You're more likely to recommend a restaurant where you ate good food, received good service, and had an overall good time, right? We're all familiar with the terror and destruction that can come to a restaurant from negative Yelp reviews. That's exactly what you want to avoid. Bad customer experience.
I recently came across a tweet paraphrasing some advice from Rand Fishkin, founder of Moz:
"Great UX is easy and pleasurable to consume on any device."
Consume. In layman's terms it means "eat." As we move through our days we are constantly eating: status updates, inter-office email chains, office gossip...you get the point. Messages are permeating our thoughts each day. How do we decide what's worth consuming? How do we decide what's worth repeating? Sharing?
You view your customers as consumers in the sense that they purchase products is one thing, but also - in a more powerful context - you should view them as hungry. They are eating and digesting everything your brand is producing. Sometimes they enjoy it and they tell others. Other times they don't and they're burned - never coming back. Guess what? They're doing all of this consuming primarily on mobile. Half of the users that own smartphones now use them as their primary or exclusive means for using the Internet.
So, now that we know what people are using their phones for - consuming - we should try and make it an enjoyable experience, right?
Oftentimes, business owners (especially brick-and-mortar businesses) don't see prioritizing mobile UX as an investment for their business. But these skeptics may be interested to know how optimizing their users' mobile experience could make a huge impact in their overall brand reputation and sales.
If you ensure that your customers are enjoying their consumption, they're more likely to tell others, to share, to testify - become the social "fan" of your brand that you've been looking for.
Want your content to be appetizing to your audience? Consider the platform from which their viewing and make sure their experience is an easy, enjoyable one. Just like having a good dining experience, your brand is responsible for a producing good, branded meal - one worth sharing.
Mean What You Say, Say What You Mean
I've defined mobile as an area that should be catching more attention from business owners. If it's caught yours, you're either considering investing in the UX of your website or you might have already done so and you're feeling frustrated. "Yes, I know my customers are on mobile! I've made the investment, but they're still not buying!"
Maybe your audience is consuming, but not acting. They don't think you're worth it.
How can you provide a good experience and get your customer to act? My advice: show appreciation.
One of the most important reads in the marketing canon of texts, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie, is an oldie but goodie. The foundation of Carnegie's advice is to show people that you appreciate them in a genuine manner:
"The difference between appreciation and flattery? That is simple. One is sincere and the other insincere. One comes from the heart out; the other from the teeth out. One is unselfish; the other selfish. One is universally admired; the other universally condemned."
Being sincere, unselfish, honest - these are things that scare many business owners. However, once you embrace that customer expectations are changing and they are hungrier, now more than ever, for honesty and something genuine, then you will be empowered to deliver this through whatever channel makes sense for your business.
Maybe it's investing in your brand's mobile experience. Maybe it's offering a free pair of Bears tickets for the first 20 new users of your web application. Maybe it's placing a pop up shop in Brooklyn where you're showing / selling new merch and giving away free cold brew coffee.
You will have many options to make your customers feel appreciated, but one thing's for sure: each option is a consumption channel. Produce something worth eating.