VOICES
Opinion
PROFIL
ERobin Davies explains how you can influence
consumers with the power of UX
In the wonderful world of UX,
influencing behaviour and breaking
consumer habits is a huge part of the
equation. There’s a multitude of ways that
you can guide your consumers but, before
you implement anything, you have to take
the time to really understand them and
their motivations.
A product or service may be incredibly
useful but if the UX developers haven’t taken
the time to really get into the mindset of
their audience, consumers still won’t be as
engaged as they should be. Facebook’s well-
documented ‘2G Tuesdays’ see its staff using
the platform at a limited internet speed so
they can experience first-hand any
frustrations that may occur for those without
a high-speed connection. This is a perfect
example of truly understanding your
consumers and how they use your platform.Without delving too far into pop psychology
101, it’s worth keeping in mind there are two
t y pes of behav iour that we al l feel at v arious
times: emotional and rational. This is a great
place to star t when it comes to U X: does your
system work and encourage users who are
in both behavioural states? An example of
this would be a really simple sign-up process
with a minimal number of steps but along
the way there are emotional triggers keeping
users going, getting them excited.
You’l l also need to thin k about the e x t rinsic
and intrinsic motivations of your users. An
external motivation might be receiving a
reward for completing a certain action, while
an internal motivation would be their own
sense of enjoyment or satisfaction for doing
it. If a user has just created an account,
immediately bombarding them with offers
might not be the best approach; a commonmisconception is that rewards work all the
time but that’s not the case. If you reward
someone for behaviour that they already
enjoy doing, this can over-justify the action
and consequently act as a deterrent,
devaluing your proposition in the process.
That’s not to say that rewards don’t have
an incredible power when used correctly;
Dropbox achieved insane levels of growth
through its referral scheme by offering users
additional space in return for new signups.
By figuring out what real value looked like
to its users, Dropbox created a user experience
that led to everyone getting more of what
they wanted. Genius.
With a sol id foundat ion in place, there are
hundreds of methods you can look at bring ing
into your UX but it can be a slippery slope
from truly helpful to morally dubious.
Loss aversion highlights what a consumer
will lose or miss out on should they not
per form the act ion you’re encouraging, most
commonly utilised when influencing users
to act immediately. Take subscription
services: try to cancel and they come at you
with the offer of a free month – but you only
get the reward if you agree to it right away.
You’re more than likely to accept for fear of
missing out, right?
The bandwagon effect works in a similar
way: most people have had the experience
of booking a hotel online and being told that
‘Five other people are looking at this room
right now’. The intention isn’t exactly subtle;
getting in your head, triggering emotional
behaviour and causing you to go through
with the booking before those five others.
These techniques can be hugely effective
but nothing will turn people away quicker
than the feeling they’re been tricked or
manipulated – and rightly so. Heavy-handed
tactics may lead to a few extra signups but
the bitter taste they leave behind is rarely
worth the prize.
Regardless of your UX strategy, the best
course of action is always to respect your
users. Give them the credit they deserve,
concentrate on giving them the most value
and enjoyment from whatever it is you’re
offering and you won’t go far wrong.Davies is the design director at full-service agency
Born Communication. He has a non-human child
called Colin and is a whiskey enthusiast.CHANGING
BEHAVIOUR WITH UX
UX STRATEGIES