User experience (UX) isn’t just an important component of web design. UX is essential in marketing and its consideration can help fuel a more customer-focused marketing approach. Making UX the center of every marketing decision can lead to a boost in sales and customer satisfaction.
But successfully allowing the user experience to inform your marketing decisions first requires an understanding of the power of this tool and how it can be applied in business. Maximize your marketing approach through UX as we guide you through these important considerations.
Why you should consider the user in every aspect of marketing
The customer journey is the most important part of any marketing approach. You should be aware of and follow your customers through every stage of their engagement with your content. From initial awareness to achieving customer loyalty, the general trend of your customers will give you insights into both your customer needs and your marketing success.
User experience, then, is a tool for gauging and testing the efficiency of your platforms to meet audience needs. Right now, customer-driven online experiences are the standard in marketing. The ability of your potential audiences to interact with your online content comes down to its functionality and appeal. These are the chief concerns of any UX design. For example, Notion’s site scrolls just as seamlessly from desktop to mobile.
User experience can be defined as the usability of a product regarding fulfilling an intended function. Six important factors determine a quality UX, and each of these can make a substantial difference in marketing. These are:
- Usefulness
- Usability
- Desirability
- Findability
- Accessibility
- Credibility
All of these items are qualities everyone wants in their products and software. Building these features into your marketing approach highlights your commitment to these qualities as a company. At the same time, considering how easy it is to find your content will help you know how to craft better search engine optimization (SEO) and advertising strategies.
UX metrics give you fantastic insights that allow you to better fix leaky sales funnels and functionality issues. By diagnosing metrics like low clicks, high bounce rates, or low completions through the lens of user experience, you can better put yourself in your audience’s perspective to answer their needs through marketing.
Where to apply user experience in marketing
You may understand the value of these UX metrics in a marketing approach. But where do you apply these data-driven insights?
Building an effective strategy for UX in marketing should begin with a toolkit of data analytics and customer personas. Your marketing team must do its research to craft the kinds of insights you need to hone your marketing approach through understanding your customers. From software services to free data platforms like Google Analytics, you can develop a better sense of where your marketing can be more functional and engaging. In the case of fashion brand Topshop, to stand out from the crowd, its UX is simple and functional but contains one very unique characteristic, its “Hey you, let’s shop together tab!” Clicking on this allows users to request a live Skype call with a customer service rep.
Three areas of the marketing process can most benefit from the application of UX data. These areas are market analytics, A/B testing, and reassessing marketing goals to address changing customer needs.
In market analytics
Market analytics consists of the data and trends surrounding your industry. UX is key to understanding any market, so metrics like customer satisfaction or completion rates have to be applied to market analytics for a more complete picture of how users are interacting with a product.
Analyze customer success across any marketing experience by exploring relevant data points. Then, build a story map for how users are engaging your content. A user story map consists of a chronological plan that details how a customer interacts with a product or piece of advertising. It can serve as a focal point for understanding customer needs and honing your UX accordingly.
Use story maps paired with market analytics to clarify the focus on your users. Asking questions like who your audience is and what actions they want to perform will help you apply a UX lens when it comes to understanding your data.
In A/B testing
UX and A/B testing go hand in hand. For as much of your marketing as possible, testing UX with a core sample of users can help give the feedback you need to streamline your marketing efforts. This can help you catch errors in everything from messaging to functionality.
A/B testing consists of testing an independent variable against a dependent one. For example, in a case study conducted by Kiva, they found the simple addition of an FAQ page increased their conversion rates by 11.5%. This demonstrates the essential nature of UX features in a marketing approach.
In reassessing marketing goals
Finally, UX is important in reassessing and managing your overall marketing goals. For example, you may be putting out all kinds of marketing content with varying degrees of success. The UX data you gather from this content can help inform you on where to best direct your efforts.
Interactivity is one vital element of UX that directly influences marketing decisions. When determining whether to send out more direct mail ads versus email, for instance, the user response rate tells you which content your audiences tend to engage with more.
The average response rate for direct mail marketing is about 4.4%, for example. Compare your rates to averages to reassess goals and content quality.
Maximizing your market approach through UX
User experience data and feedback allow you to hone your marketing strategies for greater success. Then, you can build an interactive sales funnel that considers every step in the customer journey and evaluates what marketing to push to which customers. As a result, you’ll maximize conversion rates by directly answering customer needs.
Focus on these considerations as you develop a marketing approach that puts the user at the forefront of every decision.
