5 ways User Experience (UX) design aids user-retention
A superior User Experience (UX) can be the distinguishing factor when users are deciding between two similar products, as well as influencing their decision to continue subscribing.
There are other considerations, like subscription costs, but for the people you want using your product (paying subscribers) cost won’t be such a big factor if the product is designed with their needs in mind. Especially if the product saves them time vs another tool which is cheaper, but takes longer.
This is something we have experienced first hand when using observation software.
Today the only way to design a digital platform, product, SaaS or website, is employing UX to make sure that users are at the centre of the design and development decisions - making sure the product is relevant and provides value to them by addressing their pain points.
We wanted to share our thoughts on why we think UX is so important to retention, creating a solid foundation for products and services to grow, so here are 5 ways User Experience design aids user-retention:
1. Makes products easier to use
UX helps us design products to fit in with how the users already work or expect a solution to behave.
Knowing the context means that products you develop can be considered specifically for that audience making it easier for them to use.
A product that is easy to use while delivering on the needs of your users will always bring them back.
2. Identifies user pain points
Validating your product or service idea early means you save spending resources on solutions no one wants.
UX methods help us make that validation through research and testing.
It allows you to understand whether your idea or solution is needed and addresses the issues and pains that your users are having - leading you to create a solution which adds value to your customers' day so they keep coming back to use it.
3. Uses real user insights to inform design and development
User research is a big one in the UX design tool box. Gathering data through research to understand your users, their needs and the context in which a product lives is critical to producing a successful service.
Not gathering this data, or ignoring it, increases the chances that your service won’t answer the needs of those you created it for - resulting in a lack of response from customers or a heavy drop-off of returning users post sign-up.
4. Qualifies and removes assumptions
Assumptions are a real threat to any digital product or service. Not qualifying assumptions about product use and its users before you start designing could miss fixing the real issue leading to user drop off.
UX gives us the opportunity to properly understand how users use the product, and what is causing them frustration, so that resources can be channelled into the most pressing issues to improve customer experience.
5. Highlights usability issues before launch
One of our favourites alongside research is the chance to utilise testing. We can test to find any big usability issues that users may have when performing critical tasks the product has been designed for.
It means that issues can be found before a product is launched and experienced by customers, reducing the risk of a bad first impression and non-returning users because it was too difficult to use.
Conclusion
Not using User Experience (UX) methods in your processes for creating new, or improving existing, solutions can be costly - not only to your finances, but to your user adoption rates, too.
Employing UX will give you more insightful data on which to base your decision-making process when reviewing your products and services to make them the most valuable they can be to your customers - leading to increased retention and a more solid foundation on which to grow your organisation or product.
Want to start optimising your users’ experience?
Book in a FREE 30 minute session with our UX Director, Jason Hancock.
