How User Experience Changes The Way A Brand Is Perceived
With the dawn of internet, society has gone through an overhaul of sorts. Our world and our lives are unimaginable and unfathomable without internet. An important factor that has emerged and been a contributing factor for a lot of the successful companies out there, is the users’ experience. If the digital platform is the customer’s primary mode of contact with your brand, then its role in how it makes the user feel becomes paramount in their perception of your brand or product. Enhanced User Interface today is a semiotic emulation of human intelligence and that has fine-tuned the user experience on every platform that we are communicating with. Digital platforms today need to provide customers with the exact service that they are looking for, as seamlessly as possible and give them a user experience that is smooth and memorable. The user experience can be understood better from various touchpoints for –
Brand
As the world moves from ‘selling’ to ‘marketing’ and ‘branding’, brands are growing in importance. While brands have been around since centuries, their definition has evolved in the digital age. Consumers today are over-exposed and with innumerable digital touch points available at their disposal, every window of interaction is a make-or-break opportunity. Brands are a sumtotal of their customers’ experiences, shaped by their interactions and this is a large part of why one user might prefer a particular brand over another (say Uber over an Ola or a Swiggy over a Zomato). The seamlessness in providing the right options, the booking formalities, payment preferences and the closure creates an incredibly positive rub-off on the brand. What further enhances the user experience is the aura it builds around itself, through social platforms and various outreach initiatives.
Product
Attention spans have dwindled and being available ‘right here, right now’is essential. No one likes buffering videosorslow loading pages. No matter what device the user is interacting on, the configuration for each platform should be optimized and responsive enough to quickly adapt, while still delivering a consistent and familiar way to navigate to the service they need.
Take the case of Online Banking. Payments are always a stressful scenario and reducing the uncertainty in users with familiar and easy-to-use interfaces will go a long way in ensuring brand preference. Banking apps are a prime example of this. Thanks to advancing technology, banks are making it easier for consumers to transact on their platform with enhanced security features, facial or fingerprint recognition, etc. The preference among the users have been the highest for platforms making the process easier.
Price
Pricing is also is a big factor that influences user experience thereby impacting brand preference. Combining a superior quality product experience with the right price makes for an unbeatable combination. Take for example tring.co.in – India’s largest celebrity engagement platform – where consumers get to book personalized celebrity shoutouts for various occasions, from over 5000+ celebrities at price points that are unheard of. Getting a celebrity shoutout along with the seamless service makes it worth the investment which is visible through users’ reviews and feedback. With e-commerce becoming the norm, smart pricing and quick turnaround times for service delivery ensures that customers not only remain loyal to the brand but are also more likely to recommend it to their social circles.
Customer Relationship Management
With multiple generations interacting across a range of touchpoints with a brand, customer service across all the multiple mediums needs to be consistent and effective, for brands to be successful.
There is also no substitute for personalized assistance. Particularly, when it comes to issue resolution, as it is only over a voice call that a customer can best express themselves. But most brands might not have the budgets or manpower to provide the personal touch in this regard. Hence, brands like Amazon offer customers a choice of how they would like their issue resolved – through a phone call or through chat with an employee or bot.
Brands need to understand that if someone is connecting to resolve an issue, they are probably already upset about the issue materializing in the first place. Therefore, paying extra attention to CRM and dispute resolution processes to make the experience painless and friction-free will go a long way to affecting how people think about a brand.
Corporate Social Responsibility
People like brands that they can resonate with. And nothing appeals to people more than brands that support the same causes and have the same larger concerns that they themselves identify with. A good example of this would be celebrities. We all know and love our stars but what about when we find a glimpse of their human side – like Dia Mirza’s concern for the environment especially forest guards or SonuSood’s concern for stranded migrant workers? What about brands then that share the same spirit as their users? The synergies are obvious and undeniable while also working as a powerful influence in directing preference and loyalty towards the brand.
It is only when all these factors work like a well-oiled machine, that brands can deliver a great experience for their customers and users, and also help persuade their thoughts and perception for top-of-mind recall.
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