Why Web2Print User Experience Matters More Than You Think
Mobile apps, web platforms and software solutions –these days they all look great. A good User Experience is simply expected. It’s the norm. Your customers expect it, and printers need to put it at the top of their list when buying or upgrading software.
When you come across a product that looks like Windows 95, it becomes hard to use, it gets in the way. You just want to exit out and never come back.
Whether you are looking to spin up a public W2P retail store or offer clients a complete Marketing Management Platform that includes web to print but also features for managing the entire brand catalog, User Experience matters. It matters a lot. It defines whether customers will want to come back or not. It defines the perception customers have in your company. It defines if the solution you are providing will be adopted or abandoned. It defines the level of training and support end users will require. Was the experience good? Was it easy to use? Did it save time?
The web to print solution that does it all is not always the winner. Good W2P platforms deliver on both ends. They focus on simplifying workflows. Saving time and delivering a WOW factor.
Don’t end up with a powerful W2P platform that can do everything but none of your customers want to use.
Consider your customers’ challenges first. After all, your clients are the ones that will use it. Who is the end user? What products do they work with? What is the desired workflow? Are they savvy? Will they use it?
I personally think most web to print solutions do not focus enough on User Experience. Many of them keep building more features but forget to make those features easy to use.
Reduce the time it takes to complete a task. Reduce the number of “clicks” it takes. Uploading a PDF, finding products, personalizing a business card, checking out, it should be easy. Like buying something from Amazon or choosing a movie on Netflix. Whatever technology you offer should be natural and seamless. Think about home appliances. We know how to use them before we ever used them.
Software providers need to put as much attention on the User Experience as they do on product development. User Experience is King… As Long As The Kingdom Is Not a Maze. tweet this
Printers need to look at software as being as valuable and important as their equipment and put their customers’ challenges first. The technology you offer your clients reflects directly on you! tweet this
“Great software products with a strong team sell themselves”. Great products have a great User Experience. Think about your sales reps trying to close an enterprise deal. How much do they have to explain? Are they proud of the product? What are your prospects reactions and feedback?
You don’t want to lose a potential million-dollar client during the first demo. Remember a marketer is probably on that call. They know how to judge a book by its cover. If it’s hard for them to understand how your product works, they are out. A marketer doesn’t want to pass that burden to their end users. It simply means lots of frustrating emails and calls. Maybe even hiring someone for support.
If it’s hard for me to understand how your product works, I am out. I don’t want to pass that burden to my clients. It simply means lots of frustrating emails and calls. Maybe even hiring someone for support.
What should you look out for?
How easy is it to use?
Does it simplify the workflow?
Is it fast?
Is it intuitive?
Is it beautiful?
Is it easy to search, locate and personalize products?
Is it responsive (works on phones, tables, desktops)?
Is it easy to use? (important enough to mention twice)
The art of a great software providers is to make complicated things easy. tweet this
What about back end platforms? Just because backend systems are not customer facing technology, it does not mean you don’t have to worry about User Experience. Someone is using it. Probably employees. Employees time cost money and you probably want to optimize their time. These people perform the same tasks every day. Maybe hundreds of times a day. Those clicks accumulate at the end of the month.
User Experience is imperative. It defines whether your customers will use/buy your product or not. A good User Experience is expected and needs to become a priority. Don’t go for the all mighty web to print solution. Think about your customers’ challenges and pick the platform that best solves their pain points while delivering a good User Experience. The most complicated skill is to make things as easy as possible.
What W2P solution has the best User Experience (UX)?
Leave us a comment below and let us know what Web2print solution you think has the best UX/UI (clean, intuitive, responsive, pretty.
Also, is user experience key for user adoption success?
