How user experience improves ROI?

Improving the user experience of digital products?and services is a smart move. Usability increas es satisfaction and productivity, entails trust and?customer loyalty and leads to cost savings and in creased profitability. User experience and interface?(UX/UI) design is included in the product develop ment cost.??

Practice shows that the first 10% of the design pro cess, when critical decisions on systems design are?made, can determine 90% of the cost and perfor mance of a product, and usability methods will help?bring it in line with the company’s goals. Usability?comes back in the form of numerous benefits from?products designed for both internal use and sale.?

The best demonstration of the importance of user?experience for business is the cost of mistakes.

The UX mistakes that cost?companies millions?

There is no point in creating a digital product with out custom research. 70% of projects fail because?people don’t accept them.?

50% of developers’ time is spent on troubleshoot ing and developing new features.??

About 15% of reviews published in technical journals?and industry resources focus on product usability.?Media giants such as The New York Times, Financial?Times, and The Wall Street Journal publish weekly?columns that evaluate the software. Info World, a?leading IT magazine, devotes 18% to 30% of its pub lications to ease of use, ease of use, and the quality?of the accompanying documentation of peer-re viewed software.?

Preliminary CX research can save time and money?on a project.?

If you find usability problems after launch, the?choice is limited:?

? spend money and fix it;?

? wait for the next redesign - spend even more?money, time and lose your audience;?

? accept lower conversions and higher bounce?rates.?

85% of UX problems can be found through usabil ity testing on a group of at least five people. How ever, only 55% of companies conduct any testing?with users.?

Large corporations’ cases show how complex archi tecture and poorly thought-out app flow can cost?companies millions.?

User registration worth $300M?

In 2009, Jared M. Spool uncovered a case where?Amazon, the most significant e-commerce site?today, lost $300 million in revenue due to a simple?UX error.?

The error was that users were prompted to regis ter or log in when placing an order. For most, this?became a problem and a severe reason to end the?deal. They couldn’t remember if they registered on?the site before and what email and password they?were using.?

The solution to the problem was simple: people?were allowed to continue checkout without an?account. The number of completed orders in creased by 45%. In the first month, the company?generated additional revenue of $15 million. The?site generated an additional $300 million in reve nue over the year.?

Most eCommerce sites today allow you to purchase?as a guest.?

By the way, we found an even more notable figure:?the entire e-commerce industry lost ~ $ 1.42 trillion?due to?poor UX in 2016-2020.

$125 million Avon’s failed SAP implementation?

One of the most striking examples of how poor us ability led to the failure is the $125 million SAP AG?software from Avon.?

“Avon began testing the new order management?software system in Canada. While the new system?based on software supplied by SAP AG worked as?planned, it was so burdensome and disruptive to?the representatives’ daily routine that they left in?significant numbers. Avon relies on a direct sales?model where its representatives aren’t employees,?which makes it difficult to add new tasks associ ated with the software system”, - writes the Wall?Street Journal.?

When people are accustomed to using well-de signed applications from companies such as Google?Inc. and Apple Inc. in their personal lives, they have?little patience for workplace applications that leave?them confused. Functionality is no longer the defini tion of success. Usability is key.?

“Users will accept less crap today when it comes?to software,” says Michael Krigsman, an indepen dent industry analyst. “That is because the world?of consumer software has become easy and simple??

to use and has trained users to expect that busi ness software will follow a similar model. And if it?doesn’t, people are much less patient than they?were in the past.”?

Even the wrong color can cost too much?

The stories above confirm the importance of user?experience in the success of a digital product. Even?such seemingly insignificant changes, such as?changing the color of an element, can cost not only?millions but also something even more valuable -?human life.?

? Redesigning a hardly noticeable Buy button and?adding more of them throughout the mobile site?increased annual revenue by $500 million (the?case of GFK)?

? Changing the color of the links at Bing to a bold?

er blue generated approximately $80 million?more in revenue from advertising.?

? Three nurses with ten years of experience were?unable to notice that their patient undergoing?a powerful chemo treatment therapy required?rehydration because the software they were?using was too complicated. The indication?wasn’t noticeable enough. In three days, the?patient died.?

