LiSeven Marketing & Communications

attitudes and purchase intentions. Additionally, I will explore a design guide that offers recommendations on how and when to effectively incorporate each experience dimension using these design elements. The comprehensive insights presented in this marketing journal, titled “Creating Effective Online Customer Experiences” authored by Bleier, Harmeling, and Palmatier (2019), serve as the foundation for this discussion. The model below illustrates all the elements to be analyzed in the paper.

I. Design elements:

These design elements provide the building material for any given page. Without thorough consideration of these elements, your website will get a high chance of getting low return rates (i.e. low visits, low interactions, high bounce rate, low conversion rate, and so on).

Verbal elements:

1. Linguistic style: verbal content or characteristics of the text – including word choice and use of questions, certain pronouns (you, your), and adjectives. In this paper, the author tests two linguistic style: level 1 – journalistic tone (few or no adjectives, no self-relevant words such as “you, or “your”, no questions, and no exclamation points) and level 2 – conversational tone (more engaging descriptions with adjectives, self-relevant words, words that imply immediate gratification such as “fast”, “instant”, “quickly”, and self-reflective questions, e.g. “Would you want to enjoy a luxury vacation with the most affordable expense?”

Conversational tone vs. Journalistic tone (credit: Duolingo.com and https://www.rbcroyalbank.com/)

2.Descriptive detail: product descriptions on a web page. Providing more attribute information generally increases product evaluations and purchase likelihood (Cooke et al., 2002).

3.The number of bulleted features: indicates how many product features appear in an abbreviated list at the top of the web page. Interestingly, three positive claims about the product are considered the peak of sufficiency, the maximum number of claims to minimize skepticism and maximize positive impression (Shu et al., 2014).

4.Return policy information: refers to the information about the terms by which customers may return the product.

Visual elements:

5. Feature crops: zoom in on a key product feature that would otherwise not be visible.

6. Lifestyle photos: showcase images that depict people using or living with the product/service in a regular setting (i.e. human interaction with the product).

7. Photo size: Park et al. (2005) contends that larger product images can increase purchase intentions

8. Product video: demonstrates the product and its key features. Video with human voice-over can influence perceptions of social presence and sensory appeal (Roggeveen et al., 2015). In a study on the effect of dynamic presentation format on consumer preferences on hedonic products, Roggeveen et al (2015) state that a dynamic presentation (i.e. video clip, verbal imagery instructions) leads customers to prefer and value more highly the hedonically superior option (i.e. the more premium option) and become less price-sensitive (Roggeveen et al., 2015). The research also suggests that hedonic products (e.g. designer clothes, jewelry, cosmetics) and services (e.g. luxury hotels, spas, restaurants) will catch more attention and drive selection when they are showcased in dynamic images/clips (Roggeveen et al., 2015).

Mixed elements:

9. Customer star ratings: are the collection of user-generated product ratings, with a series of stars, and next to the total number of reviews (Chevalier & Mayzlin, 2006). In a study about the effect of online book reviews on sales, the authors find that (1) an improvement in a book’s reviews leads to an increase in relative sales, (2) the impact of on-star reviews is greater than the impact of five-star reviews and (3) customers read review text rather than relying only on summary statistics (Chevalier & Mayzlin, 2006).

10. Expert endorsement: are product evaluations offered by distinguished experts in the category and generally including graphic depiction (e.g. a seal) (Ansari et al, 2000)

11. Comparison matrix: assists shoppers in making in-depth comparisons among the focal products and other products from the same category on multiple characteristics.

12. Recommendation agents: assist consumers in initial screening of the alternatives that are available in an online store, based on information provided by the shopper regarding his/her own preference (Häubl & Trifts, 2000).

13. Content filter: such as “show more” buttons, allows customers to dictate what, when, and how much verbal and visual content appears on the web page.

