Whiplash Team, 18th March 2022
User experience determines brand perception
User experience constitutes the primary building block of anyone’s perception of a brand. That experience includes all the interactions between them. From the moment the user begins searching for information about a product or service to after-sales service. It also includes everything the organization does or says. A consistent experience, that ideally exceeds customer expectation, is essential to develop brand loyalty.
A brand, more than a name, a symbol and a set of colours and fonts, is the result of how the user perceives and decodes everything it does, says, offers and produces. It is, in short, a symbolic ecosystem that consists of all the information that is associated to a product, service or organization, inside the consumer’s mind and which gives rise to expectations. User experience, on the other hand, constitutes the primary building block of anyone’s perception of a brand. That experience includes all the interactions between them.
But how do the users draw conclusions? What factors contribute to the building of their perception of a brand? Obviously, their experience with the services or products is essential. But this is not the only element since their interaction with the brand is not limited to consumption.
We must understand that, in this context, the brand becomes the link that unites the intangible aspects of the organization, those that make up its purpose, its why and for what, with its tangible aspects.
These tangible aspects can be categorized in four areas through which the brand is projected: people, products, presentation, and presence in the market.
Thus, every user-brand interaction is part of the experience: from the moment they start searching for information to after-sales service. All of it including the consistency with which the brand manages to transmit its values and culture through everything it does or says, as well as to its position in critical issues for society.
A positive and rewarding brand experience creates client loyalty. True. But getting it right requires the organization to acquire a deep knowledge of itself. What its vital purpose, its target client, and ultimately which are its client needs and aspirations, and then satisfying them in an unmatched way.
Beyond appearance, and even if marketing and image strategies are effective, brands that achieve loyalty are the ones that provide experiences that exceed client’s expectations and build on them.
Apple, for example, has focused its product development on evolving user experience with each new device. The iPhone, for example, was designed with a single button to control all its functionalities. The idea was making it easier for users to manage the terminal from which they control their business and connect to the world.
Steve Jobs founded Apple in 1974 together with Steve Wozniak with the purpose to make users life easier by making friendlier electronic devices. From the beginning the company focused on creating with their users and their needs in mind. A product development strategy consistent with Apple’s purpose, and which has remained so, persistently, over the years.
The lesson from Apple, is that we must never lose sight of the reason to be of our brand. Our brand expresses through products and services designed and developed based on the needs and expectations of our customers.
Thus, to stand out in the universe of market options implies providing a great experience consistent with the values and the purpose of the brand.
