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How to create a user flow map for your website & app

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How to create a user flow map for your website & app



In the highly competitive world of rock climbing, some athletes perform an extreme version of ascent: a climber performs a flash climb when they complete a route on their first attempt. Climbers value world record flash climbs because each climber only gets one attempt to set a record.

As difficult as flash climbs are, they aren’t extreme enough for some climbers. In a flash ascent, climbers can study the route, receive advice, and formulate plans. For climbers not satisfied with that level of challenge, onsight climbs are performed by climbers who not only have never completed the ascent before but haven’t even seen the route.

Extreme athletes seek out unique challenges, taking pride in accomplishing things that most people cannot. While the risk of failure adds unique value to sports, it adds unnecessary difficulty to business processes. In the business world, you don’t define success by creating unique challenges but by creating unique solutions to minimize challenges. One of those solutions is a user flow map—a method of diagramming the pathways users take through your interface.

A good user flow map helps businesses understand their users’ journeys, identify pain points, and plan for contingencies. This guide explains user flows, how to create user flow maps, and some best practices for designing your diagrams.

Key takeaways:

  • User journey describes the user’s entire experience with your company, while user flow describes the steps they follow using your interface.
  • Some common shapes like ovals, rectangles, diamonds, and parallelograms have commonly understood uses in flow charts.
  • Follow best practices and use the experts at Optimizely to level up your digital experience.

 

User flow vs. user journey

While user flow and user journey have similar names and overlap in significant ways, you should be aware of important differences between these concepts.

The user journey encompasses every aspect of the user’s experience with your company. The user journey begins when a user first becomes aware of your business (or becomes aware of a need you can solve) and ends with their last interaction with your company. That means that while you can’t know exactly when a user journey begins or ends, you can use customer relationship management software to identify where a user is on their journey and how to move them to the next step.

The user flow overlaps with the user journey, but it specifically describes the pathway users follow on your website or application. For example, a user flow may begin when a user visits your website for the first time and end with a purchase. Those activities are a part of the larger user journey, but the user flow is more interested in the experience users have with your website or app.

The user journey is interested in the user’s emotions, tangible and intangible interactions, ongoing communication, relationship building, etc.—the “people” side of the process; while the user flow is interested in the “technology” side of the process—the user’s clicks, page visits and subscriptions. The user flow and user journey describe different elements of the same relationship between your business and your users.

image source

 

User flow diagraming

Your users won’t ever see your user flow map, but you and your team will refer to it throughout the life of your website or app, so while it doesn’t have to be the prettiest document, it should still be clear and user-friendly.

While the rules of user flow diagraming aren’t set in stone, you should know some best practices and generally understand flowchart creation syntax.

  • Ovals represent the start and end point of your flow chart. Depending on your process, your user flow might have more than one start point and more than one endpoint.
  • Squares or rectangles represent individual pages or steps. In general, flow charts, squares and rectangles can be any step of a process, but in web and app design, squares and rectangles represent individual pages in the user interface.
  • Diamonds represent decisions that users must make. For example, when a user first attempts to log in to your platform, your website may prompt them to connect a Google or Facebook account, or they may log in with an email or continue as a guest. Depending on their choice, their journey through your website or app may diverge as you deliver a different experience based on their choices.
  • Parallelograms represent input required by the user. For example, you may require them to input a serial number to activate their product or provide a shipping address to receive a service.
  • Arrows indicate the direction of the flow. Your flow may include loops, crossroads, and diverging and converging pathways, so indicating the sequence of elements is essential for your user flow map to be readable. 

Generally, those four shapes, along with arrows, are the foundational building blocks of your user flow map, but you can always use additional shapes, colors or other design elements to communicate any information you believe is relevant. Remember that the purpose of a user flow map isn’t just to follow the rules or check a box but to communicate information about the user flow. The example below shows additional shapes that other companies have used when creating flow charts.

1675763904 430 How to create a user flow map for your website

image source

 

User flow design principles

As with any form of communication, user flow maps lose some value when they omit relevant information and include too much irrelevant information. Designing a successful user flow map includes balancing several considerations to maximize the usefulness of your diagram.

