Hello and welcome to the Working Image Podcast. I'm your host, Jared Michael Gordon. This is episode 15, the Business Benefits of UX Design. Let's get started. User experience commonly referred to as UX or user-centered design has become the cornerstone of successful digital strategies. In this episode, we'll explore how prioritizing user needs in design can lead to enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty, ultimately impacting your business's bottom line. That's right. Your sales will increase when your customer's user experience is considered. You just can't offer a service or product. You have to take your customer's user experience into account. What is user-centered design? Well simply put, it's an approach that places the end users, the people who are actually using your website or app. At the center of the design process, it involves understanding user behaviors, needs, and pain points. Then creating digital experiences that align with these insights. Businesses that prioritize this approach often see substantial benefits in terms of customer satisfaction, loyalty, and sales. User-centered design directly influences the success of a business in several ways. A user-friendly website or app is more likely to be intuitive and enjoyable to use, which results in increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. Happy customers are more likely to return, spend more, and recommend your business to others. In this highly competitive digital landscape, user-centered design is a game changer. While the benefits are clear, adopting a user-centered design approach is challenging. First, there's a lack of awareness about the importance of ux. Some view it as an additive expense rather than an investment. Second, some may not know where to begin. Fortunately, there are various resources and cost-effective methods to start integrating UX into your design process. For every size company out there, you don't have to be in the Fortune 500 to take advantage of UX design. I recommend starting by understanding your customers. Some of you may laugh and say, I know my customers, but in regard to UX design, knowing your customer is understanding how they're going to use your website or app, conduct user research, even if it's basic, just ask them and apply those insights to your design. Asking your past and current customers how they found using your website or app or anything related to your business will give you essential information on how to make it easier for the next person to use them and in return, become a customer. For instance, if you have a 24 hour emergency service, your phone number better be on the top of your website. The last thing someone with a plumbing emergency wants to do is search your contact page for your number. That could be the difference between landing the customer or not, and there are a bunch of these examples for every industry. Yes, even your industry. From lawyers to construction companies, chefs to politicians, every company, every industry, every professional can learn from their users to

Make a better experience for them. Ultimately, this will result in more business for your company. Remember, you don't have to do it all at once. Minor, consistent improvements are key. You will learn a lot from each improvement. I see this situation so many times in my industry. My company works in three areas, graphic design, web design, and digital marketing. So a company would tell me they don't need a website or they don't need a fancy website because it's not important. It's not how their company gets new business, but they understand they need a company website because that's, quote , just what's done today, unquote . While the fact that they don't have a well-designed user-friendly website is exactly why they aren't getting new business from their current website. Imagine what would happen if they had a well-designed user-friendly site. How much business could they bring in? The other recommendation is that you hire a professional digital marketing company to evaluate your current situation and suggest changes. That'll define the next steps your company should take to enhance your customer's user experience. This is obviously the more costly of the two options, but you have to ask yourself if it is going to cost more money than the money you are potentially losing by not having a user-centered design. So you have to think about that. To sum up first, understand that user-centered design or UX design is a strategic asset that can directly impact your business's bottom line. Second, don't be afraid to invest in user research and design. It's a long-term investment that pays off. Third, always strive to iterate and improve your digital experiences based on user feedback. It's also an ongoing journey to provide the best experience to your customers. Lastly, remember, companies of every size can and should take advantage of user-centered design. It's always gonna lead to more business. Well, that's it for episode 15 of The Working Image Podcast. The Business Benefits of UX Design, all the necessary links and information or in the show notes. If you have any questions, email the working image@gmail.com. We know your time is valuable. Thank you for using some of that time to listen. Take care, everyone.