The simplicity with which a consumer may search, access, evaluate, or purchase goods and services is a crucial component of that experience. User experience (UX) is essential for organizations that want to draw customers and turn that interest into profits, and in many situations, it's even vital for survival.
UX is frequently disregarded when creating and implementing contemporary digital marketing tactics. When you consider that 74% of consumers will revisit a website if its user experience is optimized for mobile, it's astounding that just 55% of firms are actively engaged in user experience testing.
A user-friendly website that combines frictionless navigation, a straightforward purchasing process, dynamic and digestible content, first-rate customer care, and mobile device compatibility creates the ultimate online consumer journey. A company can build a digital environment to help a brand stand out from the competition by fusing these aspects. Why, then, do businesses frequently overlook UX when interacting with customers?
What is UX in digital marketing
The user's overall experience (UX) when consuming or utilizing a product is referred to as digital marketing. It refers to the widespread perception that a user has of a product and the attitude they grow to have towards it.
User Experience, or UX, still needs to be addressed when developing digital marketing strategies, even though much is written about SEO, Google Ads, other Pay Per Click Advertising, content management, email marketing, and social media marketing.
The most recent UX Statistics show that:
1) 70% of online businesses fall through because of bad UX;
2) Almost 90% of internet users are less likely to return to websites with bad UX;
3) 90% of users will leave a website solely due to bad design;
4) Just over 50% of companies conduct UX testing;
5) Almost 80% of people will immediately look for another site if they don't like what they see on the first one.
Mobile phones are increasingly the preferred touchpoint for a constantly growing number of digital users due to the rise in their use and development in media consumption since 2011. 60% of internet buyers only use their mobile devices to make purchases. Regardless of the desktop experience, people will immediately leave a website that needs to be more responsive and mobile-friendly.
When a user interacts with a digital marketing touchpoint, such as a piece of content, a website, or a landing page, UX is about creating seamless encounters and cultivating favorable feelings.
The importance of UX
1) UX is a qualitative foundation for all marketing
Throwing darts in the dark is how marketing would be if UX didn't exist. Instead of hoping to hit a target, use data to comprehend context, emotion, and needs to guarantee a bullseye.
Never assume. Question (then test). Concentrate on assisting users in achieving their goals to maximize the completion of your business aim. How do you want your users to feel? They want to feel what way? What facts are necessary for them to decide? What information needs to be included or clarified?
All marketing has a qualitative underpinning, which is UX. So what's the point if we need to be more focused on assisting people in making wise selections so that they may overcome obstacles and achieve their objectives?
2) Good UX leads to more precise marketing messages
We're attempting to describe how our good or service moves customers from a certain before-state to a desired after-state. We are expert explanators. I'm done now. There are various ways to accomplish this, as intelligent marketers are aware of the following:
- a) Enhanced targeting the appropriate audience is exposed to your message at the appropriate moment;
- b) Create a compelling offer;
- c) Explain that offer in a compelling, straightforward, and brief way.
UX fits into the third category. Although we must rely on words to explain concepts, a copy is only part of the user experience that can inform and persuade visitors to act. Therefore, the design of our pages and the use of on-page components are crucial to our marketing initiatives (and our success).
3) Great experiences work toward conversion
One does not exist without the other.
UX has always been a significant marketing component, not just because it directly affects sales and conversions but also how customers feel about a company or product.
Creating memorable experiences that influence brand perception, return visits, or purchases is also an essential component of user experience (UX), which goes beyond readability and font optimization. Additionally, UX offers priceless insights into user behavior and psychology that improve marketing strategies.
People frequently claim that UX and marketing have nothing in common and that it solely works to give users the most significant, most seamless, and most intuitive experiences possible. But positive encounters inevitably lead to some conversion.
Put, marketing and user experience must coexist. A website with good UX and poor marketing is like serving microwave cuisine at a royal party, whereas the opposite is valid for a website with good UX and strong marketing.
4) Positive gut feelings about your brand come from good UX
UX must play a significant role in your organization's strategy if your brand is defined by what others say about you while you're not around.
Your website or app is the starting point for establishing credibility and confidence inside your company. Nonprofit organizations, institutes of higher learning, and even government organizations are beginning to adopt digital marketing techniques from the private sector. Still, only a top-notch user experience can create the visceral trust that fosters fulfillment and a solid reputation. Gut instincts are essential regarding requesting donations, tuition payments, or votes.
Users can now lower their expectations when they learn that a company operates on a tight budget.
Your purpose, leadership, and values will come off in a negative light if your website doesn't convey quality and attention to detail or if it frustrates users in any other way. Therefore, any company that wants to be successful at branding must involve UX experts.
How to improve UX
After all, it is part of how a customer engages with your company and your brand. Getting it right is essential, so the customer has a positive experience. With a good experience, you can retain customers, and that can help your bottom line in the long run.
1) Ensure customers give information only once
Consumers today are okay with handing over their personal information, but they detest doing it twice. So the top service providers carefully manage each piece of data they get from customers, linking it to their master record and delivering a seamless user experience at every touchpoint.
2) Consider customer touch point mapping
Review the interactions between consumers at each location on a map of the organization's customer touch points. Then, develop strategies with the stakeholders for those touch points to relate to and impress customers throughout these interactions. Creating experiences combines human values, commercial objectives, and technological advancements.
3) Get immediate feedback
We've all had the experience of utilizing a product or service and wondering, "Who thought of that?" Ideas for what could be done to "improve" it comes to mind immediately. Sharing insightful criticism with the provider is secondary under certain circumstances. The key to developing user experience improvement techniques is to create chances to collect and reward quick input.
4) Respond to public feedback
Users' comments are widely available on official websites, Twitter, Facebook, and app reviews. The fact that too many businesses need to pay more attention to these platforms essentially gives customers authority over your brand's reputation. Even if it cannot resolve the problem, a swift public response demonstrates the company's concern for customer feedback and appreciation for their input.
5) Don't ignore the human touch
Businesses must enable staff to deliver better client experiences while enhancing the human experience of technology. Customers demand more human interaction because it's essential to providing seamless, unobtrusive service. Additionally, for automated experience solutions to advance, technology must learn from human interactions.
6) Be transparent
When communicating with customers online, be just as open and honest as you would in person. In the same way, you wouldn't conceal that a customer was signing up for a monthly credit card subscription in person; doing so online is unacceptable. To ensure that your buyers get the nature of your product offering, use video as a form of internet communication.
7) Adapt content for multiple devices
Create content that is easily customizable for every size of the device. Customers now use PCs, tablets, and cell phones to conduct online searches. It is crucial that business applications, websites, or information can be viewed on all types of devices. A user-friendly app will draw more customers because it will provide a better experience and increase their likelihood of returning.
8) Eliminate redundancies in your process
Redundancy reduction requires ongoing attention. You should aim to have clients complete laborious, time-consuming tasks that demand thorough documentation and verification once. Customers, for instance, should only need to confirm their identification once throughout each interaction with the system. I'm always on the lookout for innovative company practices. For example, consumers don't have to put any effort into voice verification, and it's trustworthy and the ideal illustration of what I want.
In general, in the past, user experience design and marketing were seen as two distinct fields whose paths did not cross. Designers concentrated on developing and comprehending user experiences, while marketing experts focused on acquiring new clients and increasing conversion rates. The situation has changed, though. UX design is now at the core of the top digital marketing initiatives. So start improving customer engagement with your brands by enhancing the user experience!