I love to surf the web almost exclusively to learn about different feels and flavors. But web site design is, in and of itself, a powerful marketing process. If the design is poor, unprofessional or unclear people will assume that the product or company is just the same. A large airline company recently conducted a survey among passengers in order to perform some marketing research.
Marketing is all about perception.
The same goes for perceived value. Let's say you've just met a salesperson and, after introducing himself, gives you a sales presentation. He is dressed absolutely impeccably, gave a perfect spiel, was thoroughly interested in serving your needs, and conducted a more than perfect meeting with you. This applies to everything you do or present, even to the simplest of things such as your web site's design. Originally published in IMC's Internet Marketing Chronicles.