In the intangible milieu of enterprise software, brand perception is acutely related to the emotions triggered by the user experience at all touch points. A user will perceive a brand to be superior when engaged in a good user experience.
So, what kinds of emotions are elicited while interacting with software? The negative emotions which are aroused while interacting with software can be anger, disgust or frustration when they stumble due to bugs or complicated task flows in the software. On the contrary, there can be positive emotions like satisfaction when the user finds it easier to perform a task which is also quicker; astonishment when coming across a very innovative feature (the WOW factor); and confidence as the user thinks that whenever they have similar task at hand, they can trust the software to do it for them.
Here are the ingredients to what you call emotionally charged products…
- Engaging, memorable and distinct visual design
- Intuitive, useful and useable interactions
- Innovative features based on user needs and context
- Superior and seamless technology
- Easy installations and deployment
- Great after-sales customer service
Microsoft has well etched guidelines on software branding for Windows Vista.