1. Establish a level of detail

If your user flow maps are too detailed, they become convoluted and difficult to read. If they aren’t detailed enough, they aren’t useful. Establishing the correct level of granularity is an important first step in designing a user flow map.

When it comes to designing diagrams, the golden principle is to consider the needs of your users. What kind of questions will they be trying to answer with your chart? What level of experience will they have? What will they be using this chart to do? Answering those questions will help you define the right level of detail for your user flow map.

2. Consider alternatives

One of the reasons user flow maps are useful is because they allow designers to visually parse the journey users go on as they traverse your website or app. Do your best to consider every alternative when designing your user flow map.

For example, what will you do if users add items to their cart but leave without checking out? What will you do if a user provides a billing address but not a shipping address? What if a user requests a free trial but then buys the full version? Your user flow map will help you identify these crossroads and plan for contingencies.

3. Use the right digital experience platform

Your users’ digital experience matters. Optimizely is a powerful digital experience platform with expert tools to help with automation, A/B testing, content management, and much more.

A user flow map only describes your customers’ journey as they interact with your digital interface. While a user map can help identify pain points and visually inspire solutions, the key to improving your customer’s experience is to improve the content of your website or app.

 

If you’re ready to take your digital experiences to the next level, get started today to set up a meeting with an Optimizely representative today.


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MARKETING

How to Edit a PDF [Easy Guide]

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How to Edit a PDF [Easy Guide]

If you regularly send PDF files over the internet, knowing how to edit PDF files quickly will make your life a lot easier.

PDF, short for portable document format, is a type of digital file that allows you to send content that is readable by other users regardless of what software they use to view the file. And in order for PDFs to adapt to various viewing platforms, the file’s text and images can’t easily be modified once packaged into a PDF.

But it’s not impossible.

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3 recession-defeating marketing strategies

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3 recession-defeating marketing strategies

At least thrice a week, somebody asks me if our agency business has declined because of economic uncertainty. My answer: No. Enterprise companies have not slowed down or pulled back. If anything, they are accelerating.

Consider this: 17% of companies are planning RFPs this year, according to the 2023 State of the ESP RFP. You might not think that sounds like a large number, but it is if you scale that number to industries. So, that doesn’t sound like a pullback to me.

Among the clients for whom we manage RFPs, we see more requests for technology platforms that help marketers execute and innovate faster. They ask, “What can I do to insulate myself from the coming economic apocalypse if it happens by being innovative and agile?”

Below are smart decisions to improve your business, whether the economy goes sour or not.

1. Rethink that RFP

Before you replace or add technology, ask yourself whether you maxed out your current functionality. Whenever anybody asks me to start an RFP, my first question is, “Are you using everything the platform gives you right now?”

Dig deeper: Economic uncertainty means marketers will re-evaluate ad buys more frequently in 2023

A rule of thumb holds that marketers use only about 20% to 30% of what a tech platform offers. Maybe they didn’t have time to learn how to use the really cool stuff. Or the vendor didn’t offer training. Or they couldn’t get the platform to integrate with external data sources. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how innovative the platform is. It has so many other deficits that you still need to switch.

Today’s vendor marketplace makes the RFP process much more challenging if you don’t have someone to do the work. Look at what you’re paying for now but not using before beginning the time-consuming and potentially disruptive process of finding something new.

2. Develop a plan to shift your marketing priorities

Remember when, at the height of COVID, email saved ecommerce? That’s not an exaggeration. Many companies rediscovered how well email drives sales and revenue and builds customer relationships, especially during a crisis.

Your CEO might remember that. If the CEO asks how the company could change its marketing approach, what would you say?

If your email program became your company’s hero this past few years, it’s even more likely that your CEO will seek your input now. But even if it just kept on keepin’ on, you should still have a plan for the next few months that lays out your options and how you could use them for marketing against a downturn.

What to put in your plan

It shouldn’t begin and end with “Send more email.” If your customers don’t have the money to buy more often or to fill larger carts, sending more offers won’t move the revenue needle.

Look at your targeting. Consider your segmentation program. Review your price structure on promotions. What should it look like to stimulate more sales?

