Digital transformation through UX

We invite you to discover this secret and put it into practice in your company so that you can experience significant changes that will increase your sales.
The secret used by the most successful companies is based on two fundamental components that have been gaining strength and have become what they are today, driving both labor and organizational growth in both public and private sectors. In this article, we will explore every detail and the relationship between each of them, until we unveil the secret hidden behind. We will also look at success stories of companies that have put it into practice, as well as statistics that will truly surprise you.

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Here is a detailed overview of the topics that will be covered in this article:

• What is Digital Transformation?
• What is User Experience?
• Relationship between Digital Transformation and UX Design
• The business value of UX
• How to prioritize UX in a company's digital transformation?
• Success stories of companies that have combined digital transformation and UX
  
  
  

What is Digital Transformation?

When we talk about digital transformation, we cannot overlook technology, as it is the foundation. In fact, it involves integrating technology into a company, considering all aspects: processes, products, services, and the company's interaction with its customers and employees.

Within the process of change that a company must undergo when deciding to undergo digital transformation, acquiring systems for business management, data analysis, task automation, online collaboration tools, artificial intelligence, integrated management of sales, marketing, customer service, and all touchpoints (CRM), continuous improvement systems, and performance analysis, among others, are crucial.

Digital transformation is a continuous process that never ends, as new improvement opportunities arise daily, which must be implemented by companies to ensure that their efforts are worthwhile. Neglecting this process results in outdated practices and suboptimal outcomes.

Some of the main advantages of considering and implementing digital transformation include:

• Improved operational efficiency through the automation of manual tasks that consume a lot of time and resources
• Enhanced customer experience through personalization, 24/7 support, and system optimization
• Data collection and analytics for making strategic decisions based on a better understanding of customers and their needs.
• Greater business agility through digitization, enabling companies to adapt better and faster to changes in their environment and customer preferences.
  
  

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What is User Experience?

Certainly, defining user experience is complex due to the multitude of variables and approaches it includes. However, we will define it in the simplest way possible. It consists of a series of perceptions and responses that a human being has as a result of interacting with a product, system, or service. Factors such as emotions, beliefs, preferences, perceptions, physical and physiological responses, behaviors, and achievements of users influence the experience, which could occur before, during, and after the interaction.

The primary goal of user experience design (UX) is to create products, systems, and services that are intuitive, efficient, and satisfying for users. To achieve this, fundamental aspects such as usability, accessibility, aesthetics, among others, must be considered. Below, we will explain three essential pillars of user experience:

• User research: For every scenario, product, system, or service, users vary, but they will always be at the center and, therefore, thoroughly understanding their needs and desires is key. To achieve this, data collection tools such as interviews, surveys, and tests with real users are used.
• Prototyping and testing: A crucial stage of design involves creating prototypes that seek the closest approximation to the final product, system, or service, with the aim that users can use it and provide feedback for continuous improvement until the optimal result is obtained.
• Accessibility: A user experience design that does not consider accessibility is a design that is likely to fail. Therefore, designers attach great importance to this factor so that everything designed can be used by anyone, thereby expanding the scope of use and also meeting legal requirements.

Relationship between Digital Transformation and UX Design

At the beginning, we talked about the secret of the success of large companies; in this section, we will discuss that secret and its two fundamental components.

The first component is Digital Transformation, and the second is UX Design, both explained and understood earlier. Although one might think that there is no relationship because there are still companies that do not consider them, the truth is that success lies in complementing them.

To understand how they complement each other in a real business environment, let's look at specific cases:

Improving Customer Experience: To achieve this, a company cannot solely focus on user experience and forget about technology, at least not in today's world, so the company must implement state-of-the-art digital systems and combine them with customer analysis to provide the best experience. It is through this synergy that the customer experience is effectively improved through applications, websites, products, or systems that are easy to use and, therefore, satisfactory.

