Everything we experience in life influences our memories, our decisions, and ultimately our actions. We humans tend to remember negative experiences more strongly than positive ones. Our experiences are based on previous encounters and how much they differ, more or less, from our expectations. This applies in both the real and the digital world.
In this context, terms such as Customer Experience (customer experience), Stakeholder Experience (the experience of relevant actors from interest groups or stakeholders), and User Experience (user experience) come into play. Although these terms delineate different areas, they nevertheless share common connections, which we want to explore first. Their common core and starting point is interaction and the experiences gained through it.
Every Experience is Underpinned by an Interaction
There is a solid reason why these three terms are mentioned in the same breath: one is easily tempted to view them as separate entities, overlooking that they are actually interdependent and their boundaries are fluid. As obvious as it sounds, this reality is often overlooked.
Customer Experience refers to the complete interaction experience during the course of a relationship between a company and a customer. Stakeholder Experience encompasses the interaction experience of people within the sphere of interest, both inside and outside organisations or companies. User Experience comprises all aspects of a user's experience when interacting with a product, service, environment or facility, and is a central topic, particularly in the world of digital applications.
Balance: Operating within Diversity
Common to all the terms mentioned here is that they deal with diverse and varied experiences and expectations. It is about finding a balance to meet demands and requirements, on the basis of which a certain experience becomes possible. This actually forms the core of Accessibility. In digital applications, this is an essential part of Usability, which encompasses the quality of how easily user interfaces can be used by the user. For it is this that enables successful interactions, of whatever kind.
Traditional Target Group Thinking as a Pitfall
In this regard, it is important to re-evaluate the customary view of target or dialogue groups. This is because the classic perspective is more or less one that views people quite statically as homogeneous groups, or at least gives that impression. It is a fact that human nature is diverse and also changes over the course of life. An understanding of accessibility ensures that this circumstance is taken into account. It makes sense to view target groups purely as interest groups, but diverse in their human and social nature.
Influence on Purchasing Processes
This perspective helps, on the one hand, to improve the general quality of the experience and to understand accessibility; on the other hand, it opens up possibilities that were previously not even considered due to habit or lack of knowledge. It can be considered certain that many business transactions are prevented because deals cannot be made at all, the offer is not accessible to some people, or the purchasing process is so cumbersome that one abandges the original intention to buy and turns to the competition, which offers a better experience.
Social Component of Experiences
We humans have a tendency to share the emotional experiences gained with others, and thereby these supposed individual experiences acquire a social dimension that could be avoided in many respects if accessibility were understood as a whole, thereby generally improving experiences overall. Win-win situations arise in multiple ways, whose impact can multiply. Of course, this is provided that one overcomes traditional perspectives and thereby avoids artificial divides from the outset.
Together Instead of Separated
It often happens that additional offers are developed alongside existing ones to grant access to people who were previously excluded. However, these offers are often not even taken up because they are simply unknown, not found, or too cumbersome. To prevent this, it usually helps to develop a common overall strategy for all offers instead of providing additional or separate isolated solutions.
A fundamentally equitable experience does not distinguish people, but accepts their diverse nature and creates a balance that enables qualitatively equal access, thus offering a common and therefore social, instead of artificially separated, experience.