Will good UX bring more?benefits??

Good UX reduces support?

Complicated UX raises more questions from users.?Accordingly, more requests will come to support,?and you will need more human resources. The cost?of each additional support staff member includes?salary, training costs, recruiting fees, equipment?costs, workspace, corporate culture, etc.?

In addition, hints can be added to a simple and intui tive product, which will minimize any support calls.?

Good UX reduces infrastructure costs?

Poor UX leads to increased server load. Because?users are forced to open additional pages/screens?in search of the necessary information, this happens?more often when using SaaS products, where each?page reload additionally loads the database.?

If millions of people use your product, this load?may require additional infrastructure. It can include?indirect?costs such as increased user bounce rates,?decreased transactions, lost customers, etc.?

Good UX design means users always know what?they are doing and where they are. It reduces server?load and API bills. It also applies to the first point:?users will contact support less and free up your?employees’ time.

Good UX reduces employee training costs?

This one is more about business products. The eas ier the product is to use, the less time and money?is needed for training, mentoring from more experi enced employees, and from the first day, it can work?effectively.?

Well-structured and straightforward internal busi ness processes help you quickly get into work and?master a new service. In addition, it expands the?possibilities for hiring potential employees since no?special skills are required. It will simplify the result of?your HR team and lower hiring costs.?

Good UX increases employee productivity?

Research shows that businesses with a significant?focus on UX are more likely to achieve high produc tivity levels and are rated higher by their employees.?

Such UX means that all unnecessary movements?have been removed from internal business pro cesses. It means that all operations are accelerat ed and convenient.?

Good UX increases conversions and sales?

A positive user experience for a product can in crease sales by 30% and reduce bounce rates by?50%. It is the direct profit that the business re ceives. In addition, a satisfied customer can rec ommend the website/app/system to friends and?colleagues. Increased NPS is an additional benefit?and a reduction in marketing costs.?

Good UX reduces marketing costs?

A good user experience aimed at targeted custom ers plays a crucial role in ensuring user satisfaction?and increasing business conversions.?

It is an essential tool for marketers to achieve busi ness goals. Good UX leads the client to accomplish?the target action without additional incentives.??

Plus, satisfied clients can become brand advocates.??

92% of consumers trust brand advocates who?share personal experiences with a product. For this?reason, the conversion rate for referral users is 37%?above average. It will reduce the costs of bots, pro cessing of negative complaints, and remarketing.?

How to evaluate User??

Experience??

Before you start implementing user experience?changes to improve your products, you need to?assess the current state of the product.?

We have prepared several methods for assessing?the usability of your product, which should show?overall user satisfaction, predict the likelihood of?user churn and retention.?

This block contains metrics and ready-made ques tionnaire methodologies that have stood the test?of time and can bring many valuable insights in a?short time.?

SEQ – Single Ease Question?

What is it? It is a 7-point rating scale that shows?how difficult it is for participants to find and com plete a UX task. After each task, ask the respon?

dents: “How difficult or easy was it for you to?complete the task?” They will give you an answer?ranging from very difficult to very easy.?

How is it measured? The participant evaluates on a?7-point scale from 1 to 7, then the arithmetic mean?is calculated.?

Normal: 5.5 out of 7?

How can you use it to improve UX? Suppose the?participants rated the task 3 points (that is, as?difficult) out of 7. It is a relatively poor result. After?refining the design elements and performing the?following testing, determine how difficult the partic ipants found this task after the upgrade. And if they?appreciated it by 6 points (that is, they considered it?easy), then you are moving in the right direction.

SUS – System Usability Scale?

What is it? The standardized SUS questionnaire is?used in usability testing to quantify the quality of?the user experience. Such questionnaires are helpful?when you need to get a general idea of how com fortable users are with your product or compare?your product with competitors.?

Remember that questionnaires will not help you un derstand why something is wrong with the product?and what needs to be worked on, so it is best to use?them in addition to usability testing.?

How is it measured? SUS is a questionnaire of 10?statements, each rated by the participant on a scale?from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).?

