The user experience is everything

You can spend thousands of dollars on a shiny new brand, but that brand won’t be successful without a good user experience. The user experience is everything. It can either make or break the brand. And whether or not you’re creating a brand for the web or a brand for a product or both, and no matter how much money you spend and which marketing agency you choose, without a good user experience at the front of the charging army, your brand will fail.

Think for a moment about your favorite brands. What makes them your favorites? It probably isn’t the way the brand looks. No. How the brand works however, is another story. It’s the way products work, the way we’re left feeling after using the product (or website), that makes the brand memorable and successful.

Have you ever eaten at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant and come out wondering why it wasn’t more well-known because the food was incredible? The name of the restaurant, or the brand, isn’t what’s going to keep you coming back or recommending it to others. It’s the experience you had while there.

Got a favorite toothpaste? Why? Is it because the logo is really well done? Or is it because it leaves your teeth feeling clean and your breath fresh?

What about a favorite antiperspirant/deodorant? How well it works – your experience with it – makes it your favorite.

Maybe you’re like me and have a favorite pen? While I love the simple “PILOT” logo, it’s the way the pen writes that keeps me buying them.

If you do a lot of typing, maybe you’ve got a favorite brand of keyboard/mouse hardware? I like Logitech because the keys have that perfect responsiveness and the mouse clicks are solid. Overall I feel that Logitech hardware is more durable too. But I have no idea what their logo is. All I know is the name and my experience with it.

You see, the way a brand looks doesn’t matter. Sure, it’s always nice to have a pleasant looking brand (and website) but what’s more important is the user experience behind it. It’s sad when the user experience gets the back seat. The user experience is what makes brands successful. Without the user experience the brand is nothing more than a design. It’s meaningless and pointless. It’s nothing.

The user experience is everything.