Your company’s website exists to help customers make decisions. And the “right decision,” most of the time, supports a win-win relationship between your business and your customer. Today’s user experience best practices help focus your customer through their decision-making process, meeting their needs, and achieving your own strategic goals.
But what exactly is a win-win decision? How do you ensure that your website’s design and content meet the needs of both parties?
The answer lies in understanding how people make decisions online. By understanding the psychology behind the user’s decision-making process, you can develop a framework to support win-win outcomes.
There are three key components to this decision framework:
- The customer’s need for control during their purchase journey
- The company’s need to move customers through the sales funnel
- A clear and easy path to purchase that meets both needs
Let’s take a closer look at each of these components.
Putting your customers in control
First, customers want to feel like they’re in control throughout their purchase journey. They want to be able to compare options, read reviews, and get answers to their questions quickly and easily.
Moving customers through your sales funnel
Second, businesses need to be able to guide customers through the sales funnel in a way that’s efficient and effective. This means providing relevant information at each stage of the decision-making process, without overwhelming the customer or forcing them into a decision they’re not ready to make.
Making an easy path to purchase
Finally, there must be a clear and easy path to purchase that meets both the customer’s need for control and the company’s need to move customers through the sales funnel. The best way to achieve this is by using a mix of content types (including video, images, text, etc.) and design elements (such as color, whitespace, and layout) to create a visually appealing and user-friendly experience.
By understanding these three key components of the decision framework, you can develop a website that supports win-win outcomes for your business and your customers.
What do you think? Does your website support win-win decision making? Leave a comment below and let us know! We’d love to hear from you.
If you’d like an extra set of eyes on your own company’s website, our User Experience Express Audit program can help. We’ll spend six weeks analyzing your traffic, your customer flow, and your results. Then, we’ll provide actionable steps for you and your development team to implement and measure.
