Translating UX to Business Value
I have been participating as a UX designer in projects with varying scales and client types for more than four years. In my experience, few customers realize the significant impact of UX on their business. They are often reluctant to invest in design without seeing tangible results. Many believe that UX research, which is seen as time-consuming and resource-intensive, delays development.
As experience designers, we take pride in placing users at the center of our designs. However, we might not always excel at quantifying and articulating the impact of UX. I firmly believe that it’s our responsibility to educate clients about the importance of our work and to present a compelling case for investing in UX design.
Here are some suggestions to implement to achieve this:
1. Understand business value through user behavior
It’s essential to start by understanding that business value is rooted in user behavior. For instance, in an online travel application, a business owner realizes value when users review vacation deals, book accommodations, and respond to advertisements. It is relatively straightforward to quantify the value of these changes in user behavior over time.
We aim to influence user behavior in our product so that it aligns with our business objectives. For example, we might state, ‘I want to reduce the frequency of users canceling their bookings.’ Reviewing analytics, we could set a specific goal, such as ‘lower the reservation cancellation rate from 40 percent to 25 percent.’
2. Show how UX work provides business value
When trying to solve a problem, we often look from the user’s perspective and consider how this feature or improvement will add value to them. Additionally, demonstrating the contribution of our design to the business helps us gain the support of stakeholders and contributes to our successful achievement of our goals.
Considering the following questions will help us when presenting our work to stakeholders:
- Will it increase revenue?
- Will it decrease expenses?
- Will it attract new users/more customers?
- Will it encourage existing users to spend more? etc.
For example, in our case, we might aim to prevent user confusion by enhancing the clarity and detail of post-booking information. We can express its contribution to the business in the following way:
- This approach reduces cancellations due to unclear information, leading to more retained bookings (increasing revenue).
- This reduces the volume of customer service inquiries, thereby lowering operational costs (decreasing expenses).
3. Show what happens when UX is neglected
Showing quantifiable results is an effective way to demonstrate the importance of design to stakeholders and persuade them to invest. We can begin by analyzing the current situation and identifying areas that need improvement. Afterward, we can calculate the total cost of these issues to the business and present our findings to the business owners.
To gain insights into what is currently happening, we can utilize research findings and analytical data. In our scenario, we can use this data to determine the number of reservation cancellations made by users each day. By multiplying the number of daily reservation cancellations by the average revenue per reservation, we can estimate the daily financial impact on the business.
4. Articulate anticipated results and opportunities when innovating solutions
When presenting our solutions to stakeholders, clearly stating the problem, explaining the expected results of our solution, and expressing how we will know if we have achieved our goal will ensure that everyone has the same understanding.
Essentially, two key things should be defined.
- The problem (current goals of the product, the problem or opportunity to address)
- Proposal (proposed solution, anticipated results, and a way to track the progress)
In our case, the problem and proposal could be like this:
The problem: Our online travel application offers various accommodation and transportation options to users. However, we have identified a critical issue: the lack of clarity in the information provided after booking. Users feel inadequately informed about their reservations, leading them to cancel. This problem not only diminishes our customer satisfaction but also increases our cancellation rates. How can we improve this situation? How can we ensure that our users retain their bookings and remain satisfied with our service by providing clearer and more useful information in the post-booking process?
Proposal: Our proposal is to enhance the clarity and detail of post-booking information within our application. We anticipate that this will lead to a reduction in reservation cancellations and an increase in customer satisfaction. We will gauge the effectiveness of this enhancement by observing a decrease in the rate of reservation cancellations and by receiving positive feedback from users about the improved post-booking communication. Additionally, we will monitor user engagement with the provided information and their subsequent actions to further indicate the success of these enhancements.
5. Use data to support your statements
Statistics, case studies from well-known companies, and research data from credible groups can be used to support your statements.
Examples:
- One study showed that a well-designed user interface could raise your website’s conversion rate by up to 200 percent, while better UX design could boost conversion rates up to 400 percent.
- Amazon found every 100 ms of latency cost them 1 percent in sales; Google found an extra .5 seconds in search page load time dropped traffic by 20 percent.
6. Track and measure impact
The most convincing way to demonstrate the business impact of our UX work is through metrics. Therefore we should track key metrics for our business objectives at regular intervals. No matter how good our solutions are, if the results are not reflected in the metrics, it will be perceived that our design had no impact.
For example, when designing a new feature or improvement, we start by setting a goal and key results. By tracking and sharing their progress with stakeholders, we can present the impact of our design in numerical terms.
In our case, the objective and key results could be as follows:
- Objective (O) = Improve the user interface and information clarity in our online travel application to reduce booking cancellations and enhance customer satisfaction.
- Key Result 1: Decrease the rate of booking cancellations by 30 percent within six months.
- Key Result 2: Increase customer satisfaction scores related to the booking process to an average of 9 out of 10.
- Key Result 3: Boost the completion rate of online bookings by 25 percent.
- Key Result 4: Reduce the average time taken to complete a booking by 20 seconds.
Recap
In conclusion, the role of UX design in business is not just a matter of aesthetics or user convenience; it is a critical component that directly influences business success. As a UX designer, I have observed a gap in understanding the tangible impact of UX on business outcomes. By focusing on user behavior, articulating the value of design in business terms, addressing the consequences of neglecting UX, and innovating solutions with clear goals and measurable results, we can bridge this gap.
Our responsibility extends beyond designing user-centered solutions to effectively communicating the business value of our work. Utilizing data, case studies, and consistent tracking of key metrics are indispensable tools in this endeavor. The objective is clear: to make UX a recognized driver of business success, not just an afterthought in the development process. By aligning our design strategies with business objectives and demonstrating their impact through quantifiable results, we elevate the role of UX in achieving business goals and ensuring customer satisfaction.
