No one knows what the future holds. However, a sneak peek now and then is what some of us need precisely. For businesses and the corporate world, predicting customer trends and experience is a superpower strategy. So if you’re an experienced design expert, knowing the future can make you invincible. User experience design or UXD is all about keeping the customers happy. It encompasses concepts like public relations, event management, and product quality. So to say that predicting the future is helpful is a bit of an understatement.
The vast field of customer experience and interface has always been growing. The public keeps changing its mind and making new trends. So where exactly is user experience design headed? Here are a few User Experience Design strategies that will get you set for whatever the future has in store for you.
What is User Experience Design (UXD)?
Experience Design encompasses all the processes that are directed towards customer satisfaction. User experience (UX) means enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. It works by improving accessibility, interaction, and functional appeal. User Experience Design is included in anything from products, events, exhibitions, and even services. With the right type of experience design, a company can excel in enrichment.
In simple terms, experience design refers to customer satisfaction and positive feedback. User Experience Design has multiple applications in the industry. It’s used to enhance the interaction a customer has with a product or a service. Alternatively, it can be used to make meetings, events, and weddings exponentially better.
Difference between User Experience and User Interface:
The user interface (UI) differs from UX in that UI is directly related to technology. UX is focused on improving customer satisfaction, loyalty, and pleasure. Its primary target is to make the customers happy.
UI, however, is all about the design of products and services and how users interact with them. It includes graphics designing, branding, and interaction through input/output devices. UI is a purely digital interface, while UX is both digital and physical.
Event planners definition:
Event planning is a term that comes under the heading of User Experience Design. It is one of the significant aspects of managing and hosting events. Event planning refers to marketing, branding, hospitality, ambience, and even logistics. Seating arrangements and an amicable environment all come under event planning.
The exact definition can refer to the planning and managing of any event. However, in the context of user experience design, it refers to marketing and sales events. Notably, those events in which products or services are either showcased debuted or sold. Corporate meetings with external buyers/sellers and dealers also come under this heading. Worldwide event planners are making use of UXD to enhance the premise of their events.
For example, a meeting with another company seeking shares requires user experience design. The company’s representatives should come to a pleasant environment with excellent ambience. The seating arrangement should be sufficient for every individual. Hospitality should be pitch-perfect, and every member should have the necessary supplies. The supplies can include laptops, projectors, pens and papers, and other staple items.
The future of experience design in terms of Event Planning:
Experience design has seen many developments in the past few years. New and improved strategies are being devised to bridge the gap between customer and provider. Sellers are hiring user experience design experts to maintain good repute and to create hospitable environments.
The most recent development and the most commonly used is journey mapping. This is a highly advanced technique. It requires mapping out a pathway for the service providers to interact with the people. UXD experts will start by estimating the interests of the target audience.
Then, they will map out a journey for their clients to connect with their customers. Moreover, it is a UXD expert’s job to make sure every step is as economical as it can be. In simpler terms, every action taken by the client should be optimized for maximum output.
Journey mapping for Event Planners:
For event planners, journey mapping can work wonders. It’s a great event strategy that gets you organized. Journey mapping not only helps the client connect with the users, but it also works the other way around. User interaction with the client through telecommunication is a great user experience design strategy. Call centres and feedback cards are two examples of these.
Event planners must keep in mind that journey mapping isn’t restricted to the event alone. Interactions are happening before every event; you have pre-orders and public promotions. Conferences are happening between corporate entities and stock sharers.
Also, after the event, customers might want to know more about your services. Interested parties need to have excellent communication to connect with the client. Event planning isn’t just about the event; it also concerns everything that comes after it.
Friction in Experience Design:
Another term that is common among UXD and UI designers is “friction.” It refers to any interaction that might inhibit the user experience. Any setback that could terminate or slow down communication is major red herring. An event that wants to focus on user interaction must be frictionless.
The easiest way to reduce friction is to learn from past experiences. Look at call records and attendee feedback. Analyze the issues that the attendees faced and try to devise workarounds for them. Depending on the nature of the problem, you might need help from other workers. For example, if you find that customers were dissatisfied with the prices, you’ll need to consult the marketing agent. Together, you can find a way to reduce costs while maintaining sales.
Dynamic UXD: How your designs need to evolve?
Let’s face it, where your company currently is isn’t where it’s always meant to be. Moreover, as such, your plans need to change with your company. As every corporation is changing its strategies and designs, so should you.
User experience design and event planning isn’t a static process. Your UXD techniques need to change over time. Also, the same goes for event planning. Perhaps your last sale was not friendly enough. The customers might not have liked the setting. Alternatively, maybe there was little to no thought to personal space. Whatever the case, one thing event planners need to have is the will to change.
Why change is necessary for Experience Design:
Without change, you won’t be able to work around friction. Your customers will find the same inhibitions they found the last time. Evolving your designs requires in-depth analysis and journey mapping.
Mostly, your customers don’t exactly know what they don’t like about something. Lighting and noise can subconsciously displease the customer, and they won’t even know it. Extensive analysis requires looking into even the tiniest of details; experimenting is a significant part of this. Team-building events call for the most change and development.
