Benefits of having a UX Design partner for your business
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With digitization on the rise all across the globe, it’s no doubt that all types of businesses nowadays need a digital presence. Due to this, digital products will be an important element for running the show for these businesses. And without the success of these products, it would be a big problem for businesses to stay in the game. The solution to this problem is a term you would have heard a lot in recent times, i.e; UX Design (User Experience Design).
What is a UX Design?
Before jumping in, let’s see what UX Design means.
“User Experience Design (UX) is a design process whose ultimate goal is to create a solution that provides a positive user experience.”
Now that you’re aware of the term UX, explaining it on a deeper level is a topic on its own. But we can briefly show you what goes into building a great user experience.
1. Capture Requirements
Business needs, user expectations, and product capabilities.
2. Identify Key Scenarios
Creating user personas in different settings and identifying the tasks the users will be performing.
3. Create Design Alternatives
Evaluating multiple design options based on the scenarios
4. Evaluate Design
Review with stakeholders about the cost, feasibility, and scalability of the design.
5. Refine Design
Get feedback on the design flow and perform iterative improvements on the design.
6. Detail Design Specifications
Developing UI screens based on the company’s branding and vibe.
7. Build UI Solution
Developing the best UI design and implementing the design using the latest technologies.
These stages of UX Design basically constitute how a user experience is built from scratch. This approach is suitable for most business strategies and it can also be modified based on different goals set by the company. But the process of building an excellent user experience doesn’t just end here. Further steps like usability testing and user feedback are also some important segments that give a product its overall user experience.
Why your business will need UX?
Now that you’re aware of what UX means, let’s see what will UX brings to the table. Be it your website, mobile app, or any other digital platform that your business depends on, UX design can be applied everywhere and sometimes even to physical products as well.
The need to have a good customer experience for your products is surely going to be the number #1 priority for all businesses in the coming years. And some of the most successful companies that we know of, understand the value of design and have been investing in UX design consistently. Below are some examples of how UX is directly involved in a company’s success.
- On average, for every $1 spent in website UX, the company can expect a return of investment up to $100. (UX Planet, 2020)
- 80% of consumers are willing to pay extra for a better user experience. (UX Planet, 2020)
- A good UX design increases a website’s conversion rate up to 200%. (UX Planet, 2020)
- 70% of business leaders view UX and CX as competitive differentiators. (UserZoom, 2019)
- Intentional and strategic user experience has the potential to raise conversion rates by as much as 400%. (Forbes)
- Airbnb attributes UX for taking them from being a near-failure to being valued at $10 million. (First Round Review)
How does a UX Design Partner help your business?
There are plenty of UX design firms out there and selecting the right one could make a massive difference for your business. Investing in design from the start can ensure that your product is delivering customer expectations on point! And if you’re not able to meet their needs, well no one’s going to use your product. It’s as simple as that. With such tough competition going around these days, even being the best is sometimes is not enough. You need to build trust with your consumers and continue giving them the best experience.
With that being said, you may still be wondering about what exactly will a design agency do to help my business succeed. So let’s see that next, shall we?
1. Conduct User Research
Every design process starts with collecting data. While developing a product, it is very important to understand what problem we are trying to solve and for who. Based on this knowledge, designers can create flows and designs that feel familiar to that particular userbase. And when done right, it can deliver the needs of users giving them a satisfying experience.
2. Build Quick Wireframes and Prototypes
Whenever your business is planning on releasing a new product, it is very important to check its feasibility and usability. And the fastest way to ensure this is by building wireframes or prototypes. This process will show if your product has any underlying issues that you may have not thought of before. And a streamlined design process will take care of that for you.
3. Get Early Feedback
Building up from the previous point, the wireframes or prototypes that get developed can be shared with a select number of your users. And with their feedback, whether good or bad, you will now know what is working well and what’s not. With these inputs, the design can be modified and made better before you launch the new product.
4. Helps Reduce Costs
Now imagine a scenario where you launch a product without a design process. You have no data about the users or what they want. And eventually down the road, your users will have a bad experience and turn their backs on the product. What do you do know, restart the whole process? And what would it cost to start it all again?
That’s one big reason to invest in UX. Starting the process with a planned approach will always help your business stay on the safer side whenever you’re planning to launch a new product or service.
5. Positive word of mouth and brand loyalty
With good customer service, you’re not only making your customers happy but also bringing in new ones. Positive word of mouth can help boost your business to the next level and if you can use Social Media here the right way, your business will get strong validation from a lot of potential customers. And continuing to deliver this positive experience will eventually result in some loyal userbase who will always have your back.
Conclusion
Well, it’s no doubt that UX design is one of the key factors in determining the success of a company. As Steve Jobs perfectly stated, “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works”. Implementing a design process while developing a new product will help you gain valuable insights which will help you shape its success. And for your business to prosper you will most likely try to give the best possible experience to your users which you can absolutely deliver with the help of UX Design.