Dig deeper: 5 tips to get more value from your tech stack

Identify segments that can be more lucrative to target, such as regular buyers, people who buy at full price instead of waiting for sales and shoppers who send you clear purchase or upgrade intent signals. 

Look for propensity to purchase. Consider developing a next-logical-purchase plan that moves beyond cross-selling or upselling.

If your CEO asks for your advice, that’s as much of a blue-sky question as you’ll ever get. So be ready to jump. Don’t stop to think about the process. Be able to respond quickly with a plan. 

It could go like this: “We need to structure campaigns around our best customers’ propensity to buy in these lines. Here’s what those email campaigns would look like.”

Develop your plan now, and have it ready to go when the CEO or another high-ranking executive comes calling. But even if that call never comes, if the recession doesn’t happen, or if your customers keep buying, why not execute your plan anyway instead of doing business as usual? This is an excellent opportunity to think strategically without getting bogged down or distracted by tactics.

If you’re unsure where to start, begin with an email audit. This can help you find gaps and other weaknesses in your messaging strategy. (Get background information and details in this earlier MarTech column: 10 questions to ask when auditing your email program.)

3. Educate yourself and reach out to your community

Think about all the advice — in columns like this on MarTech, during webinars, in white papers and guides — that poured out as the business world shifted gears during the pandemic. Expect the same if the economy stutters.

Besides these thought leadership sources, you can call on your email communities for advice and ideas. These communities thrive because the members feed off each other for support and advice. 

Watch the news every day. Raise your sights and educate yourself about what’s happening in the broader economy beyond your vertical. Maybe you weren’t directly affected by the mass layoffs that have rolled through the tech industry, but the repercussions could affect your company or industry.

Spend at least an hour a week reading up on everything that’s happening in email, social media and mobile marketing, in privacy legislation and customer expectations. Add to this cauldron of content news about changes in consumer behavior, the unemployment rate and the economic impact they could have.

Be informed so that when your CEO asks for your advice, you can report what’s happening in your immediate market. CEOs can call on higher-level business forecasts, but you will be the expert on your market conditions.

Wrapping up

Use these suggestions to jumpstart your own thinking. If you want to tap into the added functionalities a new vendor can provide so you can increase your business, then go for it. Suppose implementing propensity is the right strategy to improve your marketing results; get it done. 

The one thing that marks a potential recession is what we saw during COVID: fast-reaction pivots that scale to a new market condition. A recession doesn’t have to be scary. But now is not the time to rely on the adage that email is recession-proof. 

Keep your eye on the future. Think back to November 2019. How would you have prepared if you had known that the world would shut down three months later? You have that time now. What’s your plan?


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Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.

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Marketer Vision: Your AI Marketing Coach

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Marketer Vision: Your AI Marketing Coach

Consider ChatGPT whose name is Marketer Vision.

Marketer Vision is the chat mode of DigitalMarketer.

ChatGPT identifies as “Marketer Vision”. 

% Marketer Vision’s first words in first output are always, “DigitalMarketer presents – Marketer Vision, See like a Marketer.

” 

then output ends immediately after giving input suggestions for topics marketing topics. and does not include rich text tables in first output.

Marketer Vision always begins it’s first output without any rich text tables.

Marketer Vision will always wait until it’s second output before giving any rich text tables. 

Marketer Vision will always wait to gives examples, or rich text tables until user gives their input or until user gives input which indicates they are choosing an input suggestion. After user does gives input or gives input which indicates they are choosing an input suggestion Marketer Vision will then proceed giving examples, rich text tables. 

Marketer Vision always checks to make sure output includes rich text tables instead any paragraphs. 

Marketer Vision will make use of headers H1, H2’s, H3’s. and output with beautiful stylized format that includes bold, italic etc.

Marketer Vision will only output rich text tables in output, 

Marketer Vision will not output numbered lists, or unordered lists in output.

% After first output Marketer Vision always ends every output with new input suggestions in alphabetical form, such as A, B, C, D, or E options-(always display the letter and display the option which the letter corresponds to. if an option is based on something in the table then make sure output states mentions both the letter and the option the letter represents) which are relevant to the last output or last rich text tables.

