Category: General

William-Bronchick

William Bronchick Discusses Private Catering In Inspirery Interview

William-BronchickFor William Bronchick nothing is quite so sweet as repeat business.  Running an even catering business is great, and he gets to show off his unique and delicious dishes for the people of Denver, but event catering also leads to a lot of one time customers. What he loves more than anything is knowing that after catering a wedding for someone, if he does his job the right way, and provides memorable service he’ll probably get called back to cater their anniversary party or even Thanksgiving.

In the Catering business, a lot of the customers come from word of mouth. Nothing makes a better recommendation for Bronchick’s food than knowing that someone has come back time and time again. He prides himself in treating customers right and providing them with a unique experience each time. 

Read more about William Bronchick‘s interview here: http://inspirery.com/william-bronchick

Brian Speier

How to Safely and Quickly Reduce Customer Churn

How UserIQ helps businesses reduce customer churn and recapture valuable customers

If customer churn is an unfamiliar phrase to you and you operate your own business, it may be time to learn more about it. By understanding what it is and how it affects your business, you’ll be better prepared to identify the reasons behind its occurrence. This overview can help you gain a fresh perspective on how to improve your company’s growth.

 

What is a Churn Rate?

If you haven’t already guessed, customer churn isn’t a good thing. In fact, the churn rate is the rate at which your business is losing customers, or subscribers. This rate is more easily measured, where consumers subscribe to a service, rather than buy a product. A drop-in service subscriptions can be measured more efficiently, because the canceling of a subscription is immediately identifiable. By looking at the number of cancellations within a given period, it becomes easier to establish a churn rate.
The customer churn rate is an important concern in the cell phone and internet service industries, because a high churn rate suggests customers are moving service to a competitor. While the churn rate is established only by identifying how many customers terminate service with one company, it’s presumed they are moving their service to another company.

As you might surmise, being able to prevent, or reduce, the customer churn rate means keeping competitors from gaining those customers. For this reason, companies like UserIQ have devoted a great deal of research into the possibility of stopping this type of revolving door.

 

Ways to Eliminate Customer Churn

 

Talk to Your Customers

You should try to find out why customers are terminating their service. While you may not be able to stop that specific customer from leaving, the information you gather can be used to prevent other customers from following. The best way is to speak directly with customers, as they decide to leave your company. A simple telephone call can be enough to help you identify the motives behind the customer’s decision to leave.

Increase Engagement

Your customers will be less likely to flee to a competitor, when they feel they’re regularly getting something extra from your company. The best way to make them feel valued is to engage with them every day and provide useful information about your product. Show them how your products improve work productivity or make their lives easier. Additionally, send out a newsletter that informs your customers about updates, special events, and sales.

Educate Your Customers

Again, offering something valuable for free is the key to keeping your customers dependent upon your company. Post tutorials on your website that will teach useful skills to your customers or offer free webinars. If your customers regularly learn about topics that will benefit them in their lives, they’ll be more loyal. You can also host free demonstrations, so your customers will see those lessons in practice. This process of teaching and demonstrating will turn your business into an invaluable tool.

Reach Out to “At Risk” Customers

These are the customers, who are more reserved and quieter than others. They may not voice their concerns, but it can be a mistake to just assume they are happy. Instead, you should follow up with these customers and learn about their experiences with your products, or services. If they are unhappy and in danger of terminating service, this will be the opportunity to find out about it. In many cases, customers simply want to know their business is important to you. By making a simple inquiry and addressing concerns, you can turn an “at risk” customer into a loyal one.

Boost Customer Service Satisfaction

Recent surveys have found that there are two primary reasons customers discontinue service with a company and both have to do with their interactions with the company’s customer service representatives. Rude, or incompetent, representatives push customers out of the door faster than anything else, but slow results from representatives are equally frustrating. When you focus on creating a more positive customer service experience, you eliminate the primary reasons customers have for taking their business elsewhere.

