How User Experience Helps Your Business Grow
User Experience (UX) may seem like a trendy buzzword when designers, developers, and marketers talk about website development. However, UX is more than a buzzword, and it applies to far more than site design. UX encompasses every aspect of a system experienced by users including website, app, product, service, and – since brand perceptions are developed at the touchpoints between users and the company, even a whole company. When users have a smooth, productive experience with a company’s site or other channels, it has a direct effect on the bottom line. While much of this post focuses on web- or digital-based aspects of UX, the best practices here can apply to everything—from how your company answers phone calls to how you package products.
UX Starts with Understanding
UX is rooted in understanding users. The research that goes into this understanding can take many forms. User personas are tools for developing a complete picture of your target audience. At the beginning of the design process, create specific, imaginary people who represent the audience segment or target demographic you want to reach. Once you have created your persona, think about his or her user journey or the actions your user wants to accomplish. Every interaction has a purpose. Mapping out these steps helps assess how your user will get from point A to B so you can design their journey to be easy and efficient.
User journeys raise an important issue: UX doesn’t just begin and end at your company or organization website. It belongs at the inception of the product cycle. Researching your audience and their needs is a foundational step. By leading with a quality product that meets user needs, you have an advantage over competitors who may attempt to skip this step.
Users Expect a Seamless Digital Experience
When so many tasks and transactions are performed online, users have come to expect an optimized experience across platforms as a basic requirement. UX optimization is vital for brands to gain trust and brand recognition, while ensuring user retention.
With user research in mind, websites, apps, and software can be crafted accordingly. Best UX practices mean thinking through the details of design from sketching, wireframes, prototyping, and user testing. Keep in mind that product aesthetics takes a back seat to usability—design enhances usability. A customer might not care much about a product’s looks if it gets in the way of performing tasks.
ROI on UX
UX has a preventive value in anticipating and fixing problems before they start—and that value can be measured. According to Clare-Marie Karat, “For every dollar spent solving a problem in design, you save $10 in development and $100 in post-release maintenance.” This value can also be expressed in time. A product or site designed with UX can result in less money spent on support because it was designed with the customer in mind. Well-implemented UX can equal more short-term sales, but even less tangible aspects of customer satisfaction bring positive awareness for your brand. Long-term brand loyalty is built on emotional factors such as trust—UX can enhance that.
A Journey, Not a Destination
UX isn’t a one-time checklist to get through before the end. When planning a website or a digital product, UX touches multiple stages of the process.
- Strategy and Content: Analysis on target users and audiences (including personas and focus groups), competitors, and existing sites or content.
- Wireframing and Prototyping: Wireframes (mockups of your site or product), prototypes, and requirement matrices create blueprints for development.
- Testing: Before, during, and after implementation, involving real users and real situations
UX represents a worthwhile, high-value investment. It also takes a team of experts to execute, including designers, strategic planners, and content specialists. Are your users having the best experience possible?