Top 10 Ways To Improve Digital Experiences
by Kerry Bodine, July 31, 2012
Here are 10 established and emerging digital experience best practices
From 10 to 1.
Best practices for determining what you need to improve
No. 10: Flex Your Analytics And Operational Data
- Examine the actual behavior of customers on your websites.
- Study customers’ mobile and tablet behavior, too
- Examine customer behavior across channels
- Target the moments that matter
No. 9: Conduct Expert Reviews Of Web, Mobile, And Tablet Touchpoints
- Try to accomplish relevant customer goals
- Look for well-known customer experience flaws
No. 8: Reach Out To Real Customers
- Solicit customer feedback about the current experience
- Gather and analyze unsolicited customer feedback
- Uncover hidden customer needs through ethnographic research
- Test designs with users to uncover specific usability problems
- Document customer insights in personas and journey maps
Best practices for redesigning digital touchpoints
No. 7: Adopt Proven User-Centered Design Processes
Conduct and analyze customer research
- Come up with dozens, if not hundreds, of possible ideas
- Iteratively prototype and test the possible solutions
- Co-create with your employees and customers
No. 6: Take Advantage Of The Inherent Characteristics Of Digital Touchpoints
- Create touchpoint-appropriate interfaces
- Right-size content and functionality
- Use native device data to deliver a contextualized experience
- Look for opportunities to make interactions social
No. 5: Get Outside Help When And Where You Need It
- Carry out and analyze ethnographic research
- Conduct user experience research
- Deliver large projects related to digital marketing
- Simplify complex information and transactions
- Spark new ideas for digital innovations
- Develop internal skills and processes
No. 4: Plan For The Post-Launch Reality
- Plan to maintain and improve existing sites and apps
- Envision how to extend digital products and services to new platforms
- Create an end-of-life plan before you launch
Best practices for ensuring that digital supports your business
No. 3: Bolster Your Company’s Brand
- Surface your company’s brand positioning statement
- Use content, functionality, and design elements that support key attributes
- Improve usability to reinforce brand value
No. 2: Measure Digital Touchpoint Performance Against Business Metrics
- Begin and end every project with a discussion of business objectives
- Build ROI models
- Create a holistic customer experience measurement framework
No. 1: Unify The Overall Customer Experience
- Use recognizable visual design patterns
- Make it easy for customers to shift from one channel to another
- Create cross-channel governance practices