Making use of an analytical service, such as that which UserIQ provides, can help you identify the reasons for a high churn rate. Once you have a more specific idea of why you’re losing customers, you can implement corrective procedures. By using this information to prevent further losses, you may also create a business model more attractive to other consumers. Working to eliminate churn can also help you grow your customer base.

 

Brian Speier
Chrissy-Weems

4 Tips For Women From Women Entrepreneurs

Women are sometimes stereotyped as individuals who always compared themselves to others. Whether it’s through jealousy, a desire for status or any other internal issue for that matter–women may be stuck in the stigma that they should always beat others in terms of their achievements or their appearance.

However, the recent generation is fast-evolving. Now, women are more inclined to empower others. As women gain more prominent positions in several business industries, there are leaders who want to share their insights on how to succeed in life.

4 Tips For Women From Women Entrepreneurs

Chrissy Weems is one of these women, who has successfully led her jewelry empire Origami Owl. In this post, she will be sharing her 5 insights that could help women succeed in business.

Understand that everybody’s pace is different

You may often find yourself comparing to a friend in social media who got her dream job or business, got married, or started something that’s truly inspiring. Good for them, right? And while you may be tempted to sulk about your own progress, this should not be so.

Remember that everyone develops their own pace. A lot of women, like the current President of Cinnabon named Kat Cole, had her own time and pace before she ranked at the top. This is the same for every woman out there who wishes to succeed. It is not about how fast or how slow you go, it is about the direction that you’re pursuing.

Find the common ground between your passion and the market’s need

Another business advice from Origami Owl CEO Chrissy Weems is the importance of finding the intersection between your passion and the market’s need. When she started her business, she knew that women wanted something sentimental that they can display as a form of jewelry. Women loved symbolic things, and Chrissy loved to make jewelry. She combined her passion to make handmade jewelry and the desire of her market, and this is what made her company successful.

If you pursue just passion without proper research of your market, you may end up failing because of the lack of demand. If you pursue simply out of demand, you may lose interest in your business entirely, and lack the motivation because it simply isn’t your passion. Finding a common ground between passion and need answers to this problem.

Learn from other women

The women who succeed in life and business are not those who already know everything, but those who are willing to learn. The importance of teachability is always highlighted for success in business. This is because entrepreneurship is always evolving, especially at this time where technology is always changing the way industries work.

It is important to read books, listen to podcasts, watch videos, and learn from the women who are already succeeding. By receiving mentorship or getting insights from them, you can understand what works and you can apply these strategies in your own plans.

Find a purpose with your pursuits

To find meaning in your work and your other endeavors, it is important to always merge it with a significant cause in your life. Do you support people with needs? There are ways where you can find fulfillment in what you do because you get to help others who cannot help themselves. A lot of people in this world try to get into business without considering the importance of helping others, and they have always wondered what is that one thing that’s missing.

Being able to find a good purpose with your pursuits motivates you to better yourself whatever occupation you may have.

Women do not need to always compete fiercely to be the best–it’s not about bringing each other down anymore. Women now can truly succeed by helping fellow women, and helping causes which they are advocates of.

Brian Speier
JMD-Furniture

3 Reasons Shopping For Furniture Should Be Done In Person

Whether it be a house, apartment, bedroom or office, a new space is one of the most exciting things that can happen. The change of scenery, meeting new people, the possibilities of new experiences and furniture shopping is a very exciting process. Where do you start? Do you start by furnishing your space with those pieces you see on that online store? Do you take a quick trip down to that JMD Furniture store around the corner? The questions are endless, but furnishing your space is one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. The same way people take their time buying a new car, they shouldn’t rush to furnish their home. Shopping electronically doesn’t grant you the chance of physically testing a piece of furniture like you could at JMD Furniture.

It can seem overwhelming at times, but starting to furnish your space is something that’s fun and reflects your personality. As it is meant to be, enhancing the fun includes the exciting hassle of searching for those “to die for” pieces. Let’s be honest, those who furnish spaces admit that you’re never really done furnishing because it’s fun to decorate. Successfully choosing furniture considers decoration and aesthetics, comfort and building personal relationships with owners and staff of the stores.

