Real User Expectations

I recently attended the 2013 Digital Day event sponsored by Adcraft Club of Detroit. Held last week, the keynote speaker was John Battelle, Federated Media’s Chairman and CEO and multiple digital entrepreneur who helped launch Wired magazine.

Battelle’s remarks covered a lot of ground: from the origins of the banner ad (first deployed by the first commercial web magazine “Hotwired” in 1994) to the proliferation of big data (on average every human now receives 600 GBs of data daily, or 3.6 zettabytes of data each year). Battelle made the point that the digital landscape continues to expand at an alarmingly rapid rate.

Digital Archives

A particularly interesting idea posed by Battelle was the concept of “Digital Archives” – those transformative innovations that serve as truly disruptive technology.

He cited Google Glasses as one of those disruptive technologies which “takes valuable data and projects it on the physical world.” What will it mean as augmented reality goes mainstream, providing the consumer with the ability to look at the world through an overlay of computer-generated information?

Battelle also pointed to 3D printing as another transformative technology in terms of customized manufacturing. He noted that 3D printing is able to take data and “turn it into a thing.”

Another disruptive technology that impacts brands is the powerful computing infrastructure now available to trade inventory.   Battelle noted that consumer choice and demand are all remarkably transformed in this new digital economy. 

The User Expectation

In terms of user interface design, a key takeaway from Battelle’s presentation is that these disruptive innovations greatly impact user expectations and they provide ways for marketers to do what they really must do: “become creators of experiences for the customer.”

For today’s consumer, the outstanding user experience delivered by these new technologies, as well as today’s Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook and other digital brands, is the expected norm.

As all brands move to “experiences,” consumers will demand fast access, ease of use and simple interactions with their digital data through customized applications available anywhere at anytime.

The Role of User Research

It’s important to note that user expectations can be qualified and quantified, such as seeking specific information or accomplishing tasks (making online purchases, for instance). Other expectations are not as tangible, such as brand reliability, safety and security.

What’s clear is that there will be a tangible impact if user expectations are met. Innovations in the digital economy will make users less tolerant of poor design or a complex user interface.

Going forward, user testing and evaluation will play a key role in delivering and meeting user expectations for not only future technologies, but also today’s digital brands and applications.

After all, the more an application (or technology) exceeds expectations, the more likely user satisfaction, brand strength and product success will increase.