The Really Useful UX Guide For Marketers
UX

The Really Useful UX Guide For Marketers

18th November 2019

Marketing used to be really simple, right?  All you needed to do was send out some leaflets and pay for a bit of advertising (in the 1980s, SEO was an ad in the Yellow Pages).  These days, things have got a tad more complicated, with marketing departments needing to keep up to date with a baffling array of technology; not to mention all those acronyms – one of which we’re going to take a look at in this article; UX.

What is UX?

UX or User Experience is all about the relationship between your brand and your customer; specifically, how the customer views your brand in terms of quality, aesthetics, useability and customer service.  A customer will evaluate your brand per visit – and per visit to your competition – and will make judgements on the overall experience; whether it’s a quick social media visit or, a trip to a real life store.  It’s for this reason that UX should be at the forefront of everything a brand does and, here, we’ll show you how it’s done. 

The UX Honeycomb

This is, basically, a collection of six factors which make up the overall user experience.  These are: 

  • Usability – The system and product are straightforward and easy to use
  • Useful – The service or product fulfils a need
  • Desirable – The product or service is something that customers want
  • Accessible – The site, service or product are easy for customers to find
  • Credible – The brand has a good reputation and the customer feels that it is trustworthy

UX Honeycomb

But, how do you find out how customers feel?

There are a number of ways to do this and, here are a few of them: 

Heat Mapping

Heat mapping is one of the easiest and most affordable ways of finding out what makes your customers click.  Heat mapping is all about finding out how your customers are using your website in order to see what you’re doing right – and what you’re not.  This process measures the way customers are clicking, scrolling and, in general, moving about on your site. By monitoring this activity, you can identify sticking points and issues.  There are some good tools out there to help you with heat mapping, including Full Story, Hotjar and Mouseflow

Surveys

A little old school but still effective, you can try simply asking your customers how they feel about your brand and your product or service.  Surveys can be conducted quickly and cheaply either by email or on social media.

Sentiment Analysis

One of the buzz phrases at the moment, Sentiment Analysis basically spies on your customers and potential customers to hear what they’re saying about your brand.  Once mentions of your brand are detected, they’re sorted by ‘sentiment’, namely ‘Positive’, ‘Neutral’ and ‘Negative’. Sentiment Analysis is an incredibly effective way of getting an overview of how your brand is perceived.  Some great Sentiment Analysis tools are: Brand 24, Repustate and Critical Mention

sentiment analysis

Alright but, how do I improve UX as a marketer?

Improving the user experience is something that a brand should be trying to do continually and, there are some really simple ways to do it: 

Listen to the customer

There’s a reason that you gathered all that information with your surveys and sentiment analysis – and that’s to act upon it.  Take note of what your customers are saying and, if it’s good – do more of it. If it’s bad – do something about it!

Good call

Keep your calls to action simple within your social media and email marketing.  Avoid more than one call to action in any marketing message and make it crystal clear what the action is.  Most importantly, precede the call to action with an explanation of the benefits of responding to it, such as a discount or freebie. 

Engage

Marketing in 2019 is all about engagement.  It’s no longer enough to put out advertising style messages and posts, today it’s all about content.  Supersize your social media posts with high value content and invite feedback and discussion. Once somebody engages with your brand, they are far more likely to stick around and become a customer. 

Get real

In today’s marketing world, honesty is a commodity.  Most customers these days are savvy enough to spot an advertising grab when they see one – and the bending of the truth within that advert grab.  Stand out from the crowd by using conversational language and, be honest about what your product or service can do – and what it can’t. Customers always appreciate brands telling it like it is and, are much more likely to see your brand as credible as a result. 

Despite the fancy name, User Experience is really just about making sure that your customers enjoy shopping with you and, find value in your product or service.  Simple things like making your website more attractive and easier to use go a long way when it comes to UX. If you like this guide read further Speaking From Experience – The CEO’s Guide To UX

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Written By
International SEO Consultant, speaker, blogger. Throughout his career, Milosz has been consulting and devising growth tactics for small and start-up businesses, particularly within financial services. His focus areas include link building, technical SEO, and overall digital strategies.
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