🇬🇧 The role of UX in the competitiveness of B2B products

Why do many people still underestimate the importance of UX in products aimed at the business world?

Have you ever stopped to think that the B2B universe can be as exciting as the world of end consumers? Of course, we are not talking about last-minute grocery shopping, but about important commercial transactions that directly impact business results. And to make these transactions more efficient and enjoyable, it is essential to invest in UX.

If you think UX is just a matter of aesthetics, you are very mistaken. Good UX can reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve customer satisfaction. In other words, UX can generate business value.

Many people believe that UX is only important in products aimed at end consumers, such as that food delivery app we all love. But let’s change this mindset! After all, who said that a pleasant and efficient experience is exclusive to end consumers? It’s not!

“100% of customers are people.
100% of employees are people.
If you don’t understand people, you don’t understand business.” — Simon Sinek

Although it is common to hear that B2B interfaces have inferior usability compared to B2C, this statement should not be seen as an excuse for poorly designed interfaces. In fact, in more complex scenarios, usability becomes even more crucial to help users complete advanced tasks. Therefore, the emphasis on usability of B2B interfaces should be even greater than on B2C interfaces.

“The objectives of B2B interfaces are substantially more complex than those typically geared towards B2C. This is the only excuse for why B2B interfaces have poor usability. In reality, the more complex the scenario, the greater the need for well-designed interfaces.” – Jacob Nielsen

First, it is important to understand that the approach may be a little different from that applied in consumer products. Instead of focusing on emotion and aesthetics, the focus should be on functionality and efficiency.

We need to think that B2B products are mostly internal products. People are obliged to use them. It is essential to think about the end user. This needs to be the default, actually. But first, we need to think about who makes the business decisions for that company and how they want the user to use that service.

The end user may not have chosen to be a user of that product, you know?

Let’s give some examples to illustrate this. Imagine that you are a salesperson in a B2B company and need to use a CRM system to manage your sales. If the system interface is confusing and difficult to use, you will take a long time to enter the necessary information, and this can delay your sales. But if the interface is intuitive and easy to use, you can do your job more quickly and increase your chances of closing deals.

Another example: you are a manager of a company that needs to use a project management platform to coordinate your team’s activities. If the platform is difficult to use and the interface is confusing, your collaborators will take longer to learn and use the system. This can lead to delays and errors, which can harm your company’s reputation. But if the platform is well designed and intuitive, your collaborators will adapt more quickly and can focus on performing their tasks more efficiently.

When it comes to UX for B2B platforms, it is important not only to apply best practices but also to measure and analyze the impact of changes made in the user experience. After all, there is no point in applying good UX practices if it is not possible to measure their impact on the business.

Here are some of the metrics you can apply to your B2B products:

1. Learning time
   The time it takes a user to learn how to use your platform is an important metric to analyze the efficiency of your UX. If users are taking too long to understand how to use the platform, this may indicate usability issues that need to be improved.
2. Conversion rate
   Another important metric is the conversion rate, which indicates how many users who access your platform actually take some action. If the conversion rate is low, it may be a sign that the UX needs to be improved to encourage more users to take actions on the platform.
3. Retention rate
   The retention rate indicates how many users return to the platform after using it for the first time. If the retention rate is low, this may be a sign that the UX is not meeting users’ expectations and that improvements are needed to increase engagement.
4. UMUX (User Metrics for User Experience)
   UMUX is a set of metrics developed to help measure usability and user satisfaction with a product. These metrics include things like ease of use, efficiency, user errors, confidence, and overall satisfaction.

UMUX from BEES Force product — A internal product for BEES

With these metrics in hand, you can improve the user experience, make informed business decisions, and ensure that your platform is offering the best for your users.

It is important to remember that each business may have specific metrics according to their goals and target audience. It is also worth noting that you can track metrics over time to see if your changes are having a positive impact on user satisfaction.

So, B2B folks, now you know which metrics are important to track when applying UX to your enterprise platforms. With these metrics in hand, you can improve the user experience, increase user retention, and improve the conversion rate. And of course, ensure that your platform is offering the best for your users.

A book that I encourage you to read is Product Led Growth by Wes Brush. He talks about how you can cut your acquisition costs and scale further than you ever thought possible…by making your product the tool that helps you acquire, convert, and retain customers.

Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself