What is User experience?
It can be defined as a total experience of a user while interacting with a website, app, or device. It consists of and considers the thoughts, feelings, and emotions they have during the experience.
In the tech/ appliance world, user experience is given high importance. Commonly observed in smartphones, computers, TVs, etc. Think of recent products with which you have interacted with; How was your overall experience? Is the tech easy to navigate? Can you find what you want? Does it load quickly?
Did you find nothing out of the ordinary or uncomfortable? That is because companies spend millions to create a perfect user experience for their consumer, an experience so good they won’t even notice it.”
User experience especially gets attention – when it is bad than when it is good.
A poor experience can make us frustrated, impatient and even angry. We tend to remember bad experiences for a long time and next time there is a 99.99% chance of us not using that product again. This is why we must give it importance.
In mobiles and websites:
User experience is not how beautiful your product is. User experience is about interaction which the user has to make while using your products. It is important to have a good user interface for your webpage or mobile app but if the user doesn’t know where to interact or click for your service it will make the user stop using your website or product.
Presently there are approximately more than 16 billion websites online and the exact figure is increasing almost every second. Also, here are 1.85 million different apps are available for users to download. Android users have even more from which to choose, with more than 2.56 million available through the Google Play Store. The competition for good recognition is unimaginable.
It takes less than 3 seconds for the user to decide whether the app is going to be used or uninstalled from his mobile phone and the same goes for websites. Hence whenever we design such applications, they must be keenly thought through and planned for the user.
Following tips can help your website and apps go from meh to Awesome.
1. If your product is a web application you must care about its optimization for not just web but also for mobile because it is seen that most of the time users are on mobile phones while browsing.
2. Your product must be accessible to everyone within your target audience. It must be designed personally for them to access easily. May it be Kids, blind people, young, elderly, Mac, PC, iOS, Android or more variations.
3. Your product should not be slower as compared to your competitors because users are impatient. Users expect websites to load in 2 seconds or less. And they abandon the site or uninstall the app if it takes more than 4 seconds.
4. Deliver the product in such a way that it can be used by everyone. It should be easy to navigate and understandable. If it’s not something commonly understood then provide the demo video or walkthrough screens in case of mobile app.
5. Capture customer feedback in real-time or use live chat tools to have real-time conversations. It’s possible to make outbound sales calls to customers in order to gain more insightful feedback.
6. “ If you want to build user loyalty, solve a big problem he has like how Airbnb, whatsApp, Uber etc has solved”. The best way to attract customers is to give them what they want. Creating products that fulfill needs is a best method to attract and retain customers.
Today, Customer expectations are higher than ever and word of mouth travels fast! And as the customer becomes even more empowered, it increases the importance of the customer experience.
Customer experience is an area that needs constant nurturing and care and, with a greater focus on customer experience strategy, companies will realize a positive impact on customer loyalty, higher retention, and increased revenue growth.