Most people have probably heard that “the customer is king,” a line taken from a famous quote said by advertising pioneer John Wannamaker. This kind of attitude has continued to influence much of the behavior around marketing today. Take the prevalence of user experience, for example, which is one of the most crucial aspects of successful web design. It takes into account the overall experience of the customer over anything else! This is precisely why you should focus on building a website fit for your customers rather than for yourself and the business.
There are several ways that you can build your website to cater to your customer’s needs, starting with gaining a better understanding of your audience and what they want from your business website. Here’s how to get it right:
Create a User Persona
Creating a user persona is essentially the same as profiling your prospects and potential customers. It’s almost as if you imagine your customers as characters that represent the different personalities that you may want to attract to your brand.
This approach works because you’re selling the web design and your products to real people who have needs and whose intentions are captured by emotional hooks. It allows business owners to see their customers beyond just numbers and statistics and visualize selling to each individual—making the approach far more effective than casting a wide net.
Mapping Out the User Journey
When working with web designers, they must understand what the user journey is going to be like so they can successfully map out anticipated user activity on the website. Prospects that visit your website usually have one or two goals, and it is your responsibility to design your website so that it helps them achieve those goals easily.
Try putting yourself in their shoes by consciously following your train of thought when you shop from one of your favorite online stores. What questions do you want to be answered upon arriving on the home or landing page? What features of the website do you make the most use out of to find the answers to your questions?
Incorporate that kind of consideration into designing your website to ensure that you address your customers’ needs. In doing so, you can create an experience that empathizes with them and makes them feel at ease!
Differentiating between mobile and web users is also important for the success of your web design. Firstly, if you haven’t already optimized your site for mobile devices, then now is an excellent time to do so, since nearly half of internet users browse using their phones nowadays!
While app users typically take linear steps in their journey to reach a predefined goal, website visitors are more unpredictable and distracted. They might jump between their first and second journeys and goals before deciding which decision to make.
A good tip to remember is that web visitors will come back to your website to continue reassessing what you can offer, especially against a competitor. Consider what stage they might be in their buying journey, whether it’s awareness, consideration, or decision. This information will allow you to target your campaigns and pave a clear path for your customers.
Conclusion
When designing your website, it’s easy to fall into the trap of designing it primarily according to how you want your brand to be perceived. However, users will only engage with you once they see that you’ve designed your website to address their needs. Customers may not even realize this consciously; all they will notice is that your website is surprisingly easy to navigate and provided them with a positive experience overall. Never forget that your customer is king—as such, you must design your website accordingly!
Here at Fox Web Creations, we provide businesses with full-service online marketing, SEO, and web design. We aim to help our clients’ businesses grow through our quality marketing services. If you need web development in Kansas City, contact us for a quote today!