Decorating and pleasing aesthetics

JMD-Furniture

A key aspect of furniture shopping is the art of decorating and expression, achieved through physically interacting with the furniture. This allows the decorator to consider size, texture, color and fit among other pieces already existing in the space. Furnishing electronically doesn’t provide the shopper with the privilege to physically match the pieces of furniture to the aesthetic of the space. For example, shopping online risks the furniture not being the exact color or texture you might expect. Imagine the nightmare of receiving a large sofa, to go through the headache of returning it for not meeting your expectations.

Furniture must be comfortable

Another important piece of information to consider when purchasing furniture is the comfort level of the furniture you’ve purchased. Commonly, purchasing pieces like chairs, sofas, couches, dining sets and beds, JMD Furniture founder Dev Joshi allows testing before committing. Understanding all pieces aren’t created equal proves each one chosen by you must match your style, comfort, and overall needs. Many will even go as far as to say between identical models, one tends to be more comfortable than the other. Numerous times the experience of physically testing out products has been the deciding factor between one product over the other.

Build relationships with furniture stores

In the process of furnishing a space, establishing a long-term relationship with staff is an unfortunately underrated move. Creating that personal buyer and seller relationship is one that is only successfully done in person. This relationship allows you to relay your needs to the store staff, to keep you in mind for future stock. They might currently not stock your search, but if stocked or restocked, they can contact you to keep you updated. Store owners have even offered deeper discounts to consumers with established relationships with the company, which is only typically in-store.

Especially when furnishing a new home, it is advised to take the appropriate time to patiently and meticulously furnish the home. Furniture shopping in person is essential to decorating with furniture, testing comfort and building lasting relationships with the furniture stores. An owner like JMD Furniture founder Dev Joshi conveniently provided consumers with options of 7 locations, so there are no excuses.

Brian Speier

What To Know Before Starting An Online Store

 

Chrissy Weems believes that it is really easy to start an online store. If you find someone trying to charge you thousands of dollars to install an eCommerce solution to your online store, walk away from them. The tough parts of the online store are how your website is ranked when performing a search on the internet, getting customers to purchase things after visiting your website and keeping them coming back for more.

We are going to look at five things that Chrissy Weems agrees that you should consider before you start your online store.

Select your system with caution

You should stay away from specialized solutions that are custom made and are built using old-fashioned code. Go for a popular system that is well supported, produces really user-friendly and stunning online shops, and there is a community behind it. To avoid even interacting with a code, use a hosted platform to get a subscription to plans that start from approximately $30 a month e.g Shopify. Alternatively, if you want to have full control over the code of the website, you can use WordPress which also uses popular eCommerce plugins or some dedicated eCommerce solutions.

Optimize repeatedly

A slow loading page means that you are going to lose customers very fast. If you have opted for a hosted solution like Shopify and you experience slow loading pages, there is nothing much you can do; but if you are using a self-hosted system like WordPress, you can optimize the load speed of the page.

Stand Out

If you are not producing your own products, you are most likely using the manufacturer’s product feeds, descriptions and photographs; this is a terrible idea. Your online store will be the same as hundreds of other online stores who get their products from the same manufacturer.

Start off by rewriting the product descriptions and have your own personal touch on them. Take images of the products on your own from different angles.

Be aware of your competitors

This point applies to all websites including the eCommerce websites. Take a keyword you are hoping to establish your website in and search for it. If the results that come up are outdated and not well designed, then you are on a trajectory to success in that niche. Although you have a good stepping stone, you should consider how to be better in case someone else comes into your space.

If you discover that the search results produce sites that are well designed, and they are doing well, you need to come up with a way you can compete with them. What difference will you offer your clients that your competitors are not offering?

Selling is never enough

The option of shopping online is a great fabric that consumers can decide to go to any website anywhere in the world. Unless the price is the competitive factor, your site has to be more than an online shop because it is virtually impossible to set up a shop without any cost and stand out by undercutting. For established customer brands, they can charge premiums for their services because their customer base trusts them and their customers turn to them for their needs.

