With all the furore around UX design, it’s sort of become a must-have for forward-thinking businesses. And in the line of work we’re in, we can let out a collective cheer in response. But it does beg the question, why should you hire on, and do it right away? What will they add to your business? How will they advance your products? Because we don’t believe in keeping things behind closed doors, here’s our honest take on what a UX designer can do for your business, and all the reasons for hiring one.

They’ll shine a light on your customers

We’re going to be bold on this first point. You love your customers, right? Any self-respecting business does because they’re the ones who keep you going. They’re your lifeblood and your advocates. They’re the key to success or failure. And that’s all big, serious stuff there.

So, do you actually know them? And we mean, really know them? What they like, dislike, how they feel about your products and services. How they’d like to see them improved. All those things and more come through a thorough understanding of your customers, and that takes both time and expertise to collate. It all goes back to the user experience, and how powerful it is.

That in itself sounds rather touchy-feely, but actually, this approach pays off too. One study by Forester revealed that every dollar invested in UX brings 100 dollars in return. You only need to look at those brands doing it so well, they seem unreachable, to see how UX investment pays off. Airbnb, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon are just a handful of examples.

They know how to conduct robust research

A lot of the work that goes into getting the skinny on your customers comes from well-practised methods, like surveys and user interviews. So, like a well-oiled machine, albeit it, with a very human one, a UX designer will find out the most important info to help you create wonderful products.

All this will help you hurdle problems you may not have even considered and target your products to the user. As a client, you can expect a clear plan of action, and set stages for each project. That means transparency throughout, and results that make a difference at the end.

Generally, you’ll be looking at phases of research. We did say it was robust! Starting with primary methods conducted through things like surveys and questionnaires. Moving into secondary research, looking at existing data to validate initial findings, and moving into evaluative, exploratory and generative methods to explore and solve problems.

They’ll feed into your company’s strategy

All of these elements fall into the realms of the overall strategy. As we said, nothing is left to chance, and everything is kept transparent to ensure everyone is on board.

As this article highlights, the kind of things uncovered by the extensive research and testing that follows impacts organisational elements. Often the effects can be deep and far-reaching and may lead to huge organisational change.

But before you get too spooked by the prospect of a massive overhaul, it’s important to remember that UX design isn’t about making changes for change’s sake. It’s about sense-checking your products for usability, lovability, and shareability. That’s the focus, rather than being set on changing the world. Sometimes small tweaks can have huge positive consequences. We’re saying it’s about working smart, not always big.

They’ll implement each stage with precision

UX is all about the details. That means that every single stage of each project will be carried out with absolute precision. It also means that there’s no hard and fast rule for a successful UX project. Continually checking back with users and seeing how things are being received is what makes a great UX designer stand out.

If you wanted to condense the process down to really simple terms, you could say that UX design projects look a little like this:

Audience research stage
Connecting the company’s goals and visions to the users
Using all the skills and tricks to make the product efficient and useful

But along the way, they’ll be applying all their learned knowledge, solid research skills, and a very human outlook to see how those overarching pieces of the puzzle fit together.

They won’t leave you in the lurch post-launch

Once your product is launched, that’s not the end of the road. There’s a theme here, and it’s that a UX designer loves to continue to learn and apply that knowledge to tweak products to make them even better.

So, post-launch is just as important as the rest of the journey. Here, a great designer will gather feedback, assess usability, test, track session lengths, and look at conversion success. We repeat you will not be left in the lurch!

In safe hands

It’s not enough to say that every successful brand has invested in UX, and you should too. It’s more about understanding what the thought process is, why it’s important to your success, and how it can shape the approach your business takes for the better, and in the long run.

Essentially, a great UX designer will put your company in safe hands. You’ll all be part of the ride, rather than it is an area reserved for the tech people alone. And it will help you build amazing products that will set your brand apart.

Get in touch today and see how our expert UX consultants can transform your digital experiences.