The way you make me feel

I was thinking a lot about consumer buying recently. If we were all logical we would be buying practical cheap cars of the same color. We would all wear the same clothes and sensible shoes. But we're not logical at heart. We love to emote and what drives our decisions to buy is how something makes us feel.

Which is why products like Apple, Ferraris, Chanel and other great brands can charge a premium for their wares. They have figured out how their products can make you feel good. Why else would we pay 3 times more for less food at a fancy restaurant. Because you feel pampered, special and somehow, because of where you are, even the food tastes better than it would in diner next door.

It's an easy thing for a marketeer to grasp. Much harder for a technologist or software developer (in general). We're taught that technology is king, the more cool features the better. The reality is trying to figure out what the latest impression you can leave with your user as he or she finishes using your application. That will ultimately determine whether you have a raving fan.

For software it means, make your user firstly fall in love with your icon, it's the thing they look for and the first thing they click. Secondly, make they feel empowered, i.e. you helped them do something significant in their task and they enjoyed doing it. In short, make them feel like a king.