User experience testing refers to evaluating a product or service by testing it with representative users in order to improve its usability. The secret to successful user experience testing is recruiting the right users: by increasing the quality of your user experience recruitment and ensuring you find the right people, there’ll be an immediate improvement in the quality of your results. To put it simply, without the right participants, you won’t get the data you need.
Why user experience testing is so important
User experience applies to anything and everything, from company websites to social apps and store layouts to the design of smart TVs. But whilst user experience is nothing new, UX testing has become increasingly important in recent years. Today’s customers know exactly what they want, and they expect brands to deliver - which is why UX testing is so valuable.
61% of people say that if they can’t find what they are looking for right away on a mobile site, they’ll move on to a competitor; however, a well-designed user interface could raise a website’s conversion rate by up to 200%. And that’s why user experience testing is so important - it allows you to step into your customers’ shoes and see from their perspective what works, what doesn’t, and why.
By understanding your customers’ journey, you can be completely confident you are nailing your offering and not losing out to competitors. But how exactly do you recruit for a user experience testing study? Read on to find out…
Search on social media
Social media has exploded in popularity in recent years, giving people the ability to share and consume information at an incredibly fast rate. There’s a social channel for everyone, from Facebook and Instagram to professional favourite LinkedIn and new kid on the block, Tik Tok - and it’s this variety and reach that makes social media so powerful for user experience recruitment. There’s no single image of what a typical customer looks like. The population is diverse, and in today’s world, you need to ensure your brand resonates with everyone, no matter who they are - and social media allows you to reach wider audiences than ever before.
Thanks to promoted posts and Facebook ads, you can reach out to a large number of people in a fast and cost-effective way. Social media tools can also help you reach people with unique criteria, too, enabling researchers to target respondents based on information such as age, gender and lifestyle, as well as more specific things such as page likes and brand preferences. What’s more, because people who use social media channels are generally tech-savvy, it’s a pretty great recruitment tool for online user experience testing.
Use a pre-recruited panel
Recruiting for your user experience testing via a panel is a quick and easy way to access high-quality participants who you already know are looking to take part in market research. It’s also a good way to reach participants with very specific criteria who might be otherwise tricky to find otherwise, so you can make sure you are reaching a true representation of your customers.
If you don’t have access to a panel of participants, there are plenty of agencies out there who specialise in recruitment for specific areas that are worth reaching out to – just remember that all your participants, however you recruit them, will still need to be validated to ensure they are right for your particular user experience test.
Ask participants to refer a friend
A refer a friend scheme is a tried and tested way to build interest and reach out to likeminded people who have been encouraged to participate by their friends. Sometimes just offering a £10 online voucher can work, especially when recruiting for online methodologies such as digital, remote user experience studies that can easily fit in around people's lives.
Not only that, but because the participants have been referred by friends, they may be more likely to be quality participants, who are genuine and willing to take part – especially seeing as the original participants will have already have been approved to take part in the research in the first place.
Don’t rule out traditional methods
Yes, we live in a digital age - but that doesn’t mean that traditional recruitment methods don’t still have a role to play in user experience recruitment. For example, getting on the phone is a great way to reach out to people who might not be so active online such as older generations. And if you are accessing a panel of pre-recruited participants, follow-up calls are essential if you want to validate them, make sure they are the right fit for your UX project, and start to build a rapport with them.
Calling local facilities such as gyms, cafes and restaurants in your chosen area and asking them to put up posters is a great way to drum up local interest in your study and reach out to people you might not be able to easily reach online.
Want to recruit people for your UX test?
When it comes to UX research, the most important thing is the people - so it’s really important that you get your recruitment just right. After all, without the right participants, you won’t be able to get the level of insight you need. At Angelfish, our unique recruitment approach sees us use a combination of digital methods, traditional techniques and a panel of 40,000 respondents to make sure we find you the participants who are perfect for your UX research. In addition, you’ll also have your own dedicated project team to manage the entire process, from briefing to validation and everything in between.
Sound good? Contact Angelfish today to find out more about our user experience recruitment services - or alternatively, download our essential guide for hints and tips you won’t want to miss.
.png?width=110&height=61&name=MRS%20(2).png)
