(Newswire.net — May 24, 2020) — Mastering user experience is probably the most essential part of running a business these days.
According to Forrester Research, every $1 invested in UX results in a return of $100. On top of that, Esteban Kolsky found that 13% of customers will tell 15 or more people about bad experiences, while 72% will only tell 6 or more people about good experiences.
In a world where the experience that you offer your customers is more important than price points or feature options, getting your UX strategy on point is essential.
As we head deeper into 2020, there are a few customer experience trends that seem to be standing out more than others. Here are five of the trends worth considering.
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Delivering Engaging Content
Content might not be the newest trend in the current sales landscape, but it’s still one of the most important. Whether you’re running an eCommerce site, teaching students through online webinars, or connecting with clients through affiliate marketing, content is key.
Now that 26% of US adults are constantly online, they want more than just products and services from the brands that they interact with. Your people want an experience – something that they can use to build a relationship with your brand.
An engaging content strategy should tell your company’s story, highlight the things that make you valuable, and engage your audience with useful information at the same time. For instance, you could:
- Use blogs to answer customer questions: Blog posts are an excellent way to comment on trending topics in your industry or answer questions that people have about your service.
- Use video to provide demonstrations: Video is a great way to connect with your customers on a deeper level and show them how your product or service works.
- Publish case studies and whitepapers: These pieces of content act as both a source of social proof and a great way for people to learn about what you do.
Look at Hubspot for instance, the company doesn’t just sell it’s marketing and sales tools and do nothing else. Hubspot is also well-known across the globe for it’s Academy, offering excellent business training, and it’s fantastic blog.
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Enhancing Website Performance
It takes more than just a website to stand out online these days.
You also need to ensure that every section of your website is designed for excellent customer experience. That’s because your site is a critical part of the buyer sales funnel. Your clients use it to find out information about your brand, browse through your products, and even make purchases.
Studies suggest that your customers need to have 7 interactions with your brand before they’re willing to make a purchase. Those meaningful moments need to be optimized if you want to get the best results. Think about:
- Navigation: How easy is it for your customers to find what they need on your website. Do you have an excellent search bar where people can look for products? Are your items or servicers organized into different tabs on your site?
- Mobile-friendliness: Around 2 billion people made purchases from their mobile in 2019. If your site isn’t responsive, then you could be missing out on an incredible opportunity for conversions.
- Page loading times: How quickly will your website load when your customers land on it? Most clients in today’s fast-paced digital world will only wait for a few seconds for a site to load before they give up and hit the back button.
Look at the Airbnb website. It works perfectly on all devices, and customers can find what they need in seconds, with absolutely no confusion.
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Establishing Trust
Another crucial UX trend that’s not going away any time soon, is the demand for trustworthiness from leading brands. Companies want to know that they can rely on you not only to give them an excellent level of service, but also a sense of safety when they’re shopping online.
Adding some extra security into your website doesn’t take a lot of time or investment, but it can enhance your chances of sales drastically. For instance, an SSL certificate shows your audience that you’re taking extra measures to protect their information by placing encryption into your site.
Other options to establish trust include:
- Seals of approval: Stamps from experts and certified groups will highlight that your company belongs to a very distinct community. This is great for generating trust.
- Celebrity endorsements: Shout-outs on your website from influencers and experts will instantly grab audience attention. Even micro-influencers can make a difference.
- Reviews and testimonials: Showcasing reviews from happy customers is an excellent way to instantly increase your credibility levels and make your customers feel more comfortable shopping with you.
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Providing New Forms of Customer Service
One big part of delivering an excellent user experience is providing the right quality of customer service. Your audience expects you to give them an amazing interaction when they’re buying your items, but they also want to access the same support if anything goes wrong.
Fortunately, there are a lot of ways that you can boost customer service today, including:
- Delivering real-time value through chatbots: Chatbots are becoming increasingly easy to use, and are an excellent way to ensure that you have a way to answer customer questions 24/7.
- Using distributed customer support teams: With teams in different parts of the globe, you can take a “follow the sun” approach to make sure that someone is always available.
- Embracing Multi-channel customer support: Rather than just giving your customers the options to contact you over the phone or through email if they have an issue, allow them to connect on social media, live chat, and even through WhatsApp.
To find out which kinds of customer service you should be investing most of your time and effort in, take advantage of reporting and measuring options. There are various CRM tools like Salesforce and Zendesk that can help you to track everything from customer sentiment, to where your visitors come from.
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Prepare for a New Generation of Customers
Finally, if you want to deliver the best possible user experience on your website, then you need to make sure that you’re appealing to all kinds of customers. That includes the local people who come to your site from social media links, the organic traffic that pours in from Google, and more.
One particularly strong trend to be aware of as you’re optimizing your site is the rise of voice search. Studies show that by the end of 2020, more than half of all smartphone users will be engaging with the voice technology in their devices.
Just as you offer a range of payment options and customer service solutions to keep your clients happy, it’s worth giving them a selection of ways to find out information about your brand too. Optimizing your website for voice search with conversational keywords and aiming for the featured snippet on Google could help you to appeal to a broader range of audiences while making life easier for them.
Mastering User Experience in 2020 and Beyond
User experience is a crucial part of developing a successful business in this modern world. The more time you dedicate to removing the friction points in your customer’s journey, the easier it will be to create happy advocates for your business.
Remember, while you’re exploring the trends above, keep an eye on how your customers respond to each of your campaigns. You can use the information you gather to inform a more complete customer journey map and learn more about how to serve your audience.