ADVERTISING FEATURE
TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS BY KNOWING YOUR NUMBERS
By Laura Pinkstone , Head of User Experience
We all love our businesses and the difference between an OK business and a great business is about meeting your customers ’ needs . You can only do this if you ensure the experience you are creating and the service / product you are offering meets with their expectations .
User Experience ( UX ) or sometimes known as Customer Experience ( CX ) is about understanding your customers through data , behaviour analysis , testing and most importantly asking them . User Experience is as important for your internal as well as external stakeholders . It goes beyond just your website or app ( although these are important ) to take into consideration every touchpoint your target audience makes with your brand – where it is online or offline . It can take years for users to build trust with your brand , and it can take just one bad experience to lose it .
Creating an optimal cross-channel user experience requires a deep understanding of the customer journey and the various touchpoints that users encounter .
Here are some tips to help you create a seamless crosschannel user experience
Consistency in brand Depending on how your organisation is set up , different departments may be focused on different channels . Ensuring that your branding and messaging are consistent across all channels is key to building brand recognition and reinforcing trust with users .
Seamless customer journeys Understanding your users is key to creating a seamless experience for them , but this needs to be thought through . Mapping the journey that different users take through your different channels is important . This should not just focus on your website but also other touchpoints such as customer service .
• Have you mapped your customer journeys for new users compared to returning users ?
• Have you scripted customer service calls so no matter who a user speaks to they have the same experience ?
• Have you reviewed comms across all channels to make sure they have a consistent tone of voice ? Understanding the journey different users take is paramount . They should be able to seamlessly move from one channel to another without any friction , having a great experience .
“ Understanding the journey different users take is paramount ”
Accessibility Inclusion across all channels is important . This creates trust and credibility in the brand and users will want to return . Small changes across channels , such as providing alternative text for images , closed captions for videos and keyboard navigation for websites , can help to make your brand more inclusive .
Data will help you understand your users Through different channels you will collect lots of data . Google analytics will track where users have come from as well as how they travel through your site . This will give you insight into what they are looking at and what information is important to them . It will give you clues to identifying where there are problems . Taking this information and combining it with user research will allow you to improve the user experience .
Personalisation Returning users have high expectations about the content and information they see . While they are moving around your different channels you are collecting information about them - who they are , what they are interested in and much more . To deliver a first-class customer experience you need to take this data and make sure you are returning information relevant to them , as well as serving up new content .
Test , Test and Test Speaking to your users regularly whether through focus groups , formal user testing or customer panels can never happen enough . Through testing your ideas and understanding user feedback you ensure your new products and services work for your customers and what you have is optimised to meet their needs . Turning your product and service from being OK to great .
To find out more about Digital Wonderlab and how we can help your organisation ... visit : www . digitalwonderlab . com email : hello @ digitalwonderlab . com
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