Internal Collaboration: Digital transformation not only focuses on customers but also on the company's employees, who need to work together for tasks that require online collaboration systems. The big detail is that these systems cannot merely exist; they must be accessible, intuitive, efficient, and that is precisely what user experience design does. Therefore, companies must consider both axes for their internal success, which will ultimately impact their customers and sales.

Innovation: An indispensable part of digital transformation is always being at the forefront; however, companies need to fully understand their employees and users to do so, and user experience design plays a key role in achieving this so that innovative decisions can be made based on that understanding, ensuring that improvements will be attractive and, above all, functional for users.

>> Why define the processes that affect the customer experience? <<

The business value of UX

Before discussing commercial data on the impact of UX, it cannot be overlooked that although most companies currently understand UX and its role in satisfying their customers, which generates conversions, they certainly underestimate its great potential, both present and future.

According to Kissmetrics, 16% of mobile users would leave a page if it did not load within 1-5 seconds. 30% would do so after 6-10 seconds, and for 3% of mobile users, there is less than a second to capture and maintain their attention. What does that mean for CEOs and their companies? Not taking agile action means lost money in the final balance.

Another crucial and surprising factor is that the return on investment in UX is enormous. In a recent study by Forrester, better UX involved in websites and mobile applications showed that "a well-designed user interface can increase a website's conversion rate by 200%, and better UX design up to 400%".

How to prioritize UX in a company's Digital Transformation?

To better understand how to prioritize it, we must first understand that the heart of digital transformation is UX and therefore has a high hierarchy within the subject.

At this point, we want to give you recommendations so that you can make informed decisions when venturing into digital transformation hand in hand with UX. First, carefully and honestly listen to your users (customers and employees) to fully understand them. By doing so, you will have a powerful tool to safely improve their experiences and thus move towards a successful transformation.

Another recommendation is to view everything from a macro level and make patient decisions always focused on customers and employees. Before rushing into execution, evaluate the final objectives. As part of this evaluation, you can ask yourself the following questions:

• How can our solution help improve the reach of your objectives?
• How would the adoption of a new digital transformation strategy impact current systems and/or products?
• Who and what need a software solution?

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Successful cases of companies combining Digital Transformation and UX

1. The Home Depot with retail Digital Transformation

Although it is a company that has been very successful, Home Depot decided to adopt an expansive digital transformation strategy with the simple goal of improving the online shopping experience and providing its customers with high-quality products.

This continuous process was achieved across all channels. Additionally, the company plans to invest $11 billion over the next 3 years to improve its online shopping experience.

To enhance the customer experience, Home Depot hired a thousand IT professionals who were responsible for developing back-end and distribution channels and created a robust IT department, which collects and effectively uses customer data.

The company saves a lot of money by tracking local trends and maintaining appropriate inventory levels. The value of Home Depot's shares increased from $135 to $215 in recent years, resulting in revenues of $17 billion.

2. Hasbro, a company with business innovation

Hasbro, a company responsible for manufacturing and marketing games and toys, noticed that its market share was decreasing. To increase sales, they implemented new digital strategies that included data.

Hasbro began collecting this data and using it to create direct marketing campaigns. In this way, they promoted themselves on social media, reaching out to parents who buy toys and games for their children. All this collected data contributed to the company understanding its customers better and being much more proactive with them.

Currently, Hasbro combines storytelling, social media marketing, video content, and its nostalgic brands. It also uses omnichannel marketing for better consumer connection.

Likewise, with their customer data, they anticipate and effectively meet their needs. Thanks to the use of digital data, marketing methods, and technology, Hasbro's stock value has increased from $36 to $109 today.

There is no doubt that digital transformation, together with a UX strategy, is the secret to the success of any company that implements it correctly. With the cases we have seen and confirmed, it is clear that at some point, one might think they are not ready to take this step or that they require guidance and support in development and implementation. That's why we at ICX are here to guide you, support you, and ensure success in your digital transformation along with UX for your company.

If you want to learn more strategies to achieve success in your business, we invite you to explore our articles. At Imagineer Customer Experience, we are here to help you reach your business goals.