Here’s a sneak peek. We’re feverishly working away and look forward to the launch, coming soon.

Jakob Nielsen has posted two articles of note to direct marketers:

1. Why Web 2.0 Can Be Dangerous. Nielsen is right on the money here — literally — for once taking the economically prudent path of ROI and aligning it with the user-centered path of UI. This post is not to be missed. (Though, in truth, the Web 2.0 things your company does should represent the bleeding edge of a cutting edge of a comprehensive strategy. If they are, more power to you. Ignore him.)
2. 10 High-Profit Redesign Priorities. As a corollary to his rant against Web 2.0, Nielsen also points out the highest ROI revisions you can make to your site. I couldn’t agree more. (This is exactly the sort of detail I dig into at my other blog, etailology.com)

Both are loaded with great information … even if they are a bit preachy.  :-)

The PURL is all the rage.

As a long-time DMer, this makes me smile. After all, it’s reassuring to know that the things we have spent decades learning in the offline world continue to be relevant and impactful in the online arena.Way back when, we always said that customers scan mailings for their name…the address vehicle is the first place they look. Then the Publisher’s Clearinghouse folks took it up a notch…using personalization techniques to bombard readers with their name. Guess what. It worked. And it still works, both in the mail and online.It signals relevance.The problem is, if you don’t deliver against the promise of relevance, you are hurting your brand.

So use PURLs and other personalization techniques…but use them with purpose. Provide truly meaningful information based on your customer’s purchase patterns, interests, and needs. And make it easy for your customers to provide evermore-meaningful information to direct the conversation further. Ultimately, this will make it easier to build brand in all of your interactions…online or offline.

That’s what I learned at the DMA in Chicago last month.

The whole idea of the Web site as a static environment…one that delivers information in an organized way and enables visitors to find information due to its “structure”…is a thing of the past. We no longer make our Web site available to our customers and prospects. We create an environment that is customized entirely based on their needs. So when a prospect searches for refrigerators and then clicks on Sears, the site is designed to provide information on refrigerators…not the Sears home page. After all, they’ve already told us what they want, right? Why make them tell us again?But that’s just the beginning. As data is gathered based on customer behaviors and inquiries, our ability to deliver an increasingly customized experience on our Web sites has grown substantially. Current customers are recognized upon entry…specific cross-sell offers are presented, based on their current product ownership…special offers are presented on products that have been of interest in the past…the entire experience is unique. In one test that was referenced, targeted vs. random content drove a 71% lift in site effectiveness.So don’t even bother “building” a Web site…think of it as a sales presentation, one that is fully customized to the audience and everchanging as we learn more. And what do we know about effective selling? Spend your time talking about the client…not yourself.Web sites may be dead. Branded, relevant, customized experiences, delivered online (as we have done in the offline arena for years) will carry the day. It’s the start of something truly different. DM 2.0.