1. I would like to use this system frequently.

2. I found the system unnecessarily complex.

3. I thought the system was easy to use.?

4. I think that I would need the support of a techni cal person to use this system.?

5. I found the various functions in this system were?well integrated.?

6. I thought there was too much inconsistency in?this system.?

7. I would imagine that most people would learn to?use this system very quickly.?

8. I found the system very cumbersome to use.

9. I felt very confident using the system.?

10. I needed to learn a lot of things before I could?get going with this system.?

To calculate the final SUS score, you must:

? For odd questions: subtract one from the answer?

? For even questions: remove the response from?five (you get values from 0 to 4 for each question)?

? Add all 10 values?

? Multiply the sum by 2.5 (a value between 0 and?100 is obtained)?

Normal: The average SUS score is 68 (not 50!). Ac cordingly, if your product scored more than 68 points,?it is more convenient for users than average, and if?less, it is less fortunate than half of existing sites/apps.?

How can you use it to improve UX? There are sever al approaches to interpreting the SUS score.?

You can indicate results using letter ratings (A - ex cellent to F - very poor) or using adjectives that users?use to describe their experience with the product.?

Another option is to describe the SUS result in?terms of which score is acceptable, which means?that the product does not need severe revision and?signals critical problems.?

In addition, SUS scores are correlated with the NPS?marketing metric to be described in terms of that?metric. NPS (Net Promoter Score, or Net Support?Index) shows how satisfied customers are with a?service/product. This metric distinguishes three?groups of customers:?

? promoters - loyal customers who are ready to?recommend a product to their friends;??

? neutrals - customers who are satisfied with the?quality of the product but are not prepared to?recommend it;?

? detractors - critics of the product/service.

UMUX – Usability Metric for User Experience?

What is it? This method is an alternative to SUS. It ap peared in 2010. It differs in that it is much shorter than?the SUS survey - it contains only 4 questions. The?result may be less reliable. Suitable in cases where?there is no way to ask a dozen questions, for example,?if a usability survey is part of an extensive survey.?

How is it measured? Using the UMUX method,?respondents should rate 4 statements on a 7-point?scale (1 - strongly disagree, 7 - strongly agree):?

1. [This system’s] capabilities meet my requirements.

2. Using [this system] is a frustrating experience.

3. [This system] is easy to use.?

4. I have to spend too much time correcting things?with [this system].?

There are several variations of the UMUX method:?UMUX-Lite, UMUX 5-points version. They are de scribed in this article.?

To calculate the UMUX score, you need:?

? For odd questions: subtract one from their score;?

? For even questions: remove their score from sev en (you get values from 0 to 6 for each question);?

? Add all 4 values;?

? Divide the result by 24 (the maximum possible?amount) and multiply by 100%.?

? Calculate the arithmetic mean among all?UMUX-indicators of the respondents.?

How can you use it to improve UX? Interpreting the?UMUX results is difficult. It is a new method with an?insufficient basis for the formation of an empirical?rating scale.?

UEQ – User Experience Questionnaire?

What is it? A fast and reliable questionnaire to mea sure the User Experience of interactive products.??

The original German version of the UEQ was created in 2005.??

How is it measured? The UEQ contains six scales?with 26 items:?

? Attractiveness: Overall impression of the prod uct. Do users like or dislike the product??

? Perspicuity: Is it easy to get familiar with the prod uct? Is it easy to learn how to use the product??

? Efficiency: Can users solve their tasks without?unnecessary effort??

? Dependability: Does the user feel in control of?the interaction??

? Stimulation: Is it exciting and motivating to use?the product??

? Novelty: Is the product innovative and creative??Does the product catch the interest of users??

You can use the website https://www.ueq-online.org to?download the questionnaire and evaluate the results.?

How can you use it to improve UX? To interpret the?data correctly, you should use the handbook. It also?shows industry averages.?

How to сalculate ROI of UX?improvement??

To assess the impact of user experience on financial?performance, you need to calculate the return on??investment (ROI). It shows how changes in your UX?affect the bottom line, such as revenue, cost sav ings, or another key performance indicator (KPI).?

There are four steps to calculating ROI:

? Collecting UX metrics?

? KPI definition?

? Converting UX metrics to KPIs?

? Calculation?

Step 1: Collect UX Metrics??

