When a customer buys your web application they are not really buying the software. Sure the software is what they get but it is not the reason for their purchase.
Take a backup service such as MozyHome. The user is buying an application which will index the files on their computer and upload them to a server in the cloud. But what they are actually buying is peace of mind and security.
When I purchase a chocolate bar I am buying more than cocoa; I am buying comfort and pleasure. I don’t buy a Mars bar because it gives me piece of mind and by the same token I don’t buy MozyHome because it gives me pleasure.
I am working on my first ‘for sale’ web-app, Flaregun, which helps people manage their domain name registrations. Questioning why a customer would buy my software has highlighted the personality I need to create.
Flaregun falls into the peace of mind and security category. As such the design needs to be fairly serious. The copy should be formal and professional (nobody wants a comedian looking after an importance business service) and the application’s personality should assure the customer that everything is under control.
Designers and marketeers have been thinking and analyising buyers motivations forever but it is something that is easy to overlook in software. Thinking about the underlying motivation of your customers will help steer your decisions and create the right type of personality for your web app.
