Experiences in a digital world

Experiences. The word seems to be everywhere these days. Traveling, eating, having a cup of coffee, watching TV. We’re no longer just doing stuff, we’re experiencing. And if the experience does not add up to the the expectations of the people then rest assured. The world will know about it. Through a pic on Instagram, a review on Tripadvisor, a question on Quora or a raging post on your Facebook page. So have you ever taken the time to think about what your brand feels like in the digital world? How are people interacting with your brand or services and how does that make them feel. And of course, do you really need to care?

The why

I think we all can agree on that people make irrational decisions based on how things feel. How many of us haven’t bought stuff based on emotion where the product promises to solve your problems. We are equipped with feelings and empathy and of course these mechanisms are at play also when using digital services. It’s not enough having the best product or service, people need to feel it. They don’t care what you are doing, they need to know why you are doing it. Think of using a banking app. The bank can put unreal amount of money into brand marketing campaigns to make them your first choice. But if the experience using the app is unpleasant then you will switch to one that makes paying your bills less of a hassle, right? Because today it’s as as that, you can switch bank with the click of a button.

This is probably old news for many of you. So I want to ask you this: What does your brand’s digital presence feel like? Do you know what your visitors, your potential clients, feel when they’re visiting your digital home. People may still visit your site in search for a phone number or an email address, but what they experience while doing that is what they will remember when closing the browser. So yes, you probably need to care.

OK, enough with the convincing part. How, how how?

The how

At Humblebee, the digital studio where I spend most of my daylight hours, we call it human centered design or design thinking. It’s not rocket science, but it’s certainly at the center of our way of working. We strongly believe in testing and validating ideas on real users instead of guessing. We never give advice based on our own thoughts, gut feel or assumptions. Instead, we use simple mechanisms such as teamwork and collaboration to form processes that actually work. A way of working that is not just a sentence on a piece of paper hidden away in the CEO’s drawer. We set up diverse, cross functional teams with people that are not afraid to cross borders and say what they think.

So it’s really not that hard, just start with the things we do know: You are experts in what you do, we are experts in digital and your users are experts in what they need. Knowing how to work collaboratively gives us the advantage of knowing what your users need and how they will react before putting that shiny new web site, product or service out there. With this insight we can proceed to fulfil the expectations with the best possible solution. In some cases that might not even be that web site you thought you were ordering. What we’re trying to say here is don’t make decisions based on you or your managers hunches and assumptions, make them on real insights from real research. This is crucial, because once you push the button there is no turning back and a bad launch will stick forever in the digital world.

Let’s go. Together!

So let’s up the game and give your digital presence the attention it deserves. As you’ve already figured out, we can talk for hours about this, and we would like to invite you to continue this discussion at our offices in Gothenburg or in some other more digital way. Just one thing. When we meet, let’s allow the discussion to evolve around the experience instead of time frames and budget. Using an an agile approach we can always make the delivery match budget and time, while knowing that we will deliver the highest value in regards to the circumstances.

Join us

And oh, if you think you will fit into this kind of working environment, let us know. We’re always looking out for new talents that share the same beliefs as we do. Have a look at our Jobs section or just comment below, and I’ll be in touch.