Making an Experience an Exceptional Experience
Exceptional online experiences begin with the customer's process. It's not enough to build a site and hope that users will find it helpful or enjoyable.
KEY QUESTIONS
When considering a usability partner, you should ask them five important questions:
- What techniques do you use to test usability?
- Do you understand the persona of my target audiences or segments?
- How do you capture both the rational and emotional response to advertising and websites?
- What partners do you work with?
- How long have you been performing usability testing?
The savvy marketer knows that a strategic customer insight research program must precede any development work undertaken by information architects, software integration engineers, and creative designers. Three key precepts guide the quest for customer/user knowledge:
- Understanding the expectations of key target segments
- Integrated brand attributes with intuitive navigation
- Always test, measure, and evolve
And, it's not always about the customer's mind. It's also about testing the emotional response to site experience. Not only do we utilize traditional usability research techniques, but we also use proprietary methodologies, in coordination with partners, including concept mapping, Internet groups, behavioral tracking, and gap analysis. Insights gleaned from usability testing then inform advertising creative and web navigation.