When should U I and when should U X?

I want to make a bold statement, but I’ll say this instead.

User experience and user interface are not just web and app design techniques. ?

Read that again.? They are NOT just design techniques.?

While it is a design technique, this is a practice that can be utilized for all of your marketing activities.? Why?? Because all of your marketing is an interface and experience that you are creating for your user.??

During all of these created and curated experiences, you will increase effectiveness by thinking about two things.? Number one, what is the goal of this experience?? Usually, when building marketing the objective is a conversion or action that you would like the user to take.? Number two, how are you making that experience as pleasant and friction-free as possible?

One of our little taglines here at HammerSport Marketing is just that, removing the friction from your sales and marketing.?

For us, it is a daily reminder of what our job is.? To make sales come easier for our clients, by removing friction.

Here is a video of an example of how user experience plays out for a user, in this case, me.

When I'm on a website, and I arrive at what is called a lead magnet, I want this experience to be as easy as possible.?

Just for reference, a lead magnet is some piece of information offered from a company in exchange for contact info, like a pdf on how to do something.??

When this is something I want to learn I have no problem exchanging my email address for that information.

This is when the “Experience” begins so this is where you need to really examine what is happening from the user's point of view.??

At this point, if I was browsing through a website I am going to want one of two things to happen.? I am going to want to read the pdf or keep browsing the website.??

As the designer, you should be aware of this and make sure that any form or exchange of information DOES NOT take the user out of the website.? Why??

The general rule of thumb is to never send someone out of your site.?

This is because everything we do in marketing is to get people closer and more familiar with you, your brand, and your product/service.? The last thing we want is to kick them off your site.??

So here is an example of a smooth flow for this scenario.?

1. I am offered a piece of information by clicking a button, I click it.
2. It links to another page on the website, “resources” on ours.? This page has the same header with all the menu titles so I know I’m still on the same website.? This page has the benefits and results, (a little more encouragement that this is something I really want) of the information listed and another button that says, “get the pdf”.? I click on it.
3. A popup window appears allowing me to enter my email address to get the information.? I enter my email address and press the “submit” button.
4. That window goes away and another window pops up with the information I wanted available to view.? The window also tells me that the pdf has been sent to my email address.? In the background, I can still see the original browser window open with the website I was on.? Now I have the choice to go back to browsing the website and read the info later in my email or read the info now and then go back to the website.

This is one example of a smooth and frictionless flow but there are many others that are just as user-friendly.? My recommendation is to start simple so that you can publish first.? Then build out the ideal flow and publish this second version during a launch of another phase of the website.? If you are curious to see how we built ours, check out our website at www.hammersportmarketing.com and click on the resources menu title at the top.

If you have any questions about this or a marketing flow you are building and how to remove the friction, leave it in the comments or email me directly at [email protected]