By Vi Ha
Digital products are becoming valuable intangible assets as they help companies generate profit during the pandemic. The question lies in the products from which firms can capture a more extensive market share and help sustain them in the long term. Since the pandemic shut down many businesses, digital products have practically been the only thing generating profits for most organizations. However, not every product can ensure the survival of the company. This article reveals the fundamentals behind mobile applications and websites where user experience is vital in order for companies to flourish.
Digital Products At a Glance
Digital products such as websites and mobile applications are not meant to be built, launched, and left untouched for the next couple of years. They must undergo continuous and multiple iterations of testing, revamping, and adjusting when data signifies a change in the market. Customer taste and preference continuously evolve, which explains why products revolutionize to keep up with competitors. A product should always align with the company’s goals. Any company wants to grow its reputation, increase its revenue, or acquire customer satisfaction. A successful product that can eradicate potential threats must emphasize the third goal - it must fulfill audience needs and desires and provide the most satisfactory experience. Fortunately, user experience (UX) can tackle these requirements. UX plays a major role in conquering the sustainability of growth, acquiring more customers, leveraging the products and potentially saving a company from shutting down. However, UX alone cannot determine the success of a product. This is why user interface (UI) is essential.
UX and UI work together and can leverage multiple aspects of the desired product. UI defines what consumers can view when using products. It includes the design, colours, graphics, and art in each element presented on screens. On the other hand, UX generates, manages, and strategically utilizes each user’s overall experience to instigate emotion in users. UX can, for example, be the shipping of new features, a well-designed user flow, or the organization of available content. UI is a part of UX since visualization contributes to how customers connect to a product.
UX – The Innovative Shift in Developing Products
UX is a crucial element that can determine if a product will be loved and widely used by people. The target audience thrives on surrounding themselves with the products that optimize their satisfaction and experience, such as accomplishing multiple tasks in a short amount of time. The more satisfied they are, the more time and money they are willing to spend. Innovative UX designs and architecture also retain more customers and build a loyal customer base. Once a customer is dedicated to your product, that user’s long-term engagement and monetization are harnessed. Faithful users allow for sustainable development and will not be stolen by competitors. What’s more, the company can trim the budget on marketing expenses as UX boosts business conversations and builds brand awareness among customers.
Additionally, developing features that surprise customers is another UX aspect to consider. Creating a product that offers multiple benefits and exceptional experiences is equivalent to an outstanding UX design. In products that have similar services, UX is a factor that drives the further development of a product. Once competitors catch up with the help of UX, customers can choose to go back anytime. The network effect applies here as products become more valuable the more people use them. Further, people tend to love using products that provide value and are popular. Therefore, UX can help a customer base grow faster and more robust.
What’s more, UX plays a part in turning a digital product into a habit-forming one. “Habit-forming” terminology promotes the urge to buy a particular product, and over time, the user finds this product hard to give up. That is why systems such as Meta can gain a large following and monetize from them. This application makes people unconsciously scroll for hours in their free time. Days soon turn into months, months turn into years, and the cycle repeats until it becomes a habit. In addition, the UX designs of Facebook signify the ease of usage. Further, integrating an all-in-one platform (news, streaming, messaging, and marketplace) has made this product a part of many people’s daily lives. Once the product becomes habit-forming, the acceleration of monetization and conversions will soon be at its peak and expansion of market reach begins.
UX Really Matters - An Example
Let’s look at two applications that offer similar services: Notion and OneNote. Notion and OneNote are both note-taking applications. However, one simply cannot compare the two, as OneNote is more well-known and used by a larger audience. On the other hand, why is Notion becoming more popular, having been recently valued at $10B?
Image: Notion. All Rights reserved.
A part of the answer lies in the UX deliverables. Taking notes has been considered tedious for a while, for which the lack of quick execution of tasks and shortage of tools are the main reasons. Notion offers users a clean and well-organized set of tools by typing a simple synchronized command. This design reduces complications, increases starters’ navigability, and delivers an intuitive platform. Notion also supplies a variety of tools that can be customized with ease. While Notion’s execution mostly requires the keyboard, OneNote requires an equal portion of mouse and keyboard functions to write notes. Further, all of OneNote’s features are laid out on screens, which provides visual aid. Here, UI plays a significant role in augmenting UX, further demonstrating why UI and UX go hand in hand. However, unfamiliar users may feel overwhelmed by the lack of variation in the available tools. In addition, OneNote’s layout resembles a more complicated version of Word, which may frustrate some as Word is designed for formal and long writings. As such, the format does not tackle the problem of traditional note-taking practices.
Note-taking applications are gradually becoming more commonplace. Young professionals are turning to these applications more often and can enjoy the multiple benefits if UX is done well. There is no denying that these digital products have influenced the habit of usage of each customer. It bears repeating: the more customers use and adore a product, the more profitable the company.
Evidently, UX is vital for digital products. It deserves more investment to revolutionize itself throughout the cycle and contribute to digital transformation and the success of products. UX is an endeavour, but once perfected, it is only a matter of time before a product thrives.
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