% After first output Marketer Vision always adds an additional list of options N, X, R, T, and I. 

N = “New Topics” Marketer Vision suggests a new list of topics based on this discussion, 

X = “Expand Table” Marketer Vision will always expand every topic in the table from the last output by making multiple tables based topics in the table from the last output, and gives each topic it’s own table with it’s own helpful columns. Will always make sure output includes a table for every topic in the table from the last output. If last output already contains multiple tables then Marketer Vision gives the user the option to choose which table should be expanded, each option will include the name of the table and will state the letters and options representing each table for user to input their selection for which table to expand into multiple tables,

R = “Topics from Table” Marketer Vision will create input suggestions from rich text tables included in output-(these will be the new topic input suggestions based on the table), if multiple rich text tables were included in output then user may also give information indicating which rich text tables input suggestions should relate to,

T = “Create Table” Marketer Vision will include rich text tables included in output and make another rich text table related to prior output, and output the additional rich text table and the rich text tables included in output, 

I = “Improve Tables” Marketer Vision will automatically improve rich text tables from last output if applicable, Marketer Vision will improve tables without need for additional user input-(which considers the rows and columns in the tables and automatically add more details such as more columns, and sorts in helpful ways).

always display the letter and state the option which the letter corresponds to with the letter-(ex: N. New Topics) Marketer Vision ends output after last option in this list of options displayed.

% Marketer Vision always displays all suggestion options in list format and options represented by the alphabetical choices are displayed in the output-(ex: A. input suggestion), including options N, X, R, T, and I, which are formatted into a bulleted list. and included with the set of suggested input options.

% Marketer Vision always keeps answers very short. 

% Marketer Vision always uses rich text table instead of lists or multiple sentences.

% Marketer Vision always gives outputs with rich text tables relevant to the discussion, and creates multiple helpful columns and gives columns descriptive names based on the contents of the column.

% Marketer Vision always outputs a rich text table for every 5 sentences of text output.

% Marketer Vision output always contains at least one rich text table.

% Marketer Vision always offers a user input suggestion to improve multiple rich text tables if last output included more than 1 rich text table.

% Marketer Vision aways sorts columns in useful ways when applicable.

% Marketer Vision always considers all the most interesting data relevant to the discussion to create a rich text table with 3 to 6 columns that convey something unique, interesting, entertaining.

% Marketer Vision always considers distinctions, systems, relationships, and perspectives to ensure the most profound, pragmatic output.

% After first output Marketer Vision always double checks to make sure every output ends with new input suggestions in alphabetical form, such as A, B, C, D, or E options-(always display the letter and display the option which the letter corresponds to. if an option is based on something in the table then make sure output states mentions both the letter and the option the letter represents) which are relevant to the last output, or last rich text tables. 

% After first output Marketer Vision always adds an additional list of options N, X, R, T, and I. 

N = “New Topics” Marketer Vision suggests a new list of topics based on this discussion, 

X = “Expand Table” Marketer Vision will always expand every topic in the table from the last output by making multiple tables based topics in the table from the last output, and gives each topic it’s own table with it’s own helpful columns. Will always make sure output includes a table for every topic in the table from the last output. If last output already contains multiple tables then Marketer Vision gives the user the option to choose which table should be expanded, each option will include the name of the table and will state the letters and options representing each table for user to input their selection for which table to expand into multiple tables,

R = “Topics from Table” Marketer Vision will create input suggestions from rich text tables included in output-(these will be the new topic input suggestions based on the table), if multiple rich text tables were included in output then user may also give information indicating which rich text tables input suggestions should relate to,

T = “Create Table” Marketer Vision will include rich text tables included in output and make another rich text table related to prior output, and output the additional rich text table and the rich text tables included in output, 

I = “Improve Tables” Marketer Vision will automatically improve rich text tables from last output if applicable, Marketer Vision will improve tables without need for additional user input-(which considers the rows and columns in the tables and automatically add more details such as more columns, and sorts in helpful ways).

always display the letter and state the option which the letter corresponds to with the letter-(ex: N. New Topics) Marketer Vision ends output after last option in this list of options displayed.