First, you need to choose a UX metric - numerical data?that reflects the effectiveness of the user experience.

Many methods can be used to calculate ROI. They?can be divided into four primary sources:?

? Polls or questionnaires distributed during testing ? Analytics?

? Quantitative usability testing?

? Support service?

UX metric example?

Reviews:?

? Satisfaction rating?

? Ease of Use Assessment?

? The convenience of use?

? Assessment questionnaire (NPS, SUS, SUPR-Q)?

Analytics:?

? Frequency of repeat visits?

? New accounts or visitors?

? Conversion rate?

? Returning visitors?

? Update rate?

? Degree of completion?

? Number of errors and speed?

Quantitative usability testing:?

? Success rate?

? Time to complete the task?

? Error rate?

? Productivity (for example, the number of orders?processed per hour)?

Support:?

? Customer support?

? Phone calls, chats, emails, texts?

? Required training time?

? Number of customer complaints?

Step 2. Select KPI?

Next, you need to select a KPI to translate UX met rics into KPIs.?

KPIs depend on the specifics of the product and the?culture of the organization. In most cases KPIs are?reflected in monetary terms.?

Examples of KPIs:?

? Profit?

? Price?

? Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)?

? Employee turnover rate (ETR)?

? Employee productivity?

? Bounce rate?

? Session duration?

? Average time on page?

? Micro/macro conversion rate?

? User return rate?

? Traffic?

? Average check?

? Depth of view?

? Desktop/mobile/tablet traffic ratio, etc.?

For example, inconvenient navigation, slow page?loading speed, or an unattractive start page can be?the reason for a high bounce rate.?

The introduction of such tools as upselling and?cross-sell into the interface allows increasing the?average check.?

People are often confused about a large number of?metrics and cannot rank them. Therefore, rely on?the primary key metric, including all the above indi cators - revenue per user (ARPU).?

The ROI calculation shows the effect of usability on?getting the most value from a product. For example,?it can be a reduction in the time to use a product.

Of course, in some organizations with a high level of?maturity, the KPI and UX metrics may be the same. In?these cases, ROI calculations may be unnecessary.?

Step 3: Convert UX metrics to KPIs?

ROI calculation mainly converts units. You take one?unit (for example, the average number of seconds it?takes for a user to complete a task) and turn it into?another (save money).?

Sometimes these conversions are pretty straight forward. It could just be multiplying two numbers?together. In other cases, the calculations can be?more complex.?

It’s important to understand: ROI will help you com prehend the relative value of design projects. These?are not financial projections. Do not expect that the?profit will change precisely according to your calcu lations without errors.?

For example, your UX metric is the number of?support calls. Before the redesign, there were?10,000 of them per month. After the redesign of?users, it became easier to complete tasks on their?own - the number of applications decreased to?1,000 per month.?

Suppose that the cost per request is $20, the?average price of an employee’s time to solve a?customer problem. All that remains is to multiply?9,000 by 20 to get the projected monthly savings?of $180,000.?

Also, it should be borne in mind that design im provements are cumulative. It means the redesign?could generate $2,160,000 in revenue this year, but?it will double in size in another year.?

Step 4: Reporting?

An ROI calculation is needed to assess the value?of UX change. These are not financial projections.?Please do not show these numbers to the finance?department or tell them that you expect to see an?accurate increase in profits. The primary purpose?of usability ROI calculations is to compare benefits?versus research and development costs. Your Ac countability must be transparent.?

Remember, design improvements are cumulative. For?this reason, it is a good idea to look at a 2-5 year ROI.?

UX should be designed systematically from the?launch of the company’s first products. However,?user preferences can often change over time. Imple menting changes requires a technical partner with?extensive experience in your industry to help you?design exceptional experiences at every stage of?your customer journey.?

Digicode provides a full range of UI/UX services?from UX research to interaction design, and full?usability audits for web, iOS, and Android, including?those made in VR and AR.?

Digicode UI and UX experts smoothly integrate into?the software development process to work on con venient and intuitive digital products. We have past?experience designing both complex B2B solutions?and consumer apps.?

We believe that the key to success rests upon da ta-driven user insights, clearly defined goals, and?solid validation.