Modern customers are not just interested in products or brands; when they make purchases, the experience of buying is just as important as what they are looking for. And if this "user experience" (UX) is sub-standard, they could easily give brands the cold shoulder.
So what can you do to optimize your UX? This blog will explain some of the key issues concerning user experience - and how greatcontent's marketplace can help you become a UX master.
Why User Experience Matters in Digital Marketing
UX has become a core component of almost any online business, and when you think about it, it's easy to see why.
In a world where customers seem to spend less and less time on each website visit, and where there are multiple ways to make any single purchase, the way buyers interact with E-commerce companies makes a huge difference.
If they encounter sites that are confusing and hard to use, customers naturally recoil. They want simple ways to find product information, to discover brand backgrounds, and - most importantly - to make their purchases.
Given these conditions, we shouldn't be surprised that a whole new industry has developed around creating interfaces that meet customer needs. Brands have latched onto the key insight that UX feeds customer loyalty, sustaining the buyers' engagement into the future.
It's kind of like in 'real life, where we know that first impressions matter. But in E-commerce, this basic truth translates into an intense competition: that of making users - A.K.A. potential buyers - comfortable and happy.
How Smartphones Have Had a Huge Impact on UX
Enhancing the experience of customers has always been an important component of business success. Think of Walmart's ever-present store greeters. Or go back to America Online, whose user-friendly applications paved the way for several other companies to use similar approaches to enhancing customer satisfaction.
However, the advent of the smartphone has revolutionized the way we think about user experiences. It's now impossible to conceptualize how to achieve a positive user experience without factoring in how sites and content look to smartphone users.
Companies have been forced to invest in responsive content which adapts to fit the screens of mobile devices, and they have had to compress their sites to strip out content that only really suits laptops and desktops.
At the same time, GPS-based tools like Google Maps have been integrated into the UX mix, allowing customers to locate places to make purchases. Companies have become ever more app-centered and constantly seek ways to achieve maximum app installs for their software. They have also had to start optimizing their content for voice search, which is becoming more important by the day.
Instead of making physical, bricks-and-mortar shops welcoming, smartphone UX has to think about how users reach websites, paying attention to the sites' SEO, and how exactly people arrive at a site using search engines. It also has to incorporate social media, linking popular content to product landing pages.
Basically, there are lots of links that need to be tied together to form a slick, immersive user experience - otherwise, customers can be left stranded, which can turn them off a site and brand.
How Content Marketing Relates to the World of UX
While UX has become an essential aspect of digital marketing and business strategy, it is most successful when combined with other forms of marketing. And if you want to realize maximum gains from your UX redesigns, coupling it with high-quality content is vital.
Why? Firstly, quality content drives users toward E-commerce sites - the place where companies can show off their UX skills. In fact, a good customer experience strategy starts at the very beginning: from a user's first encounter with the brand itself, which could be via ads or content found in blogs or on social media.
Secondly, content influences the way a customer engages with a brand following an initial positive UX experience.
If you're happy with a company's online service, you'll be ready to find out more about its products. This is when companies can deliver compelling content to "hook" customers for the long term.
By mixing UX and content marketing, you can amplify conversion rates. At greatcontent, we think that sounds pretty appealing, and our copywriting marketplace is a great place to source the content you need. So get in touch, place an order, and find the perfect blend of UX and content.
