Every day we encounter more or less successful UX campaigns. And by far the expensive applications are not always better than those that spare the marketing budget. What makes a digital marketing campaign in brick-and-mortar retail a success? Here are ten points to keep in mind:
1. The WOW effect must be sustainable. Customers want to be enthusiastic. A good UX campaign is therefore characterized by the following adjectives: intuitive, immersive, disruptive, surprising and so impressive that users remember it even hours later. A good indication of such a campaign is when users talk about it on social media, i.e. share their experiences with others. This is compounded by the fact that successful campaigns spread virally.
2. The technology supports, but it is not the core element. Technically demanding campaigns tend to let intuition run the course. A technically good solution leaves people at the centre, the technology remains largely invisible.
3. Two clear calls-to-action. The user must be successfully asked to take action twice in each good campaign: on the one hand, to start the interaction, and on the other hand, to make a decision at the end. Ideally, this can be a purchase, depending on the campaign goal, but also, for example, the registration of his personal data or a retrieval of further information or a personal dialogue with a seller.
4. Content, content, content. The key to an intuitive and successful campaign is intrinsically linked to the content. It must meet the user's expectations. However, since these expectations can vary from user to user, it is important that users can select content elements based on individual preferences. The less flexibility content allows, the greater the risk of premature cancellations or even users expressing disappointment on social media.
5. “Guided freedom” of interaction. As important as individual consumer experiences are, freedom and individuality in an interaction must not lead to users getting lost while surfing through the application without any guidance or “crash barriers”. For example, if the customer wants to test a new smartwatch, the most important test functions should be easily and intuitively accessibleto quickly learn how helpful it is to e.g. do your eercises without having to keep a smartphone in your pocket. And if a route planning is to be explained, then the app must include a selection of pre-programmed routes, keeping the customer’s attention on the benefits and not forcing him to type destination and other data on micro-keyboards. And naturally, the settings must always be locked to ensure that the app still works properly even after hundreds of customers have tested it.
6. The UX campaign supports the shop assistant, it does not replace her. A campaign that is structured in such a way that it can do without the sales staff does not necessarily have to be a criterion for success. On the contrary, it makes perfect sense for the consumer to be asked to contact the sales staff at some moment, or even better, the seller receives a signal on his smart band when the customer reaches a critical selling point. Engaging the customer into a sales call at this point does materially increase the chances to close the deal.
7. The customer benefit is recognizable at all times. From the outset, the customer must be aware of the benefits for himself. This can be about banal things like knowledge horizon expansion, or about gambling, or just very concrete elements such as Pay Back points to collect, odds or discount vouchers to receive. But that doesn't mean the campaign has to do without surprises. The more WOW effects, the more sustainable is the 'experience'.
8. Successes (and the lack thereof) are measurable. Good campaigns have measurement points across multiple levels, which provide concrete insights into campaign successes by correlations. Which interactive element was selected most, and for how long? What was the abandonment rate and where did most users leave the interaction? Why? How often has a benefit been accessed, what comments have been posted on social media? Sounds tedious, but it's not. And it helps to determine the ROI of any campaig and make future campaigns even more successful.
9. A/B tests. There is no guarantee of success, even if the chances of a successful campaign increase dramatically if points 1-8 are heeded. Therefore, it is important to plan for flexibility at the beginning of each campaign, for example through A/B comparison tests with different scenarios.