If you have never done or do not practice usability testing on your website, you can be sure that there is a lot of conversion potential to exploit. When functionality and interface are not checked, it is likely that some flaw in the buying process may be overlooked. So it's time to start doing that evaluation.
Usability testing, as the name implies, serves to evaluate the customer's use or experience with your product or service. In other words, through it we can tell whether the UX (user experience) is satisfactory or not.
Now that you have a notion of how important this subject is, why don't we go deeper into the subject?
What are usability tests?
It is a research technique with the objective of evaluating the product or service. In this test, people with your audience profile are invited to interact with your product while an analyst evaluates the consumer's experience.
This technique is commonly applied to websites and functional platforms in order to identify systemic flaws or opportunities for improvement. However, it is a research concept that can be applied to any segment. As long as there is the product and the customer, there is experience and opportunity to increase conversion.
We can cite two types of usability tests that are already applied around the world.
Moderate usability tests
Performed with 100% monitoring in specialized labs for such. In this type of test, the moderator guides the user through each stage of interaction, asking questions about the process.
Non-moderated usability tests
Those that allow users to complete the test online, in which they are free to follow the flow they find most intuitive, reporting to the analyst the reason for clicking each button (usually done remotely).
After evaluating the usability criteria, it is possible to arrive at three types of flaws that can be found during these tests. See below.
Barrier: if there is something that prevents the customer from buying;
Obstacle: some flaw that the customer had to learn to deal with in order to finalize the purchase;
Noise: some aspect that does not hinder the finalization of the purchase, but may cause a bad impression to the user.
How to do Usability Tests?
The tests need to consider the usual navigation of the site. How customers usually look for products, how the purchase is finalized, among others. It is also important to simulate exceptions.
This means that you need to try to find the unusual ways that visitors may go through the site to find a product. Thus, it is possible to do a complete test that covers all possible error possibilities.
Always rely on specialized professionals to do this analysis. User Experience Analysts are specialists who understand the habits of the virtual consumer and who know, technically, the best ways to objectively evaluate each stage of the customer's experience with the product. In addition, they are able to propose agile solutions to the problem, if any.
Doing this kind of analysis without a specialized professional can cause several opportunities for improvement to go unnoticed. Or else, it can provoke mistaken measures to correct some undesired result. Resulting, then, in a drop in conversion indicators.
To help you, we have separated below the main steps to perform a UX test.
Product Goal
Have at hand or create a summary with the goal of your product how it should be delivered and how it should impact the customer's life?
Testers
Select people who have the profile of your consumer public (the testers). The ideal is that they are people with no personal involvement with the brand, and preferably, that have not yet had an experience with the product.
Test
Follow the testers from the beginning of their navigation on the site, through the purchase, until the moment they are already using it (when it is a service or platform).
Tool
Give preference to automated testing. Robots can perform more accurate tests and in larger quantities, and can arrive at even more reliable results.
What to evaluate in a usability test?
Some points will be evaluated during the test. It is important to note that you can adapt them to the reality of your business. However, these topics are extremely relevant for drawing a conclusion about the usability of your product.
Effectiveness
Consists in concluding whether the customer can make a purchase. In other words, if the button to add the product to the cart does not appear or some step is not working, the site is not effective. It is very important to correct the failure urgently.
Efficiency
This evaluation should consider whether the buying process is fluid, after all, the customer needs to be able to make the purchase easily, intuitively. If we are talking about an online store, for example, the fewer clicks and pages before finalizing the purchase, the better.
Satisfaction
Here we evaluate whether your customer is satisfied with the purchase and how he interacts with the product. Consider whether and purchase was really positive and added to the buyer's life.
Learning
This means evaluating the consumer's learning curve with the purchased product. Whether it is easy to understand, whether it also works intuitively, and whether there is significant variation between users with different degrees of education. It also evaluates whether the productivity of the purchased item changes over time.
Flexibility
This step consists of evaluating different contexts of product use and various browsers, and devices. In this case, the professional responsible for the research will point out if there were discrepancies or specificities in any of the scenarios.
Why do a Usability Test?
This evaluation is the only way to identify flaws in the purchasing process and act on each one. Having an established process and a professional dedicated to analyzing, pointing out, and solving problems is one way to optimize resources and improve the performance of your e-commerce or other service.
The importance of this type of analysis is as great as ensuring that your site will be up 24 hours a day. The better the customer experience, the more likely they are to make a new purchase and refer your brand to others; it means being attractive for a second purchase.
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