SEO is key

Bloggers have things somewhat easy. They can develop unique content and it works for them. But when it comes to eCommerce sites, it does not work that way because it is vulnerable to issues of SEO, and most of the online stores struggle after Google add changes in their algorithms. Why is it so?

  • Products that are in different categories create URL’s that are similar; ensure that you use rel-canonical
  • Variants of products like color or size can create new URL’s that have effective duplicate content. Ensure that you canonicalize them to the main page of the product
  • Descriptions of products are usually short which can lead to low-quality page content because there is small content on a page
  • Categories of products span different pages and multiple products

 

Brian Speier

5 User Experience Design Tips for Attorney Websites

A good user design is an important asset to any business website. This is especially true for newly opened attorney websites. As much as possible, we want our website to be updated, mobile-friendly, and have good call-to-action links.
Here are some good benefits of having a website with good user experience:

  • Clients will be easily engaged and will be more interested to contact you. There is less frustration in the format of the website, so they can access your contact information easier.
  • Search engines tend to favor websites with a good user experience. A lot of things they consider is loading time and bounce rate.
  • It will be easier to update your website if you have an organized layout. Websites that are all over the place is not only difficult to the user, but also to the editor.

Depending on your goals, it is important to first plan your website’s content before creating its format. According to Lawyers of Distinction, there are 5 important pillars of user design which are very effective for attorney websites.

5 User Experience Design Tips for Attorney Websites

1. Pick a responsive theme

Responsive theme is defined as any theme that changes its layout depending on the device it is viewed at. Lawyers of Distinction suggests that websites should pick a responsive theme that can change its layout, especially when it is viewed on mobile devices. At present, there are more users who are browsing using their mobile phones more than desktops. Old layouts tend to be unresponsive and would only look organized when viewed on desktop devices. So make sure to update your website’s theme every once in a while to continue its responsive layout.

2. Choose a minimalist layout, but according to your style

Your layout should also be leaning towards a minimalist theme. Minimalist pages take a less amount of time to load, and it will be very helpful to your users if they can access your page even with a slow internet connection. The ultimate goal of your website is to send viewers to be your potential clients by contacting you, so that is more important than creating a fancy-looking website that appears complicated. Minimalist themes can be found in WordPress dashboards, or you can download them by searching for “minimalist CSS layout” on Google.

3. Make your menu visible

More often than not, the first thing that your users will encounter is a blog post from your attorney website. If they don’t see anything relevant to their purpose in your blog, they will find the menu on your website. The menu contains the different sections such as home, about page, contact, testimonials, so on and so forth. This is very crucial for your attorney website because, without it, the viewers won’t be able to find out more about you and your work. What you can do is place your menu items above as your header, or a collapsible item on the side. You can also add additional links at the bottom to improve accessibility.

4. Your homepage should contain the benefits you can offer

One copywriting tip that Lawyers of Distinction suggests is having a solid index or home page. A good home page will lead users to learn more about you or help them find the contact details to reach out to you. The most effective home pages have a clear layout that presents your benefits to the customer. How can you help them? How can they benefit from your business? What gives you the position to help them? These things can be considered by your users so that they can gain trust in you as a professional even without having initial experience with them. Users also appreciate testimonials from other people, so if you can find previous clients who willing to say something about your work, this will also be helpful in your attorney website.

5. Place your hotline as a part of your header

An attorney website is a service-based, non-software business. This means that the second step is to usually call your office, or to email, you personally to ask more information about your rates and services. They can also ask legal counsel about matters that you are knowledgeable about. In this case, it may be easier to cut to the chase and present your more reachable contact information online. You can add your office’s hotline, e-mail, or personal number as a part of your site header. The header is located above all your website’s pages, along with your menu and site title.

It is highly likely that users will opt for your business if you have good content paired with an excellent layout. The principles of good user experience on an attorney website are simple: searchable contact details, easy to navigate, and can define who you are as a business.

