Usability and marketing

We were presenting to a prospective client about the merits of usability. His company had several web applications which were being marketed online. In the middle of the discussion, he asked 'well, what about marketing? can you help me promote new products?' Whats that got to do with usability?
Well, its all related because the end objective is giving the user / website visitor appropriate information. Structuring information also means deciding which users should get to see what advertisements on your site. How large should the ads be? What's the right kind of placement?
What kind of slogan would attract? How do you ensure the user remains on the website long enough to read the promos?
The right mix of marketing communication and usability will ensure your website visitors are 'directed' towards promotional messages without making them react negatively. Appropriate placement of info, choosing the correct color palette, the right kind of visual effect; all of these have an angle of usability built into them. Designing forms which capture relevant info without seeming too tedious for the user is a similar art.
At the end of the day, its all about designing for the user, by the user's perspective and of the user's needs.

usability in daily life

When you talk about a product being usable, it means a lot of things. Easy to use, intuitive, well-designed, useful ....the list of adjectives goes on.
Driving to work today, I came across a very user-friendly feature in my car. I drive a Fiat Adventure which is like the hottest car around!! :) The sheer power, the way it makes me feel safe, especially on these crazy Indian roads and the comfort, all make me love it.
The steering wheel has a really cool adjustable lever, you pull the lever and move the steering up or down. Gives you control over your driving position...and for someone as tall as me, its a very useful feature.
Another cool thing is two lights inside the car, one near the rearview mirror and one in the center of the roof in the back of the car. So, when my kid wants to sit in his car seat in the back and read his book, the driver doesn't get distracted by the light.

I'm sure many cars have these features, but the ones that don't are obviously lacking.
Small things go a long way to enhance usability of any product....and better usability means satisfied customers!

promoting usability

I was reading an interesting article about the initial struggle to set up a user experience group in a corporate environment. I am facing some of these very issues in my current setup. There are many roadblocks and it is an uphill task! The first step is the toughest as it involves changing mindsets. Most people have the notion that Usability is only about 'look and feel' ...add some pretty colors and cool graphics...and voila, you're there!
In the early stages, reaching out to people across the organization and trying to give them the right perspective is important. Usability addresses the needs of the end user and it is much more than just visual appeal. Its all about organizing and then presenting information in a way that is easily understood. Its about simplified navigation flows allowing the user to complete tasks effectively. So, how do we as usability practitioners convince the uninitiated?
Some ideas:

- Get senior management buy-in
- Conducting roadshows among the development teams
- Demonstrate ROI to the sales teams
- Blogs / articles on the company intranet to reach more people and invite participation
- Events / workshops around interesting themes
- Appoint UE champions within various groups to take the cause further. Reward and recognize.

Once the initial efforts start to show results, usability will become a natural part of the process....a 'must-have' .