Deconstructing User Experience

To become consumer’s preferred choice and to sustain competitive advantage, brands must deliver quality at every touchpoint. Exceptional user experiences are at the center of it all, but good user experiences don’t just happen. This article breaks down some of the principles that allow for the creation of successful user experiences and makes a case for well articulated UX strategies as a necessary component of every business plan.

Successful brands start with a clear vision but are truly defined by consumers’ perception of them. It all comes together when the consumers’ perception of the brand is aligned with the brand’s vision. In order for this alignment to occur, an exceptional user experience must bridge the gap between how a brand wants to be thought of and how consumers actually think of it.

There are two kinds of user experiences, direct and in-direct. In-direct experiences include a brand’s logo and tagline, all types of advertising promoting the brand, sales presentations, endorsements by celebrities, the press or customers, etc. Direct experiences include using the product or service, interacting with the call center, in-store experiences, etc. Direct experience is much more powerful than in-direct experience. As an extreme example, no amount of slick advertising could repair a consumer’s damaged perception of an automobile brand if one of their cars utterly failed during a test drive at the dealership. In-direct user experiences are important but, if the direct experience doesn’t measure up, perception is tarnished, sometimes irreversibly.

Digital user experiences are somewhat unique in that they are both direct and in-direct. They have three dimensions; form, meaning and behavior, and each are an important reflection of the brand. Form relates to the mood, persona, style and appearance. Meaning relates to the relevance, clarity and usefulness of the content and functions. Behavior relates to the quality of the interactions and responses. On one hand there are aspects of a digital user experience that create opportunities to express the brand in an in-direct way through visuals and messaging, and on the other, the brand can be expressed through direct interaction with the product and the services that are delivered online. For example, an e-commerce site could have beautiful, seductive images that entice a purchase, but if the shopping cart is confusing, or even worse if it breaks and causes a transaction to be lost, the consumer may be reluctant to buy from that brand again.

The brand must be expressed with consistency and quality through each of the digital user experience’s three dimensions. The quality should be determined, in part, by how well the experience serves business goals and user needs alike. Too much attention to one or the other lessens the chance of success. For example, some Internet-driven businesses are investing a lot in creating engaging experiences that do well to serve user needs, but aren’t well monetized which leaves the future of the company in question.

Pete’s article makes it clear how user experience is good business, positively impacting the bottom line and how not investing in it can be costly and detrimental to brands.

Craig’s article makes it clear how well thought out user experiences don’t have to break the bank.

Bad user experiences happen for a number of reasons such as politics, lack of know how or misconceptions about how important it is. All of these road blocks can be circumvented as long as UX is understood at the executive level as a business imperative. Once that happens, success will follow.