Brian Speier

Four Of The Best Courses for Full Stack Developers Who Want to Advance Their Skills

Mark Polelle

Full Stack developer course is one of the most popular web development courses today. It offers web developers a complete knowledge of the entire web development and application training. Web developers who complete the course will be able to work on both the front-end and back-end of a website. If you are interested in this course, here are four of the most popular ones to sign up for.

Web Development Bootcamp

The web development boot camp course is one of the most important courses for people who want to learn full stack development. As a developer, you will be expected to be able to know and build everything, from the interface to the codes that control how the website behave. The development Bootcamp takes you through the basics of HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, JQuery, SemanticUI, etc. Once you have been able to grasp the basics, you’ll also be introduced to topics like authentication, database associations, NodeJS, and PassportJS.

Students who go through the course benefit a lot. They get to learn the topics based on their capacity to assimilate, and tutors ensure that every tiny aspect is broken down. You will also be encouraged to build real-world things, as the course is filled with so many projects. Every part of the web development boot camp course is created to help students grasp their basics and start creating ideas of their own.

Understanding The Weird Part Of JavaScript 

To take part in this course, you would need to understand the basic things about JavaScript. The course is specifically made for people who want to understand JavaScript language to the core. Understanding JavaScript course will help you get all those weird parts of JavaScript right. You also learn about the beauty of the deceptiveness of the language and how you can use it to develop yourself and grow in your career.

The course covers topics like function expressions, scope chains, apply, bind, prototypical inheritance, etc. This course will help you optimize the speed and performance of your application. Sometimes, developers use too much of JQuery that slow down the server and make browsing the website difficult. But expert developers like Mark Polelle, who understand advanced JavaScript use their knowledge to create projects that help server improve requests at a shorter time.

Complete Node.JS Developer Course

This course is created and taught by top-class tutors to teach you how to build Node applications. The course is also project based; which means you will be required to build stuff as you proceed. Some of the topics you will learn under this course include Async programming, MongoDB, Socket.IO, Mongoose, Heroku Development, etc.
Understanding NodeJS to a high level, for complete back-end development, is an advantage for developers who want to go into Full Stack development.

Some of the course benefits include the speed at which it functions. NodeJS uses a single thread that takes care of all the asynchronous I/O operations. NodeJS is present everywhere, runs flexible in the server or browser, is easy on coding, and serves all database queries. The knowledge of NodeJS also increases the effectiveness of web development projects that improve productivity in all angles.

MongoDB – The Complete Developer Guide 

If you are planning to go into non-relational databases, this course is for you. Once you have an understanding of NodeJS and JavaScript, this is the next best thing for you to learn. MongoDB may not be the right thing for every applications/scenario, but it is the most enticing option for top full stack developers like Mark Polelle. Another thing that makes the course a must have is that it connects MongoDB with NodeJS, giving you an opportunity to further brush your NodeJS skills.

The complete developer guide will ensure proper testing. Testing is one of the most critical aspects of learning databases, but most courses only brush the surface. Tutors usually pack the course with exercises that are test-driven, to ensure that students have a complete grasp of how NodeJS and MongoDB work in testing.

The full stack web developer course will improve your chances of getting a better job because of your capacity to work in both the front-end and back-end of a website. The courses are loaded with so much information, and you can do it either in an in-person boot camp or online.

Final Thoughts

Full-stack developers are at the top of the list of most sought-after tech professionals today. Commanding salaries of up to $200,000, it’s definitely a worthwhile career path to consider. Of course, it also takes hard work and the right coursework to get you started.

Brian Speier

Steps to Increase Conversions For Your Furniture Ecommerce Store

An Ecommerce furniture store must consistently increase conversions to remain successful. Unfortunately, many business owners concentrate on other aspects of the site. No matter how much your site is improved, without a solid product page capable of converting customers, the efforts are wasted. Your product page must be informative, highlight the benefits of the furniture, and build trust between your consumers and your business.