Segregating teams for Fluent Event Planning:
The most common theme that is prevalent today is team segregation. It’s better to segregate your workers into teams to divide the workload. There’s a team for marketing the event and one for providing efficient plans and another for public relations. To host an event, one must have adequate knowledge of these posts even more.
Physical aspect:
Event planning has two aspects: physical and metaphysical. Physical aspects include setting up tents and tables, hospitality, and logistics. Beyond the event, this includes representatives, customer support, and delivery of pre-ordered items. Therefore, brand ambassadors and door-to-door salespersons also come under this heading.
To enhance this aspect, you must focus on one thing: direct customer interaction. You’re not interacting with the customer through pamphlets or the media. You’re coming face to face with your audience. As a result, you must not only maintain friendliness but also impress the public.
Metaphysical aspect:
The metaphysical aspect is all about marketing and promotions. It is about maintaining a good repute, providing economic sales plans, and managing the physical departments. These are all part of event planning. Put, this includes the team that sits inside offices, signs papers, and overlooks everything.
This aspect requires a more business type of mind-set. So, you must have adequate knowledge of sales promotion and event marketing schemes. In terms of user experience design, public relations and marketing are the most related to user experience. Hence, as an event planner, you must make sure both these fields are running flawlessly.
Research in Experience Design:
Experience design isn’t something that anyone can do. There’s a reason why you need a specific qualification to be a UXD expert. Hence, this field requires loads of research, experimentation, and homework. Without proper research, development is practically impossible.
Experimentation with different products and scenarios is crucial for event development. You need to look back at previous data and experiment to find out what displeased customers. Maybe it was the seating arrangement. Perhaps one of your volunteers was rude to the customer. Therefore, you need to analyze every aspect of your event and experiment accordingly. Even more, you can test with different lighting and arrangements, and see which one works best in favour of your customers.
Of course, this is not to say that event experimentation is a hit-and-try method. Due to a lack of time and resources, you can’t experiment much. Indeed, knowledge of human psychology is crucial for event planning. You need to have adequate knowledge of current trends and popular customer demands. As a result, only then can a business proceed towards maintaining the right public image.
Think like a customer:
To enhance the user experience, you must think like the user. Probably try putting yourself in their shoes and see how everything turns out. For example, would you prefer a laptop with a detachable screen or a laptop without one? It seems like thinking like a customer is best for tuning your design to fit the customer’s needs better.
Motivate the customer:
The initial thing you need to understand is why the customer might want to attend your event. Maybe it is the launch of a long-anticipated product? Or, perhaps it is just another boring sales event? Bringing new products and schemes in your events will motivate the public to attend them. Indeed, you can’t perfect customer experience if you don’t have any customers, to begin with. Hence, it would help if you came up with new and innovative ideas that will interest your audience more.
Engage the customer:
The second element is the functionality of the event. What exactly are people going to do there? Maybe you’re planning on making them sit six hours through a presentation? Or maybe your event is going to be more dynamic and interactive? You need to include interactive displays and activities in your event. In various corporate events, as a result, there needs to be more to the meeting than presentations and deal closing.
Analyze the customer:
The third and final aspect you should pay attention to is exactly how you’re going to implement all this. It is essential to understand that every individual is different. Not everyone likes the same things. Some might prefer a different seating arrangement. Others might not be interested in your product or event. You can’t please everyone, but it’s best to appeal to the majority. However, do not single out customers. Instead, consider their opinions and try your best to find a solution that works for all.
Counter your competitors:
Running a business requires pleasing the public. Because it’s all about marketing and promotions! However, perhaps, competitor counteraction is more critical than user interaction. Hence, before setting a goal in UXD, make sure your ideas are better than your competitors.
There is no more straightforward way to put this because your users need to be more pleased with your products than anyone else’s. Users are bound to try out other products, and that indeed happens when the ones they already own aren’t good enough.
Even more, you’ll understand this better if you think like a customer. People only ever try out other brands once they’re motivated to do so. You wouldn’t just “try-out” some other brand of laptop for the sake of it, people don’t have that kind of time and money. Therefore, if they’re content with what they have, they won’t go for anything else.
Competitor analysis:
Competitor analysis is a great event business strategy. Above all, user experience is one of the significant aspects that are directly related to this. In user experience design, a common but older trend is analyzing your competitor. As a result, when speaking of websites, SEO is one of the most analyzed parts of UI.
Many online tools help you “spy” on your competitor’s website. They help you analyze their traffic and SEO strategies. Due to this, often, you might even end up inspiring yourself from your competitors. It is crucial to analyze the techniques they use and personalize them. Certainly, to stand against the enemy, you must grow to be their size.
Ultimate thoughts:
Experience design and the interaction of the general public are only getting better and better. Hence, the companies that fail to provide interactive UXD are facing intense competition, and they are losing their ground fast. While those that excel in the field see stocks rising drastically.
Thinking like a customer is one of the best ways to work around any problem. If you wouldn’t like something for yourself, why would you prefer it for your customers? Consequently, experience design concerns concepts like these and much more.
So regardless of what oddities the future throws at you, remain prepared for everything.