Beyond the objective of making an application work and being able to see it properly, it is essential to understand that the user experience design directly impacts your business. How? Here you will know.
The American writer, researcher and guru Jared Spool, assures that design is not visual, but the business is. Why? Simple: a bad design, -or the lack of it- negatively impacts on different levels of your company. On this matter, Santiago Arcucci, Hexacta’s designer, says that “when the design is thought from the beginning of the conception of the solution, it adds a higher value to both the solution and the company. Many companies begin to develop software immediately without understanding the customer’s business or wonder who will use the application or for what purpose”.
Read as well: 7 deadly sins of UX-UI design
“If you start developing software in this way – he continued-, the solution may not be adequate, which ultimately affects all the company, impacting productivity, quality and sales”, Arcucci continues. And it is precisely here where it lies the importance of user experience design (UX/UI) for your business. Learn seven aspects of your business that will benefit from investing in the UX/UI design from the moment the product is created and always focused on the user.
1. Improve product’s performance
One famous quote of Steve Jobs perfectly describes this point: “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like, design is how it works.” From the functional point of view, the design impacts on how efficient the developed tool will be, so that better results are obtained.
“If an interface is well designed there are less chances to make a mistake when using it, which guarantees efficiency and better performance”, Arcucci emphasizes.
2. Productivity, time optimization, and cost reduction
Developing clear and intuitive applications and with the least amount of mistakes, allows users to solve tasks quickly, and hence a great impact on productivity is achieved, reducing time and costs as well.
Note that when the interface is quick to learn and easy to use, it also reduces investment in training. Likewise, when the user is satisfied with the solution, times, and costs related to the support will also be reduced, so you will have more time to dedicate to other things.
“It is important to analyze and refine the design from the earliest stages of development to minimize risks and reduce costs. The chances of development rework and redesign are reduced, and we will make the application more profitable in the long term,” says Hexacta’s designer.
An interesting fact: correcting a problem in the development phase costs 10 times more than doing it in the design phase and 100 times more if the product was already released, according to the behavioral psychologist and expert in user experience design, Susan Weinschenk.
3. Differentiation
One of the reasons to invest in custom software and therefore in user-centered UX/UI design is that, regardless if software development is used to improve internal processes or those of their own customers, the company achieves to stand out from the competition.
Read also: Is Argentina an attractive hub for American companies?
“The moment users can choose a solution or application that offers a better and more enjoyable experience– they will do it”, says Arcucci. At the same time, he highlights the model evolution of the value concept that Joseph Pine and James H. Gilmore suggest, where they say that “today we are at the stage of the experiences, where value and differentiation are provided by the experiences that people have when they use a product or service. Providing a good user experience is crucial for the customers to prefer your product versus the competition”.
4. Sales increase
“Design makes the product, and the difference between providing a good or a bad experience determines the customer’s choice,” says Arcucci. No matter how good a product is, if the user is frustrated with their experience, the sale will not take place and the image of the company will be affected.
5. Credibility, trust, and loyalty
A product is well designed when the user interacts intuitively with it, in a simple and friendly way. The less a person has to think about how to use the tool and the easier it is to find what you want, the more confidence and credibility is generated in the user.
For example, the website HubSpot, specialized in inbound marketing, highlights that –to a greater or lesser extent– the internet pages have a 97% influence in the client’s decision. Design and user experience are fundamental to winning loyal customers.
6. Branding and reputation
Have you ever recommended a product or service just because it worked well and fulfilled your expectations? The same way you became a spokesman for many brands or companies (conscious or unconsciously for the simple fact of using it), your software users are big contributors to your reputation; just like they will talk well about you if they have a pleasant experience, they will do the opposite if they are unsatisfied.
7. Improve your clients’ relationship
This point is directly related to the knowledge that a good development company must have of its clients when designing a user app. Getting to know your clients will help to generate empathy with them, understand their needs, and build a long term and trustworthy relationship.
Making a good user experience (UX/UI) design focused on the client is not a stroke of luck, instead, it involves a series of variables to keep in mind. “Basing ourselves on user’s behavior studies with the product, considering even psychological and sociological aspects, we detect unique types of users. Knowing their habits, environment, and mental models allow us to create the best solution”, the designer added.
To sum up
Considering UX/UI design as an investment and a technological solution is a business decision that will increase revenues at all levels of your company.
It’s a domino effect: if the development is well designed from the beginning, it will impact on all levels of your company: on your processes, on the way you make decisions, on productivity, sales, trust, and credibility.
Do not miss: How do you select your technological partner? Key points to make the right decision
Remember: delivering an unforgettable experience goes beyond delivering an effective product, it is about good business.
“When businesses see the tangible results of product development and design efforts, they invest further in these efforts” – Laura Klein, author of ‘UX for Lean Startups’
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Contact us for more information. We’ll quickly get back to you with the information you need.
