Last year, we saw a huge emphasis on user experience rather than just design itself. The human-centered approach assisted businesses in creating designs that would help people perform desired actions with ease. The terms ‘customer experience’ and ‘user experience’ might qualify amongst the most influential buzzwords of 2015. Not only did a stellar experience help in creating a great design, but businesses realized the importance of UX in driving their growth.
As technology is advancing and applications are becoming simpler for users, there are some things businesses should consider in 2016, such as:
1) Providing the right information at the right time
Not long ago, businesses believed it was essential to show all the information to the users at the same time. Most business models have focused on self interest instead of the customer experience. They believed everything was important to be said. The question is, how do we prioritize what is important to the user?
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People tend to do one thing at a time and hence don’t like being prompted to make several decisions at one moment. Given too many options at once, users are 10x less likely to convert. In 2016, we have more tools than ever to help us decide which information is most relevant to the user and show just that.
For example:
- Providing your location before looking at food delivery deals
- Getting notified with expected delivery time after order confirmation
- The option to rate your experience after approximately 30 minutes of delivery, considering you will complete your meal and would be in a better position to provide real feedback by then.
2) Designing for innovating technology
As technology is continuously evolving, it has become important for designers to think beyond apps and screens. Laptops with touch displays mean the rules for design will change as the touch medium with the interface changes. Designers particularly have to re-think user journeys if they are looking to optimize experience on such devices.
Similarly, technologies like wearables are gradually becoming common, which makes it essential for designers to think beyond desktop and mobile. Moreover, virtual reality will make its debut in the first half of 2016 with Sony, Oculus, and Samsung releasing their customer products. VR is undoubtedly the next dimension in gaming. But for businesses, it is essential to identify how this technology can be utilized. Will VR conference calls be more productive? Can business travels be reduced through virtual collaboration?
3) Narrating a story by design
“I have learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
Storytelling has become important. With so many options available to choose from, consumers look for solutions that ‘actually’ understand their problem. In 2016, we expect more emphasis to be on “Why?” than “How?”. In this competitive market, you have to provide quality solutions to survive. But to dominate, you need to capture the heart, not just the mind. If the problem your product is going to solve is almost identical to a consumer’s, it would create assurance of delivering the same expectations as well.
4) Putting quantitative data at use
As everyone has been talking about personas this past year, UX designers now have to design using real data. Implementing the best UX design practices only might result in brands losing to their competitors. These best practices need to be implemented around real data of user behaviour with A/B testing. In 2016, we will see businesses investing a lot on understanding the behaviour of their potential customers in order to deliver more persuasive, emotive, and influential experiences with emerging technologies.
“Five years ago, the heroes were technologists. Today, the heroes are designers building out a user experience. You can have the most amazing technology in the world, but if it’s not put in a form that is useful and desirable, you won’t be successful.” – Robert Brunner
Wrap up
With user or customer experience playing an important role in every product being developed, adding a personalized and emotive touch will be the driving factor for success. If businesses understand their users and put this data to use, they will likely stand above the other players in the market. As designers, we need to keep our eyes open for emerging technologies and the changing behaviours of users, and design our interfaces accordingly.
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