must focus on creating high quality and engaging UX that enables meaningful relationships Ultimately, design thinking performs a central function in shaping customer interaction with brands and their technologies – at every touch point Here are simple guidelines to developing a pathway that delivers great UX. Get the fundamentals right The first step is simple – find out what your customers love, understand their needs, and look at how to solve them. Many people make the mistake of getting caught up in the front end of UX, forgetting that the strategic process of design starts by taking a broader view of customer issues beyond product and brand. A customer’s expectation of experience starts from within their culture, lives, and habits. Ask the right customer centric questions to get the basics of the digital platform correct Test out new ideas by making small, incremental steps using real time data. Rapid prototyping allows you to test using real time customer feedback Always ensure that you integrate any campaign messages across all touch points. Digital UX is often one of the first brand touch points Ensure that the content you provide on your digital touch points is useful to the customer. Don’t adopt a ‘one size fits all’ approach to content across all devices/platforms – consider the context of the user Simplify, simplify, simplify! Ease your customers engagement, but remember it’s not just about usability; it’s about creating great experiences. Connect the dots Many marketers are faced with a reality of UX that is disconnected from holistic customer or connected experience strategy. The journey doesn’t start at the shop entrance or when a customer opens the app, it starts much earlier within his or her mindset. Understanding customer expectations sets the context for your strategy. Clever and intuitive design is secondary to customer insight. Work synergistically and strategically from the outset to limit revision time Really know your customers before you develop your UX. This will be the tipping point of true experience design Ensure that you build your UX in collaboration with the entire brand and customer experience. Entertain and engage Ultimately, understanding your customers and designing with them at the centre means you will connect with them more effectively. Industry leaders are doing this by threading the ‘red line’ through the entire customer journey with stories, entertainment and engagement. Treat storytelling as the fundamental factor for a successful integration. Take your users on a journey! Allow your customers to enjoy the process, create user experiences that are worth talking about. Integrate a few ‘wow’ moments into the UX. Offer your customers some elements of surprise and delight throughout the user journey. Attracting traffic and increasing customer engagement at different touch points is set to become more difficult in the future. Ensuring the relevance of the conversation and journey has and will continue to become more crucial. Now is the time to take an honest look at UX and design to ensure what you say matters to your customer. Karen Spear is GM of MashUp. She can be contacted at karen@mashup.com.au.