This article was originally published in the Fall 2024 issue of ICON/REFINED Magazine. Click here to grab your copy. 

Written by Elena Biedert

A UXQB® Certified Professional for Usability and User Experience with an extensive portfolio of projects for some world-renowned companies. Elena is also a multi-award winning pre- and postnatal coach, internationally published author, model, and solopreneur. 

IG: @elenabiedert

In today’s competitive market, exceptional user experience (UX) can make or break your business. While many people think of UX as just a sleek interface or easy navigation, it’s actually much more than that. UX is an ongoing process that involves continuously evaluating and refining how customers interact with your brand. Investing time and resources into understanding and enhancing these experiences is crucial for driving customer loyalty and business growth. By moving beyond the hype and focusing on the true impact of UX, you can unlock your business’s full potential and stand out in the marketplace.

88% of users are less likely to return after a bad user experience

It’s a Feeling

To clarify what UX really is, it’s important to distinguish it from related terms like UI and graphic design, which are often mixed up with UX. However, these are not interchangeable terms, and here is why:

• The user interface (UI) is anything a user can interact with a digital product or service. For example, it could include your phone’s or laptop’s screens, keyboards, touchscreens, sounds, or even lights. Simply put, without the user interface, you wouldn’t be physically able to interact with or use the product or service. 
• Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. Let’s take a website for a shoe shop as an example: How easy and fast is it to find the shoes you want and complete the checkout? How pleasant is the website’s use? This is usability.
• Graphic design focuses on creating marketing materials like logos, flyers, and even websites. It’s about branding, advertising, and print design.
• User experience (UX) is an umbrella term that includes every aspect of a user’s interaction with a product or service. It consists of the user’s perceptions of the product and its features, ease of use, efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction. A part of UX is also usability, and visual design, which focuses on creating visuals for a better user experience.

In essence, UX is about how a user feels when interacting with a product or service. It involves understanding and designing for the totality of all the touchpoints that a user has with a company, its services, and its products.

Growth Opportunity

While the concept of UX might seem more relevant to large tech companies, it’s equally crucial for small and solo businesses. A positive UX can foster customer loyalty, increase sales, and improve brand reputation. It’s the digital equivalent of a warm welcome, a friendly salesperson, and a satisfying purchase.

80% of people are willing to pay more for a better user experience

Despite its significance, a surprising gap exists between the recognition of UX’s importance and its actual implementation. A study by Forrester found that 88 percent of companies believe UX is critical to their business success. Yet, only 55 percent of organizations report that they lack the “time” to establish a user-centric culture in design or have dedicated UX teams. This discrepancy highlights a significant missed opportunity.

Investing in UX can yield substantial returns. Companies that prioritize UX report an average ROI of $100 for every one dollar invested. Moreover, improving UX by just one percent can lead to an average revenue increase of up to one percent. McKinsey’s user experience statistics report that companies with top design practices experience two times faster growth than the industry benchmark growth rate. Also, an optimized UX design can triple website conversion rate. 

Create an Experience

While improving UX might seem daunting, it doesn’t have to be. With even small improvements, it’s possible to make a big difference. Here are some practical steps to get you started:

Know Your Audience

Understand your customers’ needs, preferences, and pain points. Instead of trying to put yourself in your customers’ shoes, ask your ideal customers about their goals, frustrations, and expectations regarding your product or a similar product. Gather insights through surveys, interviews, and usability testing.

13% of customers will tell 15 or more people about their bad experience

This knowledge will inform your design decisions and help you create products or services that truly resonate with your customers. In this case, a good first impression is crucial for user engagement and retention rate. According to research, 94 percent of first impressions are influenced by design, and a business’s presence has mere seconds to make a good first impression. And a good design is not only aesthetically pleasing colors and fonts. A good design takes into consideration data from user research, human psychology and cognitive science, and applies them from the first concept to the end product. 

Simplify 

Clutter and complexity can frustrate users. Strive for simplicity in your website, app, or product design. Having a consistent look and feel across all touchpoints also contributes to the simplicity of your design and your brand’s recognition. None of the top-notch functions and features of your product matters if your customers can’t even find or use them properly. To simplify, focus on the main goal for users of your products or services: Is it to buy a certain product or to inform them where they can find you locally? 

Only 1 out of 26 customers complain when they are unsatisfied

Mobile-First

With the increasing use of smartphones, ensure your website and services are optimized for mobile devices. For certain products or services, it may be essential to invest in dedicated mobile app development. And understanding mobile app UX is critical for its success. If you have only a website for your company or product, starting with a mobile-first approach ensures that your design is simple, not overcrowded, and focuses on what is important for your company goals.

Optimize for Speed

Prioritize website and app speed, as slow loading times can frustrate users. Just a one-second delay in page response can lead to a 7 percent decrease in conversions. And sites that load in less than one second see three times more conversions than a website that loads for up to five seconds. Loading speed isn’t just crucial for customer retention and conversion rate, but it’s also now an important factor for Google ranking.

Every $1 invested in UX design results in a return of approximately $100 

Test and Iterate

Gather feedback from your customers regularly and use it to refine your offerings. Usability tests, customer feedback, questionnaires, and other UX evaluation testing methods will help you identify areas for improvement. This will also help you minimize errors and provide clear guidance. Continuous improvement is key to a great UX, and a great UX is always based on data. Don’t emotionally stick to specific designs or solutions—your main product’s goal is to make your customers happy.

Personalization

Tailor your interactions with customers based on their preferences and behavior. You can track the behavior through mouse tracking, eye tracking, or other UX evaluation methods mentioned above. This can create a more engaging and satisfying experience, resulting in better customer conversion and retention. Research shows that personalizing push notifications can increase reaction rates by up to 400 percent.