Key strategies to add value with UX/UI design
For startups, the ultimate goal is to establish a thriving business that can achieve sustained growth and remain competitive in their respective industry. One of the best ways to get there is by harnessing the digital product design potential.
The strategies I’ll talk about further can help startups build a solid foundation and create a digital product that can evolve with the business as it continues to grow. There are only two of them, but they are actually all you need to make the difference for your enterprise.
Strategy 1: Prioritize a data-driven approach to design
How to create great UX using data-driven designIf you want to differentiate yourself from competitors and secure lasting progress for your business, you should pursue a data-driven design approach, which involves UX research. That’s a crucial point because creating only visually-pleasing aesthetics won’t be of any help.
I bet you already know your audience somehow and even anticipate its needs. You sure took a look at your competitors and investigated the market landscape, comparing trends and requirements. Because how else would you launch the startup? But starting a business is just the first step. To truly maximize its value, you need to understand your target audience and so many other things on a deeper level.
While you may have some insights, in-depth UX research is essential for validating product ideas and creating a user-centered design that resonates with your clients and expands your reach even further. Here is how this process looks at Lazarev.agency. I’ll walk you through it briefly, pointing out the business benefits a thorough UX research can bring. So let’s get going!
We start UX research by interviewing stakeholders to agree on product vision and expectations. When briefing the client, we also define the customer's motivations and constraints and develop a personalized project management plan. By doing so, we create a solid foundation for future work, enabling us to deliver optimal results for B-series startups.
The next step involves a market analysis to gain a deep understanding of the product's potential in the current market landscape. Although companies keep an eye on some market trends and requirements, there are numerous factors beyond their control. Therefore, through exploratory work and generative research methods, we examine the market's specificities, constraints, and other product-related factors. This enables us to achieve the coveted product-market fit, which is the key to success in any industry. Besides, by leveraging market insights, we can tailor the product to meet the needs of their target audience, and, in turn, achieve sustained growth in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Market research also helps us identify opportunities for post-development positioning. In other words, we can refine the product concept and clarify its characteristics to make it more competitive and attractive to users. This is an ongoing process that takes place throughout the entire product design cycle, with each iteration building on the previous one to achieve the best possible outcome.
Following the market research phase, we conduct a thorough investigation of the startup's target audience. At this stage, we do our best to understand the obstacles people face when using the product, as well as their expectations.
We leverage a range of quantitative and qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews, surveys, field studies, experiments, and observations to collect the necessary data. The insights we gather allow us to create Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs) and Customer Journey Maps (CJMs), which help us comprehend how our target audience segments can overcome their pain points by using the product. By analyzing this information, we create a design that meets the demand of the market and delivers an exceptional user experience to the customers.
How to create an effective digital product design strategyOnce we’ve gathered the necessary research data, we move on to the product positioning sprint. This phase is dedicated to validating the product's value proposition and ensuring that it aligns with the needs and pain points of the target audience. To accomplish this, we use a framework called the Value Proposition Canvas, which helps us create a clear connection between the product and the problems it solves for users.
So as you can see, conducting user research is a vital step in the digital product design process for startups looking to maximize their product value and differentiate themselves from competitors. But the design, even when it’s based on a thorough UX research, isn’t a cure-all if you neglect the next strategy. So why don’t we see what’s hiding there?