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Let’s play a little word association game. I’m going to share the names of a few companies for you to consider. Think about what word you would use to describe your opinion about their brand.
Example: Lifesavers = happy
OK, here we go:
The word (or words) that come to mind for everyone might be slightly different, given our unique interaction with these brands, but the biggest and most successful brands in the world have built a larger-than-life identity that is shared across a large percentage of their audience.
Customer experience is a very real thing, and it plays a fundamental role in the success of any company.
That’s the key, and as brand stakeholders we need to our company’s brand to resonate with the majority of our users.
Customer experience is a very real thing, and it plays a fundamental role in the success of any company. The brands mentioned above have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars analyzing their customer’s experience, looking for ways to improve everything from personal interactions and in-store experiences to their mobile app onboarding experience.
What are the top 10 attributes that you would use to describe your company? Consider words that reflect what your company stands for, and sum up the character and personality of your brand.
Here’s the thing. At the end of the day, we can’t MAKE someone feel a certain way. They have to believe all on their own. It’s our job to make it easy for them, right? Our job to inspire them. Our job to entice them. Our job to make it EASY for them to get what they want.
Which means we can’t stop with what we perceive our brand to be. We need to consider how our customers perceive us. So take that list of 10 attributes you just created, and identify the opposite word for each. This brief exercise should make it crystal clear just how far away from your perception your customer’s impression of your brand might be. (This also makes for a fun 10-minute icebreaker for teams!)
Brand perception is not black and white, as shown in the extremes identified above. Outlining the dream vs. reality is a good place to start when building your brand.
First-time user interactions may make a lasting impression, but we need to also consider what it’s like for someone who has used our product or service for weeks, months, or years—across all channels. Your users’ journey may weave through both online and real-world experiences, so be sure to consider them all.
As we move towards a more mobile-centric lifestyle (Forrester recently stated that 58% of web traffic is now driven through a mobile device) marketers need to embrace the new capabilities in technology that are driving innovation.
In our recently-published annual Industry Survey, respondents said that the most important trend affecting UX in the near future will be multi-device interaction.
Responses to the question, "What do you think will be the most important online trends affecting UX research in the next 5 years? (Select all that apply.)"
There’s no doubt about it, UX plays a critical role in the way that customers perceive companies.
Every interaction, every mention, every moment that someone shares with your brand is a chance for you to improve their perception of your company. It’s not enough to want people to like your brand, trust in it, and buy. You’ll need to ask yourself (and your team) some tough questions about how to make a positive impact in brand perception.
My recommendation? You need to start with the basics:
You can find out whether your assumed brand identity—the one you define in your brand guidelines—differs from actual customer perceptions through brand testing. It’ll take research, reflection, perseverance, and a maybe even a bit more buy-in from others in order to make sure your brand is where you want it to be. But the payoff will be well worth it.
Are there any companies that blow you away when it comes to exceeding your expectations? I’d love to hear about it!