I find myself explaining what user experience is less and less, as people become more familiar with it. It’s a given in any technology company that UX is necessary. People know they need, “a good user experience,” but people don’t usually know what that means.
The problem is, a “good user experience” is not a goal. It’s vague and imprecise. “Good” can mean a lot of things – it might mean easy to use; useful; pleasant to use; fun to use; and many other things. But even though “good” isn’t precise, it also completely ignores the other ways UX can help a business or app – the more emotional aspects, persuasion, trustworthiness, and credibility.
Before you start designing your app or website, you need to identify your goals. And even businesses in similar markets have different goals, which UX can affect. For example, if you’re selling something, you need to know what items you want to sell, and you need to focus your user experience on more than just making an easy to use checkout system. Here are few ways different companies focus on the UX of their shopping experience in different ways:
- Put customer service first, so helpfulness and ease of use overall are important.
- Other businesses may want to focus on persuading customers to purchase items they haven’t thought of.
- Niche businesses might need to focus on demonstrating credibility and authoritativeness.
- Flash sales sites often try to put the pressure on visitors, that sales are ending soon and items will be gone forever.
- And yet other flash sales websites may decide their user experience should focus on exclusivity or credibility in a niche, such as luxury or design.
So, if you know your business goals, you’ll know how to start applying UX to your business. You don’t just want “a good user experience.” It should be much more than just easy to use. You want a user experience strategy that perfectly aligns with your company’s, and marketing’s mission and goals.
So – what’s your user experience goal?