There was a time when people bought what they could afford and used it until it wore out. They may have chosen to buy it again at some point, but they were determined to squeeze every bit of use out of the item before investing any more time and money into competitive options. For example, people bought their furniture at the local Mom & Pop Store where “everyone” bought their furniture and purchased clothing at stores they knew in the mall.
These days, consumers have an almost never-ending number of options online—places to buy, choice of color, size, etc., and price as well as quality. It’s more important than ever to takes steps to attract potential clients to your business and keep them happy once they find you.
This is especially true if you are doing most of your marketing and lead generation online. With the click of a mouse, your prospect can bounce to a competing website. And many won’t find your website if your Search Engine Optimization and content quality aren’t good enough to show up in web searches.
What is UX?
In the marketing business, the details of how your customers and prospects interact with your brand is called “UX” or user experience.
- How do people feel about your brand when they get to your website?
- Are they easily able to navigate and find the information they need?
- Is the content informative and useful?
- Does the layout of your website make it easy or difficult to contact you.
User Experience is critically important and the list of factors that impact UX gets long everyday as new technology becomes available.
Neil Patel, online influencer and well-known marketing guru, says “if people can’t find what they need (on your website), they can’t buy anything from you.” What could possibly make more sense?
User experience is how a person feels about your product. Customers immediately get a feel for your brand as soon as they click and find your company website. It’s important that companies think about UX when creating their branding and as they develop their online personas.
Make no mistake about it; there are countless things that could make a prospect leave your website. Great UX is one thing that will keep them on your site longer. If the design resonates well, if your content offers answers to questions and it’s easy to contact you or simply make a purchase, you’re on your way to great UX.
And, when it comes to UX, it’s not a one and done proposition. Companies that fail to update or refresh their websites regularly can quickly fall behind their competition when it comes to buyer interest. If you want to stand out in your marketplace, stay on your toes and constantly be looking for ways to upgrade the experience users have when they come to your website.
Think about it this way and ask yourself these questions:
Is my website easy to use? There is nothing that will send a user bouncing faster than a site that is difficult to navigate. Also, if your site is slow or your branding isn’t in line with a prospect’s expectations, wave “bye, bye!”
Can people find information easily on your website? Generally speaking, people will come to your site by one of two methods—they will do a Google search and click on your URL or they will have heard about you and go directly to your site.
When they get there, is it easy for someone to find what they want to buy? Are there calls to action that suggest the steps they can take to get information or make a purchase? If not, blame it on poor design or content—which directly results in a negative UX!
After someone makes a purchase, do you stay in touch? If your customer is happy with your product or service, you want them to tell the world! If they are unhappy, you want them to come directly to you! Either way, nurturing your clients in a way that makes them feel care for is a great way to extend user experience far beyond website interaction.
In other words, UX goes beyond the point of sale…it’s how people “feel” about interacting with your brand overall.
One Last Point…
Some business owners fail to see the value of investing in UX. That’s understandable if you have a limited budget and are focused on getting people to visit your site (SEO or ads).
But that kind of thinking is short-sighted if we may dare to say so.
The cost of NOT providing a great experience when prospects visit your website is quite tangible. Lost sales can add up quickly. All the investment in SEO and ads will have little ROI (Return On Investment) if people make it to your homepage and bounce in disgust or frustration.
Worse, they could leave you a bad review! In the world of digital marketing, reputation is extremely important! (And paying for reputation management costs far more than designing a site with UX in mind.)
Need Help Creating a Great User Experience?
At Nicklaus Marketing and Public Relations, we pride ourselves on never getting complacent about trends. We know there is always another way to attract new customers for our clients. We love thinking creatively and providing our clients with plenty of options to meet various budgets. Contact us today to set up a consultation call with our team. We promise a user experience you’ll be excited to tell people about.