The Most Frequently Asked Questions

Your customers will inevitably reach the point where they must decide if they are going to make the purchase. When they walk away, it is often because they still have questions. Including a section for the most commonly asked questions with answers on your product page is an excellent way help your consumer decide to make the purchase. A good way to begin is by reviewing any emails received. Any questions that are asked often should be included on your product page. An excellent site to review is
JMD Furniture.

The Live Chat

Adding a live chat feature will help raise conversions. This provides your customers with the ability to ask their questions, enabling them to make an informed decision. This additionally informs the consumer your business is readily accessible, adding trust to the relationship. Even the visitors that do not use the chat will feel better knowing it is there. When visitors use the feature, they can often be persuaded to make the purchase.

The Product Videos

The hardest part of shopping online is the inability to physically examine the furniture. It is easier to judge the size and quality of the piece at a retail location, and there is only so much that can be portrayed with a photograph. A video enables the consumer to really look at your furniture, see the piece from all angles, and make the decision to buy. A simple video works incredibly well, and audio is not necessary.

The Customer Reviews

When a customer sees your store for the first time and has never heard of your business, they have two common thoughts. The first is if your website is trustworthy, the second is if your site will deliver on their promises. These fears can often be eased when your customers are able to leave reviews. A new visitor can read other customers reviews, and receive reassurance regarding your service and quality. Customer reviews tell new customers you are not hiding anything. The reviews additionally show customers are purchasing your products, and want to share their experience. This is an excellent way to increase your conversion rate. You can also follow up with your customers after their purchase, and let them know you would be interested in an honest review.

The Badges and Seals

If your furniture has been certified or endorsed by a firm with a good reputation, use a badge or seal to inform your customers. Any certifications regarding the quality of your service or furniture should be included right on your product page. The certification can be added to your product description, but it is much more effective as a badge. The seals and badges are a representation of trust, and this can make the difference between a new customer making a purchase, or going to one of your competitors. You may need to receive permission from the firm, but there are badges that do not require permission. This includes high quality or excellent service. These badges can be easily inserted as images into your products page. An excellent example is JMD Furniture.

The Money Back Guarantee

Your customer satisfaction policy, return policy and money back guarantee should be prominently displayed on your products page. If it is hidden on a separate page somewhere, your customers and not going to know it is there. Show your customers your furniture is the best with pride. This will give your customers confidence in your Ecommerce store, earn their trust, and help you make the sale.

The Testing

The same things will not work for every store. What works best depends on what you are offering your customers, the quality of the service you provide, and the types of consumers who are visiting your site. You must remember every customer is different, and begin testing your ideas for your store. After enough time has passed, evaluate your results. This is the best way to be certain of what is working, and what is not. Sometimes a small change will improve your conversions more than doing something on a grand scale. The idea is to keep the changes having the most significant impact on your conversions.

Brian Speier

5 Best Marketing Campaigns in 2017

When it comes to selling a product, one of the most important aspects of the overall business plan has to do with marketing. This is because a solid marketing strategy ensures that some of the following important questions will be answered:

  • Who is the targetted audience?
  • Is the goal sales-oriented or customer retention-oriented?
  • Where will the targeted demographic find the advertisements?
  • How will this contribute to the brand awareness?

One does not have to be an expert like Whitney Blodgett, for example, to know that if a company does not have answers to basic questions like these, their sales are going to suffer. So, what were some of the most impressive marketing campaigns in 2017?

1. IKEA App

Combining innovation with old-fashioned furniture shopping can be a risky idea. This is because the outcome will either be an inevitable nightmare or a great success. For IKEA, it was the latter. The popular company implemented a new smartphone app that enables users to see what furniture would look like if it was inside of the customer’s home. People loved the idea as it saves them the time that they would have to spend by going to the store and looking for something, making sure it matches the measurements, and potentially getting it test delivered.

