Can you introduce yourself and tell the readers more about your professional background?
My name is Dean Schuster. I have been a UX practitioner since the early 1990s, nearly my entire professional career. I own a UX firm called truematter. We’re located in South Carolina in the United States. I come from a writing and design background, but early on learned to code and learned how to collaborate effectively with developers and engineers. This has allowed me to specialize in defining and making highly complex, functional digital products.
In your opinion, what are the main perspectives /opportunities/ for digital marketing in 2021?
Privacy is a key theme moving forward. In a sense, the younger generations have given up on traditional notions of privacy. In my view the pendulum is swinging the other way. Soon, we’ll live in a world where permission marketing becomes much tougher. People will want anonymity back.
Which are the best ways to humanize your brand in the age of social media and artificial intelligence?
The single best way to humanize a brand is to focus on quality, non-nonsense user experience. Social media cannot help make something bad into something good. Data mining and AI can’t make something bad into something good. Only teams dedicated to serving real people with products that make their lives better can do that.
What are the best strategies to fuel the growth of a brand?
Make something that fills a real need and make the experience of using it a joy.
How does competition is today’s crowded digital world help you to grow?
Competition ALWAYS helps. It separates good ideas and businesses from bad ones. It brings new ideas into the market and reflects the true needs of people. We can’t do without competition. It is essential for all growth.
What lessons have you learned from the pandemic? (in terms of digital marketing)
Physical presence is less important than you think. If anything, the power of digital teams working remotely to make digital products better was been strengthened as a byproduct of mass remote work. We have essentially proven we can make great strides when forced to.
