You are not selling a product, you are selling an EXPERIENCE!
Have you ever walked out of a clothing store because it was too disorganized? You didn’t know where to go when you entered it. The clothes were in disarray, the information on garments like size, price, wash, etc. was not clear. All that and much more is how the consumer experiences the world of brands and products around them. In fact, user experience begins way before the consumer even enters the store. The initial impulse that makes someone walk into the store or the perceptions she has formed from hearsay or on social media, that is when it all began!
User experience is all around us. Brands must understand that they are not selling a product, they are selling an EXPERIENCE! An experience of a better life, a better look, etc.Therefore, it is imperative for them to understand the three basic tenets of user experience. The difference between a good UX and a bad UX is the application and the degree of these three tenets.
- Useful — Is your website, physical store, app — anything your brand or your product does in the physical or digital world — useful to the end user? Does it fulfil a need or serve a purpose? Do any and all of the individual components in the product or brand serve any role in the larger scheme of things? Does modifying, including or even excluding some elements enhance the usefulness?
- Usable — Most users do not understand the technical aspects of any product or any interface they engage in. A major success of good UX design lies in the fact that it bridges the gap between backstage technical functions and frontstage usability functions. Is the user engagement with the brand — digital or physical — intuitive and seamless? Does it guide the first-time user efficiently and effectively enough that she can perform all steps on her own without any disruption or struggle in the flow?
- Enjoyable — Has the overall interaction with your physical or digital space evoked positive emotions and a willingness to return to it? Apart from usefulness and usability, does it engage the user with its look and feel and its words? Will this experience inspire them to recommend it to their family and friends? Remember no one recommends an experience they can’t trust or could make them look bad in front of others!
There are THOUSANDS of products and services out there. And a MILLION platforms to reach customers. The challenge is not really to find new customers but to retain them over a period of time. Only those brands who are able to sell the best EXPERIENCE can achieve brand loyalty in the long run…
