Let’s talk experiences — I haven’t covered that so much lately. I was on Land Rover’s website some time ago. This thing came up just now in my head as soon as I asked myself “What’s something I remember that was

a) online — so through a website/app
b) remarkable
c) a small detail, so not extremely important

In other words, something that was part of the atmosphere.

If you go right now (it’s the 26th of January when I’m writing this) on Land Rover’s website interactive car builder, at least on their Range Rover line you’ll see this:

Car aside, there’s that background. It’s the kind of house the people they’re targeting are either having or aspiring to have. It’s not a race track, not a classic American house and clearly not a blank background. It’s something that’s placed there to either connect with the status quo of the person (the targeted one at least) or the desired future state.

Does it matter?

I think it does. It’s part of their experience. At most, the background is sending a message to the subconscious. It can scare some people or make them stay there for longer. One thing is for sure: it’s not accidental.

Sunny? Yes, everyone likes the sun. However, once you go on the “interior” view, it looks like it’s autumn, given the leaves on the ground. Why would that be, you think?

Does everyone do that?

Not really. I had a look at Toyota’s website to see what the other end of the budget option presents itself like. I had a look at the Prius, and it looks like this:

Is it wrong? I wouldn’t say so. Their buyers probably don’t even spend time configuring or building their cars. Of course, it’d be a missed opportunity to remove the interactive builder from the website but it can be understood why it wasn’t made a priority.

Another thing to keep in mind

The mature audience of any of these companies will not be so prone to interact with this. They’ve been used to going to the dealership and having the conversation with the people there — that’s how their parents did it.

Maybe you, the tech CEO, will be more likely to interact with the new. Hell, you’re creating something new so it makes sense. The odds are for you. But the mature audience? Not exactly. It’s not to say that no one over a certain age will ever click your website — but it is to say that the majority of them have done it a certain way so far and it’s not every day that they think “Hm, is there another way?”

It works, they like it, everyone wins. But why does Land Rover have it? I think we can infer from that that they cater to younger people as well. Ever seen a young lady driving a Range Rover? I did. And I’ve also seen young gentlemen driving them. Pretty often, as I spend all my time in central London. Theory confirmed? An “eyeballed” yes from me.

What can we take away from this?

You’re creating innovation so it’s very easy to forget that not everyone is prone to new.

There are conclusions to be taken from looking at what a company does and how their experience is built. It’s a coded message. We’ve quickly decoded here that Range Rovers are used by young people as well and their eyes’ focus is taken by slick modern houses with glass windows.

Another takeaway is that there’s codes to be decrypted in your competition’s outputs. If they’ve been there for longer, more power to you. As a side-note, when you see companies copying/stealing

from their competition and the decisions do not make sense, it’s probably because the rationale behind that feature/strategy wasn’t understood, rather just imitated.

Last but not least, it’s definitely trial and error. Hey, maybe I should have used Tesla not Range Rovers, as they are more popular among tech CEOs interests. Who knows?

P.S: Yes, that’s any of my car’s main colourway — the all-black Bruce Wayne Batmobile.

About Ch Daniel

I run chagency, an experiences design agency that specialises on helping tech CEOs reduce user churn. We believe experiences are not only the reason why users choose not to leave but also what generates word of mouth. We’re building a credo around this belief.

If I’ve brought you any kind of value, follow me and get in touch here: LinkedIn | Twitter | Email

I’ve also created an infinitely-valuable app for sneaker/fashion enthusiasts called Legit Check that impacted hundreds of thousands over millions of times – check it out at chdaniel.com/app

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