“What are you going to eat for dinner?” is a question that I hear asked often when I am visiting a client’s home or office. It’s an important question because it provides the starting point for a strategic marketing plan. The value of knowing your target audience and including them in your strategy is tremendous. However, when people ask me what are they going to eat for dinner I always reply that they should make a good impression on their guests and the person who ask that question should eat an interesting meal.
What are you going to eat for dinner? That’s a great question and the answer may surprise you. Most people think that they need to know all the cooking tricks to impress their guests and guess what? You don’t need any cooking skills to impress your target audience and making a good impression is only part of it. You also need a user experience strategy that promotes trust.
User experience design (UI) refers to the process of designing a site or application that gives the user the right information at the right place and the right time. For example, your site visitors may be surfing the Internet for a product and your homepage may contain a FAQ or frequently asked questions page that provides them with easy to understand answers to commonly asked questions. This is called informational design and it can include such things as an About Us page where the visitor can find out more about the company, its history and current business practices, etc. Alternatively, a Homepage is a page that the visitor arrives at first and then they navigate through all the pages on your site. A Homepage typically includes links to the most important pages on your site, and a further link between the Homepage and Contact Us/Contact us button where you can provide more information about yourself and how we can help them.
So, what are the credibility and user experience and how do you get them from good sources and create trust in your brand? Credibility is earned over time through proven expertise and reputation, as demonstrated by past customers. The credibility and trustworthiness of your brand depend upon thorough research into your target market, and the performance of your internal processes to measure this. Trust is a complex concept and it includes trustworthiness and integrity of the source (your company), a perceived lack of conflict of interest between the provider (the customer) and other important factors including price. These concepts must be considered when building a relationship with your target market.
E-a-I acronym stands for Effective Authenticity, Transparency and Trust. An expert is someone who has mastered the art of credible communication, authenticity and trust. Expertise refers to a set of skills, knowledge or capabilities that are transferable to others. Transparency refers to the full disclosure of all information and knowledge, including integrity, so that others can verify the facts and statements made by the expert. Trust means that the end user will have confidence in the knowledge, skills, advice and recommendations of the expert and will perform as desired when relying on the information, products and services of that expert.
An expert is someone who can help build and maintain an organization’s reputation, which requires credibility, trust and integrity. An expert may be found in several areas including, media, design, social media, technology, healthcare and mobile device development. It is important that when building a strong brand and developing expertise for your company, that these same experts are trusted, and the same techniques are used to ensure that the experts are credible and trustworthy, building and maintaining strong relationships and credibility within your organization. A strong and reliable brand is important to the success of your business, and the experts that represent your brand and your company should be held in high regard to increase your brand awareness and improve your brand image and reputation in the industry.