Nicole Leinbach Reyhle is the Founder and Publisher of Retail Minded, the Co-Founder of the Independent Retailer Conference and a regular contributor to various publications. Additionally, Reyhle is the Author of the book “Retail 101: The Guide to Managing and Marketing Your Retail Business” from McGraw-Hill and has been the Spokesperson for Small Business Saturday from American Express since 2014. Follow Reyhle on Twitter at @RetailMinded. There’s a saying in life that you only have three seconds to make a first impression. Traditionally this is said in regards to face-to-face interactions, but nowadays this also holds true for many other scenarios. Walking into a store, visiting a brand’s Instagram account, and even landing on a web page for the first time all welcome opportunities for customers to be impressed...or not to be.Keeping first impressions in mind, are you confident the first three seconds someone experiences your brand is one that will reflect positively? Specifically, how do you feel your web and mobile experiences influence your customers? As a new business in particular – including Gigpreuners – first impressions are vital in launching your business towards success – and just like face-to-face interactions, your web and mobile experiences must leave quick, lasting impressions in order to keep today’s busy consumers curious, engaged, and connected. Consider the following to position your web and mobile design for success.
Usability is a key factor in influencing the success or failure of web and mobile design, particularly because these touchpoints directly influence how likely it is that users will stay engaged and ultimately interact with brands. How fast potential customers choose to engage in a brand is often determined by usability alone. If users become frustrated, for example, they are more likely to leave that mobile or web experience within seconds versus continue their user experience. This risk is too strong for any brand to consider, but this is even more risky for new brands and businesses since consumers do not have other impressions of your business to compare to. When aiming to stand out among your competition while also aiming to be memorable (for all the right reasons) among your customers, make sure your usability is top notch to help you do so.
Believe design doesn’t matter? Think again. Good design is essential, helping users understand and more easily navigate their web and mobile experiences. Not only does good design support usability, but good design can also lead potential consumers to actual customers – ultimately directing them to make purchases if your web and mobile design welcomes it. And just in case you don’t sell online, don’t overlook how good design can still help you. There are many customer touchpoints to be reached via web and mobile, including social media, contact pages, blogs, customer chat boards and more. Where do you want your customers to land? Good design can help.
As a new business, what are your end goals? Is it to capture one customer? Or many customers? Do you want to gain repeat business...or is your strategy not based off customer loyalty? How do you plan to reach new customers for the first time? For the second time? For the third time and beyond? What is your marketing strategy at large – and is there anyone available to help you get one step closer to reaching your business goals? After all – as the saying goes – it costs more money to hire an expert to fix the problems after you've made them, than it would cost to hire an expert initially.When building your brand, keep in mind where you plan to connect with your customers most and how you plan to capture their attention once you do so. If these first moments of customer attention fall online via the web or mobile experiences, make sure you’re confident your customers won’t be lost during those vital first impressions. From your web experience to your mobile experience, to every touchpoint that consumers may experience along the way, trust you are well represented and customers are easily engaged. Need help? Lean on professionals that have the experience you need to make your first impressions count...which, as it turns out, also opens more time for you to do whatever it is you do best. It’s a winning combination that’s undoubtedly about to make head turns and first impressions last well beyond three seconds – something businesses new and old can appreciate.
How has web and mobile design influenced your business success? Tell us in the comments below!
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