Recruiting users for user testing just got simpler with “Beacons”

Beaconstac
Aug 28, 2017 · 4 min read

Most people know Bluetooth beacons as a buzzing marketing weapon. You walk into your favorite cafe — boom, a promotion curated just for you pops up on your phone. Make a purchase at your local grocery store but forgot your loyalty card — the system automatically adds the purchase and points to your account. But this is just the tip of the heap of use cases beacons have. Today I’m writing about THE most interesting user testing use case of beacons I recently bumped into.

Alex, a UX designer living in NYC was concerned. He was in the process of creating a mobile app for his SME business. He was designing, then validating and then again iterating — and the cycle continued. He belonged to the school of thought that there’s nothing that beats getting out into the “wild” and talking to users and finding out what makes the tick for the app.

But like most other designers who plan to do guerrilla user testing but refrain from it, Alex had his own set of concerns — He believed that most people in coffee shops or public places are in their own spaces and approaching them for a test/survey might just be bullying them.

And as UX designers we totally resonate with Alex that pouncing on users or forcing them into this will not churn out the most helpful results. So then what’s the best to do it?

Best way to recruit users for a user test!

I genuinely feel the best way to do this is to let users discover about the test and opt in for it at their will. This doesn’t require you to sit or walk with a poster that says — “Would you take a test for my new app? I’ll offer a free coffee”. With no offense to the amazing designers who have done this in the past, I don’t believe that every designer is willing to do something of this sort.

But there’s a better and more convincing way to do it— BEACONS! These tiny portable devices do the shouting for you!

What are beacons? How do they work?

Beacons are a small, low-energy device that can be installed or positioned almost anywhere. They work by sending out very short data strings to all the Bluetooth receivers around them, i.e. your smart phone or tablet. This type of communication runs on what’s called Bluetooth Low Energy or Bluetooth Smart. Having said that, in the current scenario, Bluetooth adoption is not an obstacle at all.

How to approach users with the help of beacons?

1. Spot the place where you would find your users

Where you conduct tests has a huge impact on how you perform and document our work. For instance, if you’re testing a new mobile app for a retail chain, you might go to the store itself and walk the aisles; if you’re working on “general” office software, you might test it with coworkers in a different part of the office; etc. The point is, let context drive the testing.

2. Push notifications to users using Eddystone beacons (Beaconstac)

With a beacon in your pocket, you can do wonders!

If you’ve been exposed to beacons for a while, you probably know that beacons with iBeacon protocol require an app. As a designer testing his designs, chances are high that you won’t have an app that many users around you have. And even if you do, you don’t really want to push notifications through your company app.

Now that’s the biggest thing that has changed since Eddystone protocol launched. Google’s new format supports both iOS and Android, so you can engage with a lot more smart device users. What’s even better is that your users don’t even need an app to receive notifications from you. It passes on the information as chrome notifications. These notifications can be click opened to cards (a combination of text, images, and links), some custom URL or a feedback form.

Designing a card that your users receive

Few things you should keep in mind while designing a card for users —

  1. It’s best to have a screener question for your user so that he knows which user segment you want to test with. Or you could simply have an image of the user persona you want to test with.
  2. Offer something in return that instantly attracts them.
  3. Get as creative as possible with your card!

3. Let the test begin!

Once you have participants approaching you for your test, have them talk aloud as they perform tasks on your app prototype! You are the best person to take it forward from here! :)

Conclusion

When designing for the consumer mass market, it’s easier to get strangers involved in your user test. Public spaces and shopping centers present some of the best places to do this on account of the sheer amount of foot traffic they receive (as well the relaxed nature of the environment). But, with more specific user sets, however, beacons are the more useful to target subjects based on proximity and context.

Are you already excited to try out beacons for your next user test? Let’s talk a little more in detail about it :)

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Beaconstac

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Add contextual intelligence to your business with our Beacons, NFC & QR codes, app SDKs and & analytics platform. Learn more at http://www.beaconstac.com

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