Marketers have a fairly straightforward set of goals, even if the paths they take to achieve those goals can be diverse and complex. First, they want to elevate the level and amount of business done by their company, driving increased revenue. Secondary goals include fostering a positive public image of their company, and when possible, facilitating good interactions between those inside the company and those outside of it.
Often, it can seem that the goals of the marketing team are in conflict with those of the customers. The marketing team wants the customer to focus on and select one option; the customer wants to compare and contrast many options. The marketer wants the customer to focus on the product’s features and benefits. The customer is more likely to want to find about its flaws and hidden “gotchas”. The marketer wants to drive revenue growth, the customer – as the source of the revenue – wants to keep as much of it as possible in their pocket.
The challenge is to address the goals of the customer while still fulfilling the mandates of the marketing program. The most successful programs are an exchange – or even better, a conversation – where both sides get something valuable out of the bargain and neither side feels they were ignored, misunderstood, or taken advantage of.
There are just as many wrong ways to go about meeting this challenge as there are right ones. (In fact there are probably more wrong ways…) But all the misguided attempts start with the same seed: ignoring the customers’ goals as if they didn’t matter, and focusing exclusively on accomplishing marketing’s goals.
User experience is the art and science of understanding customers’ goals. We don’t usually refer to them as “customers” though. We use more neutral terms like “users” or “visitors” in the abstract. But the power of the user experience process best comes into play when we can move beyond the abstract, and refer to customers by name. It’s then that we start to understand them as people with specific needs and abilities, with voices and stories of their own. It’s then that we really start to understand them, understand their goals, and begin to feel the empathy that is the essential ingredient for any great conversation.
But while we know that understanding customers and their goals are key to the interaction, we also realize that the interaction has a point of its own: serving the business needs of the marketer. We can’t force potential customers to choose our company, so our job is one of persuasion. People can be good at resisting persuasion, but they are more likely to see things our way if they feel they understood. The more someone is like you, the more likely you are to believe what they say and heed their advice. Studies have shown this is true for people across the board.
The good news is it’s not hard to understand customers and their goals, and then use that understanding to deliver the experience that will make your customers feel understood, trusted, and willing to part with their dollars. You just have to listen, in the right way.
No related posts.