The below image showcases an example of product webpage that includes all 13 design elements

II. Design guide:

At this stage, you may have a clear understanding of all design elements. You may wonder “How do these elements affect different experience dimensions?”. I hope that you may find the answers in the next part. The authors call this image the “design guide” as it serves as a blueprint of how to evoke each of experience by focusing on a few key design elements. In my opinion, there is no strict rule that you should only have only one online experience on your website. However, based on the characteristic of your product/services, you can pick a prominent theme for your website.

Design guide for creating effective online customer experience

A. Informative Experiences:

If your website sells professional/specialized products/services, you should focus on Informative Experience. Especially when you’re a well-trusted brand, informative experience enhances the credibility of your products and thus helps convert sales better. Examples of informative-experience websites are: Apple (high-end electronics), Moz (SEO toolset), Amazon (e-commerce), Canva (online graphic design platform).

Importantly, you should focus on these 4 key design elements in order to build an effective informative experience: descriptive detail, bulleted features, comparison matrix, and recommendation agent (see detail in the design guide image)

B. Entertaining Experiences:

Creating online entertaining experience makes viewers pleasured and thus has a persuasive impact on less trust-worthy brands. In this study, the author could not find any particular elements that have the strongest effect on this type of experience. I feel that the extertaining experience is quite mixed up with social and/or sensory appeal, meaning that you can still make viewers entertained when you improve any other two experiences.

C. Social Experiences:

Undoubtedly, this type of experience is especially effective for experiential products/services compared with search products. Linguistic style and lifestyle pictures have the strongest impact on boosting this experience (respectively 139 % and 134% more effective in shaping it than the other dimensions).

Examples of enhanced social-experience websites are: Ikea (furniture retail), Wistia (Video marketing), Fiverr (freelancer design), BMO (bank)

D. Sensory appeal: this type of experience also works effectively with more hedonically experiential products/services. To me, marketers should focus on this experience when selling more unique and high-end products, especially when they choose to pursue the differentiation marketing strategy. To evoke sensory feelings, product videos with dynamic footage and product feature crop are the must-have elements.

Examples of sensory appeal websites are: Nike (sportwear retailer), Dior (high-end fashion company), Royal Caribbean (cruise line vacation)

After gaining insights into customers’ online experiences and understanding key design elements, you now have a solid foundation for constructing your ideal website. While this information is not an exhaustive guide, it will broaden your knowledge of website development from a design perspective. It provides an academic background that can guide you in making informed decisions about where to invest your resources and what aspects of building an effective digital platform should take priority.

Thank you for reading this article. Wish you a wonderful day!

Reference list:

Ansari, A., Essegaier, S., & Kohli, R. (2000). Internet Recommendation Systems. Journal of Marketing Research, 37(3), 363–375. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.37.3.363.18779

Bleier, A., Harmeling, C. M., & Palmatier, R. W. (2019). Creating effective online customer experiences. Journal of marketing, 83(2), 98-119. Downloadable link.

Chevalier, J. A., & Mayzlin, D. (2006). The effect of word of mouth on sales: online book reviews. Journal of Marketing Research, 43(3), 345–354. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.43.3.345

Häubl Gerald, & Trifts, V. (2000). Consumer decision making in online shopping environments: the effects of interactive decision aids. Marketing Science, 19(1), 4–21. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.19.1.4.15178

Park, J., Lennon, S. J., & Stoel, L. (2005). On‐line product presentation: Effects on mood, perceived risk, and purchase intention. Psychology & Marketing, 22(9), 695-719. Downloadable link.

Roggeveen, A. L., Grewal, D., Townsend, C., & Krishnan, R. (2015). The impact of dynamic presentation format on consumer preferences for hedonic products and services. Journal of Marketing, 79(6), 34–49. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.13.0521

Shu, S. B., & Carlson, K. A. (2014). When three charms but four alarms: identifying the optimal number of claims in persuasion settings. Journal of Marketing, 78(1), 127–139. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.11.0504