Designing experiences for the new users
A product strategy to deliver world-class experiences
If we are to look at a major trend in the current experience economy, the customers world-wide are looking for differentiating experiences. They seek world-class experiences that can cater to their needs, are equally attractive and engaging, and also inspire them to change behaviors.
To design and deliver such experiences, one has to consider the wide range of audiences that one may cater to. This range may include expert users and/or naive or new users. The design strategy will definitely be informed by the data one can gather about all these categories of audiences.
In this article, let’s try and understand, how one should design an experience for a new user? We asked the question to Prasadd Bartakke, Co-Founder and CXO at YUJ Designs. Here’s what he has to say -
Experiences are of different kinds. New users in specific have quite particular expectations from a product. These new users usually approach with a task in mind. When this person visits a website, he/she is thinking ‘I want to buy a camera!’. At this moment, the person is thinking on several lines. What kind of camera should I buy, what is the cost, when will the product be delivered to me? etc.
This user might be planning to go on a trip someplace nice and wants the camera to be delivered tomorrow! Now, when businesses are designing experiences, these are the factors that need to be considered. Instead, some businesses end-up designing a beautiful showcase for the user that informs them about all the features and styles of the product in a way to attract the consumers.
It may happen that the actual users’ mental model is different than the assumed mental model, which may create gaps in these experiences. This turns out to be harmful to the business. And needs to be avoided at all costs.
To do that,
businesses need to understand their users’ mental model well.
Businesses should respect the fact that even if they have to earn money through higher sales of their products, it should not be at the cost of the pomp-&-show. The user experience should not overwhelm the user but, respect their preferences, needs, and wants and deliver on those requirements first. Catering to the users by showing them just the right amount of information that helps the user make an informed decision at the right time.
That’s what design is all about!
