User experience can now make or break a brand

With global competition increasing every day, survival has become a major challenge for companies. Several enterprises were unable to cope with the impact of the pandemic and the ever-evolving consumer expectations. Over 42% of the businesses did not take enough steps to effectively handle the change that occurred to due to the pandemic.

However, the others were able to boost their sales while the world was shutting down by implementing effective techniques and strategies to engage with their customers. One of the tactics is to deploy a good UX strategy that can help the brand in optimising for growth and development and enhance operations while keeping user needs at the centre of it.

Some of the examples include finding the nearest doctor, reading reviews and booking an appointment, applying for a new bank account or credit card online or viewing your dream home virtually in a few steps. This is possible today thanks to the company’s UX or User Experience. It took long for organisations to understand how UX is one of the major determinants of a product’s success, with the power to transform any business, sector, and industry in the world.

As consumer trends continue to evolve rapidly, keeping up with expectations has been a tough challenge for businesses across various industries, especially for retail. UX methodologies are being used by companies to create a welcoming and attractive environment and allow them to observe user patterns and then display products according to their preferences.

Retailers online and offline are focusing on creating experiences that go beyond a single channel or interaction method. Online retailers are focusing on data and personalisation. The effectiveness of logistics and operational innovations are giving birth to new delivery methods and timelines.

The focus on visual design, user-friendly websites, easy check-outs, and user-centric retail experience has made it possible for retail companies to offer positive customer engagement. Retailers who have understood their core consumers and have evolved with them are more successful compared to those who have gone digital as followers. Virtual reality and metaverse is another aspect that retailers cannot ignore. Although still in its early stages, by 2025, it is slated to impact 18% of the consumer’s journey by being part of it.

Loyalty programmes that are seamlessly weaved in the customer’s journey are already showing positive impact on the industry. Starbucks has increased its’ consumer base by 14% in US alone with its Loyalty Programme within the first year of its launch. A study by Boston Consulting Group confirms that any strategic loyalty programme that is carefully aligned with customer journey can increase the customer base by 10-15% for any retailer.

In the healthcare industry, the quality of care that patients receive is of immense importance. A sector that has been need-based and usually has users that are in a vulnerable state of mind was often neglected either because of the state of these users or the monopoly this industry enjoyed. But recently, the state of the user has become the catalyst in its transformation.

Estimated investment in the healthcare industry for IT services, AI and CX will reach $34 billion by 2025. In the MENA region, 7 out of 10 healthcare brands are currently engaged in a CX transformation initiative. Designers have been able to create user-friendly mobile applications, websites, and digital platforms that have enhanced user, patient experience. Many hospitals maintain large databases with electronic health records that have patient information allowing for predictive and more personalised care.

Artificial intelligence, data, and cross-sector integrations are key trends in the industry that will lead the future to make patients’ experiences better. Better designed interfaces and systems that allow them to easily share health records with other hospitals, enable predictive disease control and prevention, integrations with wearables and other start-up tech is fast getting mainstream.

Another trend is a more inclusive approach where we are seeing more health applications replacing medical jargons with colloquial terms for individuals to understand their conditions better. In the region, the public sector and regulatory bodies are pushing for unified patient experiences across all health facilities and the use of data is on the rise.

The banking sector has seen the rise of fintech start-ups mainly in the crypto space and trading. These new-age start-ups and trends are pushing conventional banks to shed their legacies, regulations, and fascination with somewhat misplaced security concerns. According to a IPSOS study, 94% of the banks believe their competition now is with fintech start-ups, not just with financial institutions. Digital banks are mainstream and visiting a branch is a thing of the past. However, customer, user driven transformation is still a challenge.

A recent IBM survey of C-suite officers found that customers only come second to the C-suite in terms of how much influence they have over the strategic direction of a company. The same IBM survey showed that over 400 million users now rely solely on mobile banking for their day-to-day banking needs.

Data-led personalisation and artificial intelligence are key future trends for this sector. Similar to the telecommunications industry 10 years ago, the differentiation between banks is no more a feature, rates or channels race, but to provide a more personalised, seamless omnichannel experience while keeping up with fintech and the expectations set by them.

The real estate industry is one of the largest industries in the world. The documents and processes involved in this market make every transaction complicated. Coupled with that, miscommunication is another challenge. UX has made the discovery of a potential customer’s next purchase or rental much easier. Accurate locations, virtual views, 360-degree guided tours, followed by easier, more secure, and virtual paperwork.

Many websites and applications allow thousands of individuals – both buyers and sellers – to discover, book, purchase, and interact in a much better way. To ease the process for buyers, organisations have started virtual tours, easily book an online appointment with an agent and discuss everything.

Focusing on improving user experience can help increase sales and brand loyalty. Post-purchase experiences have evolved as well. Property management, maintenance tasks, support, and legal matters are all more digital and the typical brick-and-mortar industry is more digital today than ever before.

As the world becomes more user-centric, technology will continue to evolve to facilitate better experiences for the end-user. No matter how good the product is, if the users are not satisfied with the process, it is unlikely for them to become a repeat customer. Hence, it is critical for companies to focus their efforts on improving the user experience which will in turn lead to more sales.

Amazon reduced friction in the reordering process and gained thousands of new clients, Airbnb realised that millennials love traveling in groups and introduced a group planning experience, which became widely popular.

Today, forward-thinking organisations continue to optimise their processes to make every interaction internally and externally convenient and user centric as consumerism is a trend which is here to stay regardless of the industry.

Key takeaways

• As the world becomes more user-centric, technology will continue to evolve to facilitate better experiences for the end-user.
• It is critical for companies to focus their efforts on improving the user experience which will in turn lead to more sales.
• Amazon reduced friction in the reordering process and gained thousands of new clients.
• Airbnb realised that millennials love traveling in groups and introduced a group planning experience, which became widely popular.
• It took long for organisations to understand UX is one of the major determinants of a product’s success.
• Starbucks has increased its’ consumer base by 14% in US alone with its Loyalty Programme.
• Any strategic loyalty programme that is aligned with the customer journey can increase customer base by 10-15% for any retailer.
• A recent survey of C-suite officers found that customers only come second to the C-suite in terms of how much influence they have.
• 400 million users now rely solely on mobile banking for their day-to-day banking needs.

Focus on visual design, user-friendly websites, easy check-outs, user-centric retail experience has made it possible to offer positive customer engagement.