The ROI of User Experience

We all know that investing in UX makes things easier for the user, but is it worth the money you put into it? What is the Return on Investment (ROI) of UX? It may be difficult to quantify the added value of a great experience, but there are a variety of other benefits from investing in UX that deliver real measurable results.

While UX is most immediately concerned with the user, investing in this area of your business pays off in a variety of different ways. Here are a few ways investing in UX provides a great ROI.

Reduced Long-Term Costs

Investing in UX may seem like an unnecessary upfront cost with no tangible return, but it will actually save you money in the long run. In Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, Robert Pressman found that for every dollar it would cost to fix a problem during design, the cost during development would be $10 and $100 to fix the problem after release.

Investing in UX lets you get things right from the start. Beginning with the right design and putting the money in at the first stage of the process will reduce overall costs and ultimately make things easier. The money you invest in UX now will save you from costly fixes in the future.

Increased Sales

The happier a user is the more likely he or she is to make a purchase.

Investing in user experience helps to eliminate any potential confusion or annoyance in your navigation process that may prevent the user from completing a purchase. I recommend enhancing your user experience with online guidance software to eliminate customer confusion and frustration.

You can reduce frustration and make for a more pleasant purchasing experience, ultimately increasing sales. These results can be measured by comparing before and after using metrics such as average revenue per user (ARPU) or conversion rate.

Increased Productivity

Investing in UX is also a great way to save valuable employee time. In her video The ROI of User Experience, Dr. Susan notes that 50% of programmer time during IT projects is spent doing avoidable work and that up to 15% of IT projects are abandoned. Investing in UX from the start can minimize unnecessary work, leaving your employees free to spend their time on other important projects for your business. The careful planning that comes from UX helps to ensure that every moment of your employees’ time is spent adding value to your business.

Long-Term User Loyalty

Users appreciate a simple and intuitive UX and by investing in giving them what you want, you’re working to create loyal users who will become a stable source of long-term revenue. A study by Bain & Co. found that a 10% increase in user retention will increase your business’s value by an average of 30%. There are very few things that can deliver as fantastic ROI as increased user retention and the best way to earn loyal users is by delivering a great UX.

Conclusion

UX offers a great ROI that goes well beyond the most immediate benefit to the user. It helps to improve overall revenue and reduce costs in a variety of areas across your business.

Investing in UX may seem like an unnecessary cost, but the long-term benefit to your business will be more than worth the money you put into it.