While the Brightware tool can accelerate creation of such site features, Hite points out that Web managers should still take their time in crafting the questions that are presented to shoppers. Web site applications that let users enter information about their individual needs can do more than just steer visitors to the right product or content area. They can also help motivate a customer to make a purchasing decision. Increasingly, site designers are developing tools that help potential buyers justify the purchase of a product or a service by allowing them to calculate the bottom-line benefits they could receive based on their organization's specific characteristics. Someone may understand intuitively that it makes sense to do, but he or she may still need some hard numbers to present to the management.
Some examples are payback period, net present value and internal rate of return.
That lends more weight to what we're presenting. It's just a very good way to quickly build a business case for a particular customer's characteristics. In just a few seconds, that feature gave site visitors a dollar amount that probably delivered a more powerful message than a multipage PDF file outlining the economic theory behind the proposed tax cut. Calculators aren't the only way to demonstrate, rather than simply try to explain, the value of what you're selling on your Web site. The Opto22 demo page lets visitors watch a live shot of a small box at Opto22's headquarters that contains a light bulb and a motorized wheel.