A hot topic in marketing is user experience.
Here is a definition that I found online.
User Experience: The overall experience and satisfaction a user has when using a product or system.
In my opinion, this should also include pre-purchase experience.
An important thing to remember when creating a user experience is that it has to work with the brand’s personality.
Whether it is a brick and mortar store, a product’s package or a Web site, consumers have expectations for the look and feel of brands. It’s important to consider those expecations when selecting materials, design and tone.
For example, imagine your company is Pella windows and doors. It’s likely that your company, Pella in this case, will have a showroom that showcases different lines of windows and doors.
So will every other company that sells windows and doors.
In my opinion, showing someone the mock home setup doesn’t create a user experience, unless that same user will get a different experience at a competitor’s location.
Another thing to remember in this scenario is that consumers are not just rating window and door companies on the windows and doors in the showroom. Rather, they are rating them on the first windows and doors they see on the building. A negative first impression can be a big obstacle to overcome.
Creating a user experience is especially important with goods that are standardized commodities. Soap. Stain Remover. Toothpaste. Windows. Doors.
Here are two examples of consumer prdocuts trying to create user experiences via the Web. Shout OxiClean.
In this case, I would argue that Shout does a better job of creating a user experience. While both do roughly the same thing, Shout’s creative stays around and is more interactive than OxiClean’s, which functions more like an ad than Shout’s approach.
The Big Deal: Create something unique that consumers will associate with only your company, product or service. Do something that not only intrigues the user but engages them.
