The ROI of UX Research

The benefits of design in every form have an intuitive characteristic. It is said that good design has the potential to evoke emotions. While the contrast between good and bad design is deep, the one between exceptional design and exceptional UX Research is slightly more difficult. UX research is crucial to the product design and development stage. It helps to reduce usability issues and negative user experiences during interaction with the product. UX Research provides valuable insight into user experiences, requirements, attitude, and behaviour with the help of structured methods that aid during product and designing strategies.

As is seen in Design Thinking, the right solution requires an understanding of the right problems to solve and that can only be achieved through research. UX Research is the quickest solution to understanding which aspect of a product didn’t click with the end-user and why.

This being said, most brands tend to question the necessity of UX Research owing to the cost and time involved in the process. Understanding the estimated ROI of UX Research during the initial stages right up to product launch will help gain a better understanding of its requirement within an organisation.

Understanding ROI in Terms of UX Research

UX Research is an important part of the product designing and development process. It gives valuable insight into user experiences, behaviour and attitude by using structured methods that guide product designing strategies. UX research helps lower usability issues and ensures there are no negative user experiences when the user sets to interact with the product. In spite of its benefits, there is hesitation regarding the necessity of UX Research owing to its cost and time restraints. Return on Investment, or ROI, is a measure that helps determine how efficient an investment is. The calculated ROI of UX Research takes into account the highest rate of return an organisation gets through business investment.

The computed ROI of UX Research enables the identification of a clear correlation between the actions of the design and product teams and the project budget in order to boost financial sales and revenue. UX Research when conducted properly can yield investment return rates as high as 301% and can lead to reduced development time for a project, from 33% to 50%.

Measuring the ROI of UX Research

There are a few key metrics that are affected when UX Research is conducted and these can affect either the revenue or cost or both of a product. As UX Research is a constant process that starts right from the inception of a product to its final launch, the metrics are to be taken as a continuous process.

Minimises design and development costs — Understanding the errors or flaws present during the prototyping stage helps to prevent redesigning of features in a later stage. This helps to spare a considerable amount of time as well as money for both the designer and developer teams. It aids in saving both money and time during the development stage of the product and gives a better understanding of user pain points.

Eases pressure on customer support — Once usability issues are looked into, chances are there will be fewer people calling in with issues. Also, researchers can look to collaborate with support executives and sync a support software within the research system to identify and organise usability problems.

Leads to lesser abandonment and drop-offs — When users are able to understand the designs they’re using, they won’t stop using the product mid-way. This will ensure increased interactions with the design in the way you’d want them to, i.e. registering in a website, clicking a particular button, and proceeding to the next step.

Improved user interactions — Conducting user research helps in understanding user requirements and expectations from a particular product. It aids in creating user-specific designs that are easy to interact with and give favourable outcomes, ensuring people use and re-use the product.

Reduces errors — User research ensures there are reduced errors in a design right from the stage of inception. Conducting UX research throughout the design process right up to its release ensures an experience that is people-first and caters to their needs specifically, ensuring users interact with the product more.

Selecting the ROI of UX Research

Selecting the correct ROI of UX Research requires an understanding of certain KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators). Knowledge of these metrics helps to decipher the rate of impact of UX Research and how this might affect the growth and revenue of a website and product.

Conversion Rate — The conversion rate in the ROI of UX Research consists of people who have a ‘desired reaction’ to the product. This can be measured by dividing the number of individuals who have the desired reaction by the total number of visitors x 100. The desired reaction will depend on what reaction is expected from participants.

Bounce Rate — The bounce rate gives data regarding the percentage of people who view a particular page before leaving it. When a page is optimised using UX Research, it’ll ensure people spend more time on the page and proceed to visit other linked pages.

Net Promoter Score — NPS helps in understanding the loyalty a customer has towards a particular brand in comparison to similar brands. It aids in the measurement of not just customer satisfaction but also potential revenue growth.

Net Return on Investment — The Net Return on Investment provides an insight into the overall return from the investment. This is noticed through increased NPS and sales. It also helps in understanding the damage avoided to the brand image through problems related to UX. The NRI also gives an idea of the number of customers gained after fixing onboarding and other usability issues.

Conclusion

Conducting UX Research prior to the launch of a product not just ensures the usability of the intact but also puts equal focus on the potential growth of the product and customer base. It does not just help in saving cost but also aids in saving time spent on fixing glitches in the product. UX Research ensures more value is put into creating better opportunities for businesses and users alike. It helps to look at the possible opportunities for improvement and then implement those opportunities to create better experiences.
 

TL;DR

• What is the importance of UX Research?

UX Research helps in reducing usability issues and aids in understanding target users better. It does this through the use of a set of research techniques such as interviews, card sorting, surveys, and usability tests.

• What is ROI in terms of UX Research?

The calculated ROI of UX Research considers the highest rate of return an organisation may expect from a business investment. It allows for the identification of a clear correlation between the design and product teams' actions and the project budget in order to increase financial sales and revenue.

• How is the ROI of UX Research measured?

The ROI of UX Research is measured through - minimised design and development costs, easing of pressure on customer support, lesser abandonments and drop-offs, improved user interactions, and reduced errors.

• How is the ROI of UX Research selected?

Selecting the correct ROI of UX Research requires an understanding of certain KPI’s. It is calculated through - conversion rate, bounce rate, Net Promoter Score, and Net Return on Investment.