Information in this blog was obtained from interaction-design.org, Digital Marketing Institute.com, and reeldesigner.com.
User Experience and Marketing
If you were anything like me, the word UX design sounded like a technical term best left to coders and the more senior technical teams. Unfortunately, in a world of blending job responsibilities, UX (or User Experience) and Marketing are becoming pretty synonymous with each other, and rightly so. The Interaction Design Institute reported that companies that invested in UX design increased their bottom line by 228%. While UX design is seen as a separate field, usually listed under product design, we see that the same important research from marketing departments also goes into UX design. UX design investment by a company will increase usability by the user and presentation, especially regarding product functionality. The same research utilized by marketers to find trends in how a product sells is also used to determine what functionality the users desire in a product.
Digital Marketing Implications
User Experience Design is extremely important, especially in Digital Marketing. When marketing phone applications, for example, the user fumbling to find a way to quickly complete their desired task is a turn away from that app and will lead consumers to other alternatives. Having easy-to-use navigation and even the colors that we pick for our app are all researched by UX design teams. The increase in usability increases satisfaction with the product. Digital Marketing Institute.com discusses a few interesting statistics about phone use and web pages not optimized for mobile phones. They report that only 55% of brands are currently optimizing and researching for user experience. While a shocking 74% will return to a site if it is properly optimized for mobile. Although mobile devices are becoming the primary interactive tool for web interaction, most e-commerce transactions are still done on mobile desktop devices. This would explain the lack of full investment in mobile UX design. As this trend continues, mobile device use as a purchasing device will increase. As a result, another important area of emphasis will be put on a UX designer to improve.
UX and SEO
While UX design doesn't immediately scream Search Engine Optimization, several UX design philosophies have a rather large impact on SEO. As reeldesigner.com explains in terms of KPIs or key performance indicators. Target areas such as bounce rate, page load times, and pages per session. These are all things search engines like Google utilize to place your content first in Infront of your audience. Utilizing good UX fundamentals and research will put marketers and their products whether digital or physical at the forefront of their competition. Having a strong user experience emphasis early on will be a keyway for marketing teams to stay well ahead of an inevitable change in emphasis in the coming years. It is easy to see how important UX design is to marketing teams and how important it will become to emphasize its importance to young marketing teams and those wishing to compete in a more emphasized digital market.
The Future
There is always talk of AI taking over large parts of the design aspects of product development. However, the design will always require a human element and AI will not be replacing creative design anytime soon. Marketers who master both the concepts of great marketing and product design will be far more successful and well-rounded than those who chose to only focus on a particular discipline. For UX designers, knowing marketing principles allows them to make better user experience designs that sell the product and take a customer through all parts of the purchase process at a more efficient pace. To truly stand out in the world of marketing and product design it will be imperative for students to always be learning about the other design disciplines within their fields.
Resources
DMI, S. @. (2020, December 28). Why user experience is key to digital marketing success. Digital Marketing Institute. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/why-user-experience-is-key-to-digital-marketing-success
Reel Designer, Reel Designer Reel Designer is an online resource magazine showcasing expert-lead best practices, Reel Designer is an online resource magazine showcasing expert-lead best practices, & posts, V. al. (2022, April 20). UX + SEO: The one-two punch for digital marketing success. Reel Designer. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://reeldesigner.com/ux-seo-the-one-two-punch-for-digital-marketing-success/
Siang, T. Y. (2023, February 26). How to change your career from marketing to UX Design. The Interaction Design Foundation. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/how-to-change-your-career-from-marketing-to-ux-design
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