2. Heineken Advertisement

By highlighting political issues that are trending, Heineken achieved something that does not happen too often. This beverage company matched individuals with opposing views on issues like climate change and feminism, and then had them discuss innocent questions that eventually led to more serious matters. This helped set their differences apart while they were constructing a bar. Ultimately, both parties got to see the pre-recorded video of the other person’s beliefs. Nevertheless, they maintained an open mind while drinking Heineken!

3. Cheerios – Charitable Contributions

Although behind the scene endeavors are mostly handled by people with extensive expertise in marketing like Whitney Blodgett, there are many things that even newcomers would appreciate. This campaign by the cereal company is one of those. Cheerios organized a campaign where they donated 10 meals every time somebody would use hashtag “goodgoesaround” under a video of them drawing the letter “O”. The ultimate product was an inevitable spike in brand awareness as well as more than 1 million meals donated.

4. Nike – Marathon

In order to promote their running shoes, Nike had to do something impactful since there are many companies that have been taking over this market. To this end, the German producer did an advertisement that showcases athletes they sponsor running a 2-hour marathon. This achievement in itself is extraordinary as the median time is more than twice that. Nike, of course, equipped the runners with the latest shoes that undoubtedly contributed to such as an impressive result. As far as the marketing outcome goes, the campaign generated nearly 100,000 social media mentions within a few days!

5. Mazda – Safety

In order to raise awareness about the issue of “scrolling and driving” as Mazda labels it, this auto manufacturer created an advertisement that addresses the matter. People who have a bad habit of using their phones for social media apps while driving were targeted. The video demonstrates an iPhone that is showcasing a Facebook page. As someone is scrolling through it, a Mazda vehicle suddenly comes across the screen accompanied by a loud sound of breaks. This was meant to serve as a warning to drivers who are endangering other with their distractions and it was well perceived by the public.

There were many more successful campaigns such as McDonald’s Search It, Spotify’s dark funeral-related endeavor, Bacardi’s short video, and more. All of these used strategies that combine creativity with thorough research of the market. The ultimate product was an increased value of the brand as well as a spike in sales!

Brian Speier

Brian Speier Freeport on How to Use Machine Learning to Improve UX

Your customers, aka your users, matter most. They keep your company afloat. Your online offerings and their online experience provide major keys to your success. You can use machine learning, also known as artificial intelligence, to improve the user experience (UX). Here’s how.

Cookies
The ubiquitous cookie provides a powerful data gathering tool. You can set up your web site to place a cookie on every visitor’s computer, so long as they allow their browser to accept them. A cookie gathers information as they visit. A tracking cookie maps their Internet activity after they leave your site providing information into their visits to your competitors or shopping activity on unrelated retail sites. The cookie transmits data to you. Collectively, it provides you big data to crunch to build a better website for all. Separately, it lets you recognize the user when they return to your website and cater to their likes based upon their last visit.

Website Source Code
Your website can now contain much more than simple markup language to present information. What began with HTML expanded as computer scientists developed that code to integrate other languages. Languages like CSS provide the beautiful pages users want to navigate, while more powerful languages like JavaScript, PHP and the .ASP architecture enabled complex code and virtual applications to serve the user from a website. Your business can harness these algorithms to improve user experience and combine them with cookie data for more powerful knowledge acquisition.

Internal algorithms use two methods:

  • supervised learning,
  • unsupervised learning.

Supervised learning utilizes a limited data set to begin – a user’s initial visit. The algorithm trains itself on that data and uses it to react to future visits.

Future visits provide further opportunities to collect and integrate new data. Enter unsupervised learning. It lets you add to data. It uses algorithms to analyze user behavior patterns. It combines past choices with the current visit to predict future visit behavior.

Big Data
What was once the darling of data crunching at the NSF and NASA now helps businesses better cater to customers. What once required super computers can now be accomplished in the cloud. The collected data from all users, once analyzed, provides insight into user website preferences. Coupled with data from surveys which tells the web designer what they’re doing wrong in the design, this provides design information to improve the UX.

Machine learning helps your business improve its web design and any apps it develops. Using cookies, integrated algorithms and big data, you can improve the UX incrementally each time a user visits.

Brian Speier