Why UX is important for your business
A well-executed User Experience (UX) strategy can significantly transform your business, driving higher sales, increasing customer loyalty, and improving brand perception. However, many businesses hesitate to invest in UX because they perceive it as merely improving aesthetics. While visual appeal is important, effective UX design goes far beyond appearance - it directly impacts usability, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, your bottom line.
For instance, consider a booking system. Making it easier to use and more streamlined can lead to a higher conversion rate. This isn't just about making things "look good"; it's about creating a seamless experience that encourages users to take action, whether it's making a purchase, signing up, or returning to your platform.
But how do you convince decision-makers to invest in UX?
Data-driven UX design: Building on research, not guesswork
While it’s easy to get excited about sleek, modern visuals, UX design requires a deeper approach. It’s not just about making something look appealing; it’s about crafting a user-friendly experience based on research and user insights. UX design revolves around how real users interact with your product or platform. Every decision is data-driven and can be measured for effectiveness.
According to a report by Forrester, for every dollar invested in UX, the return is a staggering $100. That’s an incredible 9,900% return on investment (ROI). Such figures emphasise the importance of viewing UX not as an expense, but as a smart business investment.
Selling UX to key stakeholders
To successfully launch a UX project, you need to frame it in terms of business outcomes. Stakeholders are more likely to approve a budget if they can see the potential ROI. Therefore, it’s essential to focus on the impact your UX efforts will have on the business.
Here’s how you can frame this:
- What specific business outcomes will result from the project?
- How will the UX improvements affect conversion rates, customer loyalty, or revenue?
- What metrics can you use to track success?
Think of yourself as a salesperson - even if you don’t hold that title. If you’re trying to gain buy-in from others, you're essentially selling an idea. Quoting Zig Ziglar...
Maybe you don’t hold the title of salesperson, but if the business you are in requires you to deal with people, you, my friend, are in sales.
Consider the following potential outcomes when building your business case for UX:
- Additional purchases x Average sale value = Increased revenue
- Increased conversion rate x Average sale value = Increased revenue
- New referrals x Average sale value = Increased revenue
- Lower cancellations x Average sale value = Increased revenue
- Call reduction x Cost per call = Admin cost saving
- Increase in visits x Conversion rate = Number of new sales
While no one can guarantee specific results, having clear success metrics in place allows you to measure progress effectively. If your initial approach doesn’t yield the expected results, you can use these metrics to identify where adjustments are needed. Instead of merely updating visuals and hoping for the best, you’ll have a targeted, measurable strategy.
Creating a UX strategy for maximum impact
When launching a UX project, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of potential features and improvements. This is where focusing your efforts on high-impact areas is crucial. Once you’ve identified the most important business metric to improve, you can develop a UX hypothesis around it.
Business impact hypothesis
- What you're going to do: Streamline the payment process for money transfers.
- Problem you're solving: Existing users have expressed challenges when making online payments to beneficiaries.
- Desired outcome: Increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- How it will be measured: Growth in daily active users, improved customer satisfaction scores via survey, reduced help desk enquiries about making payments and a decrease in account closures.
- Timeline: Deployment Q1 2025.
This hypothesis provides clarity and direction, ensuring that your UX project is both purposeful and aligned with business goals.
Conclusion
To successfully integrate UX into your business strategy, it’s essential to focus on targeted, measurable outcomes. By aligning your design efforts with specific business objectives - whether it’s increasing conversion rates, reducing churn, or improving customer satisfaction - you can clearly demonstrate the value of UX to stakeholders.
Moreover, understanding the needs of your target audience is crucial. By researching and observing how your users interact with similar platforms and preferred brands, you can make informed design decisions that resonate with specific demographics. For example, if you’re targeting Gen Z customers, your design and features should reflect their expectations, which may differ significantly from those of Gen X.
Building a business case around these insights allows you to set clear, measurable goals, making your next UX project a strategic investment.
