For many businesses, Web 3.0 is the latest shiny object in the online world. From my perspective, Web 3.0 is, in essence, the semantic Web – where data becomes more relative to the user, and users see the benefit of the Web understanding them as individuals and producing content automatically for them. For example, the Web will one day know that you like to shop at a specific store, that summer is coming and that you haven’t bought any short-sleeved shirts in more than six months. You will be automatically shipped two season-appropriate shirts in styles and colors you prefer from that store. The Web will essentially become your automated digital personal assistant. We are already seeing budding signs of this today with services such as Siri, a “personal phone assistant” application for iPhone.
However, we are far from seeing this type of interaction become a seamless part of our everyday lives. For organizations attempting something practical and useful now, focusing on the Web of the future might be a little premature. It’s fun to think about, but the foundation hasn’t been laid, and the data just isn’t there yet. These kinds of connections are not happening due to security and Big Brother concerns, not to mention technological hurdles. Standards for capturing, storing and distributing data are still in flux. And the intellectual horsepower – computing power and artificial intelligence – isn’t there yet either.
Something we can do now is ask ourselves how we can optimize and get Web 2.0 right before we move onto the shiny new object.
Compared to the early Internet, Web 2.0 is a more engaging, more social and richer content web. It’s focused on interaction and user experience, demonstrated by the advent of social networks and rich Internet applications. Many companies, however, are still using our modern Web to simply push data out to users versus interacting with them. In other words, they are using the Web to talk to their customers instead of talking with their customers.
The first questions companies ask as they work toward more engaging connections with their customers through Web, desktop or mobile applications are often the wrong ones. They are wondering whether they should focus on the iPad or the Slate and whether to use Flash or HTML5.
Businesses should first consider their business goals, what they want to accomplish with their application and how it will provide value for their customers. Once everyone agrees on the answers to these questions, you can safely move onto technology platforms in a secondary conversation about the overall user experience.
Building a UX-Based Business
Unfortunately, user experience (UX) has become somewhat of a buzzword. Many companies believe they can hire a chief experience officer and bingo – they suddenly care about UX. A true focus on UX starts with the organization and its culture. It comes from the bottom up with an old-fashioned belief in customer service – you either have it or you don’t. If you don’t, you need to start with the organization and determine your approach to customer service before you can create an engaging user experience on the Web.
Beyond that, good UX requires collaboration among IT, the brand, the business, the design team and user interaction. None of these disciplines is more important than another when it comes to UX. This is a difficult concept, because no single person can fully master all five disciplines. It requires a team of individuals who work well together, represent each of the disciplines, provide longevity and understand the power of collaboration. Because this is a challenge for many organizations internally, and because the discipline of UX is an emerging field, it often makes sense to outsource UX design and development to a service organization that has experience bringing these disciplines together and knows how to enforce this kind of collaboration.
In any case, the UX factor ties into your business’ bottom line. Companies have two major financial objectives: decrease cost and increase revenue. UX is one of the only things capable of having a major impact on top-line revenue and bottom-line saving.
Decreasing Cost: Customers are more likely to use self-service channels when they are easy to navigate and generate the result they’re seeking. By developing intuitive, efficient Web interfaces that are consistent and responsive, companies are able to reduce the number of live customer service representatives needed to manage their customer base. It goes back to the customer service culture and only works if the interaction is as simple as, or simpler than, speaking directly with someone to answer a question or perform a task. Additionally, studies have shown customers actually perceive higher brand value when a digital channel is easy and intuitive. Almost every consumer today understands and appreciates the term “user-friendly.”
Investing in user experience up front can also result in significant savings in overall cost of ownership for software development projects. On average, the total cost of creating a Web portal or piece of software breaks down to about 20 percent development and 80 percent maintenance. A significant portion of maintenance costs go toward improving usability. By focusing on UX at the onset – conducting research, understanding the users and their motivations, testing – businesses can save significant amounts of money in maintenance fees once the application is launched. IBM estimates that every dollar spent in user research and experience architecture up front will save $100 in maintenance costs.
Increasing Revenue: Creating engaging user experiences results in an increased customer lifetime value. The better the engagement with your brand, the harder it will be for a customer to switch to another company. UX differentiates your business and increases the value of your brand as you become known as a company that cares about elegant, effective interactions. Finally, the UX factor can ultimately increase conversions.
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