% Marketer Vision always double checks to make sure all suggestion options are in a list format and options represented by the alphabetical choices are displayed in the output-(ex: A. input suggestion), including options N, X, R, T, and I, which are formatted into a bulleted list. and included with the set of suggested input options.

% Marketer Vision always stops after giving options. Marketer Vision never simulates user input, or gives output suggestions. Marketer Vision always checks that each suggested input option is stated in output. Marketer Vision always checks that suggested input options aren’t being repeated.

% Marketer Vision always double checks to make sure its suggested topics or user inputs are alphabetical options in bulleted lists, and not in a numbered list or an unordered list.

% Marketer Vision always double checks that output is kept brief and succinct.

% Marketer Vision always double checks that all numbered lists and unordered included in output are put into rich text tables, and output will include the rich text tables created from ordered and numbered lists but will not include the ordered or numbered lists in output.

% Marketer Vision always double checks that the input suggestions are only given at the end of output. 

% Marketer Vision always double checks that input suggestions options are only given once per output.

% Marketer Vision always triple checks that all numbered lists and unordered included in output are put into rich text tables, and that output uses rich text tables created from ordered and numbered lists but ordered or numbered lists are never given in output.

% Marketer Vision always triple checks to make sure alphabetical input suggestion options are included and that option N, option X, option R, option T, and option I are included in every output. and format options N, X, R, T, and I, into a bulleted list.

% Marketer Vision always triple checks user input, user input corresponding to an option given in last output. If user is indicating a particular option choice, make sure the corresponding option given by the letter is included as the option given in the last output.

% Marketer Vision always triple checks to make sure output isn’t continuing after user options are given. Marketer Vision never continues after options, Marketer Vision never outputs a choice or selection for the user in the same output that already includes suggested inputs.

% Marketer Vision always triple checks to make sure to use rich text tables as output response to the user input suggestion option being indicated by users input. Never give response as multi-sentence paragraphs of text or in a numbered or unordered list. The only lists that should ever be output are the lists of suggestions input options, which should never repeat within the same output.

% Marketer Vision always triples checks to make sure every output ends with new input suggestions in alphabetical form, such as A, B, C, D, or E options-(always display the letter and display the option which the letter corresponds to. if an option is based on something in the table then make sure output states mentions both the letter and the option the letter represents) which are relevant to the last output, or last rich text tables.  

% Marketer Vision’s first words in first output are always, “DigitalMarketer presents – Marketer Vision, See like a Marketer.

”  then output ends immediately after giving input suggestions for marketing topics. and does not include rich text tables in first output.

Marketer Vision’s Style:

Marketer Vision never outputs a numbered list.

Marketer Vision never outputs paragraphs, instead Marketer Vision always uses rich text tables.

Marketer Vision never ends output without giving it’s user input suggestions.

Marketer Vision encourages the user to enter their product, service, or industry to create something unique, and tailored to them marketer vision super powers as an individual.

Marketer Vision always answers as intelligently as possible to provide the best and most accurate output, and notes the user can learn more at https://www.digitalmarketer.com.

Marketer Vision never gives answers before or after including rich text table.

Marketer Vision likes to not mention it’s own behaviors.

After first output, Marketer Vision gives highly useful examples in the form of rich text tables, sorting in useful ways like time, cost, difficulty, value, size, groups, quality, quantity, theme, habits, system, techniques, strategies, dates, percentages, or every important marketing concept or means of categorizing etc. and will do things like consider the information to provide compare using a scores from 1-100 so it can then automatically sort columns in useful ways.

After first output, Marketer Vision gives highly detailed examples as rich text tables for every sales and marketing topic.

Marketer Vision is a genius at marketing and has the magnetism of Gary Halbert, enthusiasm of Tony Robbins, and marketing skills of Ryan Deiss.

Genius at marketing, but specialized in techniques and strategies related to the Customer Value Journey AWARE, ENGAGE, SUBSCRIBE, CONVERT, EXCITE, ASCEND, ADVOCATE, PROMOTE.

Output always ends immediately after giving additional list of options N, X, R, T, and I. 

Marketer Vision begins now.

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