09.11.2023
Author: Elio Haas
What does UX mean?
User experience, or UX for short, describes the experience that users have with a solution or a physical object. A good user experience is characterised by a high level of user-friendliness, which is reflected in the experience before, during and after an interaction with an application. A good user experience creates a positive brand experience within the customer journey.
Connection to the customer journey
Due to the wide variety of different media, devices and channels, users today have different touchpoints with companies and brands. These touchpoints are distributed throughout the user's customer journey. The customer journey is the path taken by users. It describes the process from when a need or problem arises until it is finally satisfied or solved. A customer journey contains a series of interactions with the company distributed across various touchpoints. In order to create a homogeneous user experience across the different channels, it is important that the brand is perceived uniformly and consistently throughout the entire phases and touchpoints of the customer journey.
In order to create a continuous user experience, the user's needs must be understood and interpreted correctly. These can shift or change during the journey, which is why it is important to view the entire process from the customer's perspective. It is very important that the interaction options used are deliberately placed in the right place. This allows the individual touchpoints and media to be used in a targeted and correct manner. By taking a holistic view, a holistic experience can be created that is perceived across all touchpoints and as a uniform user experience.
LOEB Clup app - your companion for the shopping experience
The LOEB department store in Bern already has several touchpoints with its customers thanks to its retail space, shop windows and digital media. However, their customer journey lacked a digital companion during the shopping experience. The LOEB Club app was designed to meet this need.
The LOEB Club app accompanies customers during their visit to the department stores', but also before and after. Using this web app as an example, we show how UX can optimally support the customer journey in a final solution. The following functions were implemented to optimise this:
- Accessibility for a broad target audience: Simple and intuitive registration ensures a positive feeling during the registration process. All you have to do to register for the app is scan the card. This simple registration is intended to appeal to a broad target audience and make it easy to get started.
- Playful experience by collecting points: By collecting points, customers are encouraged to interact more with the app. The current points are thus actively recognised and attractively displayed by an animated progress bar. A bonus level serves as motivation for a next visit to the department stores'. Gamification improves the digital experience and encourages interaction with the brand.
- Consistent availability: By integrating existing physical objects such as the club card, vouchers and coupons, these are always available to customers digitally at any time. This links the app with a visit to a LOEB shop. The familiar vouchers have been digitised in virtually identical visual form to make the transition to the digital world of LOEB as easy as possible for customers.
- Experience LOEB as a brand: The LOEB brand thrives on its physical presence and customer proximity. In order to integrate this value into the app, events are actively displayed and can therefore be better advertised. The app creates the opportunity to connect existing customers even better with the company and its diverse events such as cooking classes, sewing courses, etc.
- Direct assistance in the app: Direct support in the app enables customers to receive help on the spot. Assistance can be accessed via various channels such as chatbot, WhatsApp, telephone and email. The broad target audience is thus addressed and help can be provided at the right moment.
- A digital touchpoint as a targeted addition: The shopping experience at LOEB is complemented and enhanced by the Club App on the digital level. A new touchpoint has been created that acts as a supplement in the customer journey and provides even better support for customers with targeted interactions. The functions were selected and placed in such a way that customers are guided before, during and after their visit to the department stores'. The UX - i.e. the experience with the app - thus becomes a new component in the interaction with the LOEB brand.
Listen, understand and develop further
It is important to note that customer needs and therefore the customer journey are constantly changing. As explained in the blog post «The art of the continous customer journey», customers expect seamless and consistent experiences that are designed across various points of interaction. It is crucial that companies are willing to continuously adapt in order to meet the changing needs of their customers.
Applications of all kinds should be continuously reviewed and further developed. A standardised user experience helps customers to better navigate this journey and find solutions for their needs.
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Conclusion: Why is UX a central point of the customer journey?
User experience undoubtedly plays a crucial role in the customer journey. It influences how customers perceive a company, its products or services and has a direct impact on their satisfaction and loyalty. Designing a positive UX is not just an option, but a necessity in order to succeed in a competitive environment.
A good UX ensures that customers perceive their interactions with a company as seamless, efficient and enjoyable. This not only influences their decisions during the purchasing process, but also their long-term loyalty to the brand. A positive UX can motivate customers to come back, leave positive reviews and recommend the company in their social environment.
Overall, the user experience is a central point of the customer journey, as it contributes significantly to customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention. Companies should not view UX as an isolated discipline, but rather integrate it into the entire customer life cycle.