If you have a downloaded user guide to use your relatively straightforward platform, something’s not working properly.
Jerome Tam is the Founder and Director of Rush Hour Digital, a trusted, mission-driven digital agency and consultancy. It focuses on creating world-class user experiences in web and mobile based applications. Since its inception in 2012, it has helped over 150 clients embark on a digital future, from ideation, digital strategy and the user experience to application development.
In this episode of Velocitize Talks, Tam shares his thoughts on creating digital experiences that stand out above the competition.
Cross-Platform Messaging (5:55)
Our clients ask us to build out the web presence or the platform first; then we build out the apps that use the same database or grab certain parts of the app experience from a centralized database.
Creating a seamless brand experience involves cohesive design and messaging on all of a brand’s digital assets. Employing headless technology can provide a smooth user experience for both customers and brand managers.
Rush Hour Digital worked with TV5MONDE, the TV channel Asie-Pacifique region, to launch its new digital assets across three platforms from the same database: the IOS/Android hybrid app, a headless front end, and a back end CMS. The outcome was an award-winning web and app experience that has increased sales and enhanced the user experience.
The Future is Headless (7:07)
Headless technology allows us to produce securely because the CMS is checked and vetted by a large community of developers.
Brands’ digital footprints are constantly expanding. Omnichannel marketing is now the standard, encompassing web, app, voice, wearables, and augmented reality. Creating and publishing content for multiple platforms can be more strategic if the front end user experience is engaging and consistent. In addition, headless technology creates a secure back end user interface.
According to the recent WP Engine State of Headless Global Research Report, one of the best ways to optimize digital experiences is through headless architecture, which is “light years beyond traditional CMS use” due to its speed, security, and flexibility. And Tam agrees. “There’s already the back end user interface set up ready to go; the user management is already there.”
Enter, Exit, Come Back (7:45)
We have a lot of inquiries regarding how B2B businesses can use their digital platform to assist face-to-face sales processes.
During the global pandemic, Tam’s clients needed a way to conduct B2B sales online. Before travel shut down, Rush Hour Digital clients would fly across the globe taking face-to-face meetings to showcase their products in person. Since this was no longer an option, clients needed technologies that would enable them to continue their sales process digitally.
What once was a straightforward sales funnel now has 90% of B2B buyers enter, exit and re-enter at various points. As a result, this has created a need for excellent e-commerce technology to be integrated into a brand’s offering. Global retail e-commerce sales are expected to reach $4.9 trillion in 2021. In order for a B2B brand to convert a prospective customer during the awareness and consideration phase, the e-commerce experience must have seamless payment options and a superior user experience.
Keep it Simple (8:57)
One thing that I think, especially in this market, is that people try to say too many things at once, overwhelming other people.
The old design adage remains true: keep it simple. Tam likes to create and design websites that are clean, clear and to the point. “We try to limit each individual screen or engagement or page to be about one thing so it is easy to digest and people can walk away with one message,” says Tam. One example of this is Rush Hour Digital’s work with Lumi Jewels.
Lumi’s founder was looking to update its brand without going over the top. Rush Hour Digital created a fresh website that showcased the jewelry in a clean digital design on its site and app. “Given that this is a fashion and lifestyle brand, we opted to let the products speak for itself,” Tam says. “We kept the color palette neutral, so that the star of the show, the products, can shine and be the headline for the users.”
Listen Up (10:37)
They have stories of rivalries like Sony Playstations versus Xbox. But the latest series they’re doing is about the Covid vaccine.
Business Wars tells the stories of rivals and how the outcomes of the wars they wage shape our futures. According to its creator Wondery, the podcast goes behind the scenes to find out how the companies, its leaders and its investors take the business to “new heights…or to ruins.”
One of the most recent shows Tam enjoyed concerned the creators of the Covid vaccines. “It’s super interesting, some of the details,” says Tam. “For example, the Pfizer, Bioentech, Moderna and Astrazeneca vaccines were being developed before it was a pandemic.”
For more information on Rush Hour Digital, check out their website and follow them on LinkedIn and Twitter at @RushHourDigita1. To stay up to date with Jerome Tam, follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn.