A lot is said about UX Design and about delivering good experiences (see here) to users and customers. But what do these concepts mean in practice? How can your company benefit and apply this methodology to really make your products more useful, usable and desirable?
Today, we live in the experience economy, where people have developed, from countless experiences with companies and products, a greater critical sense in relation to what they consume and use. Today consumers and customers are looking for services and products that meet their real needs while also enchanting and engaging.
When we refer to the needs of consumer customers, we are talking about both practical and emotional needs. Thinking about experience is something broad, from the individual´s point of view, as a brand perception is not built in a single moment or point of contact; it reflects different perceptions in the interaction between the user and a company and can be a positive or negative experience.
We can think of user experience design as a multidisciplinary approach or methodology composed of several aspects that, in isolation, cannot deliver a good experience. UX (by market convention, as the original academic definitions of the term sometimes diverge at this point) is associated with the experience provided by an interactive product (such as applications, systems or interfaces of any nature). Meanwhile, CX connects with the broader customer journey along their brand touchpoints (relationship with branding, purchase process, service, customer success, etc.).
UX always connects with understanding a motivating task or pain to use a certain product. The definition of the “WHAT” and the “HOW” depend on a deep understanding of the behavior of the people who will use this artifact. The focus of UX is to understand and propose something for the user that is relevant, pleasant, easy to understand and some other attributes that also depend on the moment and your business objective.
Some important questions that a UX designer asks are: what tasks does this product need to help the user accomplish? What does the product need to do? What kind of functionality should it have? What needs to be left out of the product in order to not unnecessarily confuse users? What is relevant or not in this context? What hierarchy should be given for each feature on the screen? What would be the most intuitive way of structuring the information? Which texts, calls and languages can help the understanding of what is possible to do in this product?
Another way to understand UX is to think that every good experience meets 3 central points, what we usually call the pyramid of good experiences: The basic starting point of any product in a meaningful user experience is that that product has to serve something. This is the base of the pyramid, starting with a clear solution purpose about a pain/problem that the user has. Does your user really need what that product you offer?
The second point is that there is no point in having amazing features if the user cannot enjoy them. This is where USABILITY comes in. Imagine having the best solution in the world, the best value proposition, but when interacting with the interface, the person is faced with an access barrier that makes it impossible for him to take full advantage of the features. Do you allow the user to EASILY USE your product?
And finally, you need the power of attraction of incredible solutions. The effect that generates satisfaction, surprise and delight in people when they use a really excellent product. This “wow” effect is realized in many ways, going through all the beams of the pyramid, from the assertiveness of the solution, the ease of use, the communication, the answers and “humanity” of the treatment of the system, the pleasant/friendly layout that will be responsible for generating a “totality of perceptions” that will touch the heart of this user. Does your product trigger this “I REALLY want to use it” effect on potential and current customers ?
In conclusion, understanding user needs is essential to design awesome products, which will generate awesome results to businesses.
