How does UX/UI design affect the ROI of your digital product?

The ROI of UX design - why is it so important?

Good UX design will directly affect the success of your digital product, including any potential revenue. However, UX design goes much further than that. Adding value to the experience of using the product ensures that users are engaged; it encourages repeated and regular use and is more likely to result in customer loyalty. The impacts of UX design are:

• More users – When a digital product effectively solves an identified problem or pain point, people will use it. What’s more, they become enthusiastic about the elegance of your solution (assuming it is elegant!) and recommend it to others (through app store reviews, for example). Word of mouth marketing – the best kind.
• User satisfaction – Not only does a product with a good UX attract users, it attracts the right users. Good UX design includes researching user personas and the details of what people really want from your product. Delivering results that users actually want and using customer feedback to influence product development lead to high levels of satisfaction.
• Brand integration – Ideally, your digital product should be a seamless part of your overall brand, esthetically and in terms of the value it offers. In fact, a digital product designed with users in mind will actually build your brand, boosting your market reputation.

Key elements of UX design

UX design is more than a nice-to-have, it’s essential to a digital product’s success and return on investment – but what is it? The key elements of UX/UI design include:

• User research – An essential early step in the design process is to research and understand your target users. No app is right for everyone, so who exactly are you aiming to appeal to? User interviews and surveys that test your design hypotheses can provide insights into user wants, needs, and pain points. What would be an ideal solution for them? Later, having established personas that represent your ideal user, specific design elements can be tested directly with people fitting that profile. The resulting feedback is invaluable for improving successive product iterations, improving the user journey. What’s more, targeted research reduces the risk of your product becoming obsolete for your users.
• Visual appeal – UX is about more than esthetics but the appearance of your app is still important. Outdated graphics, colors, fonts, symbols, and layout can be a turn-off. However, you’re also looking for intuitive ease of use, which requires an element of familiarity. It’s a delicate balance that benefits from having experienced UX designers on board.
• Accessibility – You may have specific user personas in mind but you also want your app to have the broadest possible appeal. This means considering a variety of contexts and circumstances for your target user, including access for those with disabilities, alternative display options, and considering multiple devices.

Benefits of investing in UX/UI design

When the user experience is part of your product development from the start, you’re placing the user at the center of the process. This carries numerous benefits and returns.

Focusing on the user results in reduced development time and costs, and a more rapid time to market. Problems or design pitfalls are identified earlier in the process and the released product version will have less bugs and even technical debt, meaning lower maintenance costs.

For the user, the cognitive load of using the product is reduced. Put simply, using the app is easier and more enjoyable. Navigation is simplified, tasks are more straightforward and this means more user engagement and better conversion rates. What’s more, users experience less frustration or problems, and customer support costs are minimized.

Measures of UX/UI ROI

So, if investing in UX design offers an ROI that can benefit the whole business, how do you know if you’re getting that ROI? A number of factors and metrics should be monitored to get the full picture:

• Conversion rate – Does your digital product’s UX design result in people becoming customers or regular users? This is a key measure of your product’s ROI.
• Dropoff rate – While the dropout level during conversion influences ROI, it is also a potential source of information and insight into user pain points and needs – what do you need to change or fine-tune to hit the target for them?
• User satisfaction – Good UX design results in high user satisfaction; if your user surveys and usability testing indicate gaps in user satisfaction, this again can be fed back into the design process.
• User retention rate – Retaining users is vital if your product is to beat the market; your user retention can be used to compare your product with similar available apps.

Professional UX design services

To realize the benefits outlined earlier, cutting-edge design talents are necessary. Experience in both UX and UI design is important; often with creative input on engaging visual elements. Often, the quickest and most cost-effective way to access such talents is to look to an external team for support.

This is a service we at Boldare regularly provide – an iterative process with a laser focus on target users and their needs. For examples and inspiration, check out our case studies with a range of varied clients (and users) such as Work Room, Chartipedia, Eres Yachting, and Virgin Radio Oman.

Our design process, Agile mindset, long experience, open minds, and focus on customer satisfaction have resulted in many industry awards for our UX/UI design projects.

The impact of UX/UI design on ROI

A few years ago, a Forrester Research study found that an investment in UX design can yield returns of up to 9,900%. It’s fair to say that a top-tier UX/UI for your app or platform has benefits for the bottom line.

Ultimately, as digital products become the point of contact between businesses and their customers, the user experience is the key factor that determines how your customers and users view you. Good UX/UI design encourages customer acquisition, retention, satisfaction, and repeat interaction. In terms of ROI, that’s a return that will boost both business and brand. If you want to differentiate your business from the competition, UX/UI design is how you do it.