In today’s fiercely competitive world, businesses that connect best with people excel, while those that fail to strike a chord with the targeted users, struggle to stay afloat. As there is a deluge of options for customers to choose from, it becomes imperative that your products and services form an emotional connection.
This can only happen when your offerings resonate well with users at every interaction stage thanks to look-and-feel or usability. Failing to do so, may lose you a potential buyer.
This is exactly where User Experience (UX) design comes into picture.
What is UX Design?
UX is the acronym of two words, user and experience, which pretty much indicate our ultimate goal. In simple terms, UX design can be defined as a design which caters to the users’ experience as they interact with a product or service.
UX design takes into account literally all the possible factors that influence a user’s experience. They could be tangible like flow, easy access etc. or intangible like emotion, pleasure and more.
UX design involves accessing data of users, analyzing them, formulating a strategy to address the concerns of users and then heading to actual designing. During the design stage, it involves prototyping and seeking feedback. This process brings the final design in line with users’ expectations and helps steer clear of post-launch disappointments.
More and more businesses are fast moving towards UX design because of its exceptional benefits. If you want to stay, and stay ahead, in your field, it is imperative for you to embrace this phenomenon.
Why You Should Go for UX Design
Here are some of the key payoffs of going for UX design, which should motivate you to opt for it:
1. Gives You Visibility
Do you think that ranking high in Google search results is all about SEO? If yes, you are mistaken. SEO may help you deceive a search engine a few times initially; however, once the user experience begins to indicate that the website is not very useful (remember, Google Analytics can see your bounce rate), Google will immediately change its rank. The quality guidelines state this fact in unequivocal terms. Here’s what they say, “Upholding the spirit of basic principles will provide a much better user experience and will enjoy better ranking…”Better ranking exposes you to customers exponentially and provides you with a chance to cast a spell on them.
2. Enhances Customer Loyalty
Statistics suggest that a good user experience decreases the bounce rate by a whopping 50 percent approximately. A decreased bounce rate naturally implies visitors are spending more time on your site, which ultimately is directly linked to more conversions and sales . Besides, once customers develop an affinity toward your products and are satisfied, it is highly unlikely that they will leave. In fact, good user experience will transform them into your brand ambassadors and sales representative, as they will be spreading positive reviews about your product online and through word of mouth.
3. Exceptional Return on Investments
There should be no doubt regarding the monetary benefits of spending on UX. Studies prove that spending on UX is sure to fetch massive returns. A study by Forrester proves that on an average, every dollar spent on UX design brings 100 dollars in return. This means a mammoth 9900% ROI.
Conclusion
These were some of the useful benefits of using UX design. However, if you are still unsure, let us give you another empirical evidence that will surely make you warm up to UX design.
One of the studies revealed that only 20 percent of UX design issues are actual bugs that need to be destroyed. The remaining 80 percent stems from an unpleasant user interface, which can be easily taken care of by employing a User Experience designer (Source: Strategic Data Consulting (2009). Special report: UX business impacts and ROI).
UX design is here to stay. Make sure you adopt it fast and stay ahead of the game.