 In my job I spend a lot of time focused on user experience and user scenarios. I spend days trying to put myself in the shoes of our customers, wandering down the paths that I imagine they would choose when using our online marketing suite. A few days ago I had my own online user experience that was so frustrating and fraught with road blocks that in response, I put my user experience cap on and figured out how they could have done better and, in a nicely worded email, told them about it.
As I was evaluating their process I started wondering if they themselves have ever run through this process. Surely not, otherwise it would have been fixed right? Well, one thought led to another and I started questioning how often marketers really take the time to sit down and look at their user experience. How often do they try to find the paths that their users take through their marketing campaigns, or how their users perceive them on the Web. User experience isn't just limited to people using a software product - it's all around us in everything we do and every personal interaction we make.
I know I've written about putting yourself in the shoes of your reader/user and seeing the world from their eyes before. But I think it's worth talking about again, especially in light of all the new and wonderful ways there are to interact with your customers.
So, I thought I'd outline a few paths that I think users look for in an enjoyable online experience, and how I think we as marketers should address them:
1. The path must be easy to find and even easier to share.
User experience is not just limited to the information people find on your Web site or in your email marketing messages. It goes beyond that. User experience is augmented and improved by how easily people can find and share your data. Harness the new technologies like Facebook and Twitter to make it easier to find information about your company or maintain a real time conversation. However, don't forget to monitor each of these feeds for posts about your company so that you can respond when there are questions and comments.
2. The path needs to be simple and straight forward
People never want to jump through hoops to find information. Making them login, click through multiple links, or making it difficult to find even the simplest information about what you do or what your products look like is an immediate turn off - it's enough to make people want to pull their hair out (or write a kindly worded letter explaining what you did wrong).
For example, in my online experience all I wanted to do was find out where my package was that I ordered a month ago. To do this I had to find the confirmation email, log in using a temporary user name and password, click on a link, click on another link, find the routing number, figure out who's shipping the package (DHL by the way), go to that Web site, enter my routing number only to find that they didn't know anything about my package! And all of this 30 days later, even though I paid for the expedited shipping.
3. The path needs to be consistent and predictable.
People like to know what to expect when they do business with you. They want to know that you've thought through all the logical steps to make an online purchase or sign up for a newsletter. They don't want to have to provide all their information for one product and then be taken to another page only to repeat the process with slightly different requirements for another product. We're much more likely to return to a store or Web site when we know the experience will be familiar and predictable.
4. The path needs to be customizable based on your users' preferences.
Everyone likes choices! Choices empower people and make them feel like they're in control. When it comes to what or how someone communicates with you, choices can have a big effect on their satisfaction and "stickiness". Perhaps they're a mobile phone user and love SMS - well then, let them specify that they prefer that method of communication and respect it. Or perhaps it's not about the communication channel but rather content preference - I love summer blooming lilacs - as a user, that's what I want information about. Not irises or daises or lilies - I want lilacs! Let me specify that and respect my needs. Other suggestions may be welcome, but remember that my preference is Lilacs!
5. The path must be relevant to your users.
Okay, admit it - users like thinking it's all about them! The world revolves around them and as such, things that are targeted and relevant to them hold more weight than something completely unrelated. This holds true for just about everything in life including email marketing, Web site content, direct mail, TV ads etc. If you know your customers' purchase behavior or preferences, use that information to provide a targeted, personalized experience! If you know information about their target demographic apply it to your strategy. There's no sense in having that data just lying around. If you don't know that data - shame on you! You need to be keeping better track!
So, whether you choose one or all of the paths above, don't forget to stand in the shoes of your customer and take part in the experience yourself. What paths do you think they'll choose when visiting your Web site or using your product? What would be an enjoyable experience to you? These are the things you need to consider. If you couldn't be bothered to do it, then don't expect anyone else to want to either!
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About the Author
Lindsay Kloepping is a product manager at Lyris, Inc. She is responsible for defining and delivering customer requirements to improve their email marketing ROI.
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