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Ben Kim, Head of Design and User Experience

User Experience is the Competitive Edge

Ben Kim

Digital Transformation is a term you often hear in rising economies. As the Southeast Asian region continues to grow exponentially, corporations are looking to adapt to the changing needs of their customers. But how do these old legacy corporations not only adapt and instead, thrive? Many companies who employ the old approach of “building only the necessities with long legalese” are finding themselves to be at a disadvantage by innovating, customer-centric startups who quickly capture a growing market share.

It is no longer hearsay nor opinions of marketing consultants; investing in great user experiences will have tremendous benefits on both the bottom line and brand perception. But what does investment into user experience look like? How can tech corporations in developed and developing economies thrive in this industry?

“UI/UX” has turned into quite the buzzword in the APAC region. Marketing Executives, whom often hold the ownership of a company’s website, continue to repeat the same tropes: “We need our website to look like Apple or Google! The prettier and the hipper the design, the better!” While prettifications of digital platforms do provide some level of aesthetic value (UI), the real ROI rests in the investment of the user experience (UX).

UX is a rapidly growing field in the APAC region and it’s definitely worth investing your time and resources to ensure your team has a basic understanding of user-centered design principles

According to a research done by Forrester, a company can expect a return up to $100 for every $1 invested into UX due to a decrease in development costs, higher conversions, and better brand loyalty. And according to NNGroup, the world’s leading experts in usability, a re-design focused purely on usability yielded an increase in base business metrics by 83 percent! Companies around the world are simply profiting by becoming more user-centric.

So how can we get there?

Well first, this starts by understanding the context and needs of your users. Chances are, your users won’t all be iPhone carrying millennials in the age range of 18-25. For example, we at iPrice Group operate in seven highly distinct markets. When we found that 90 percent of our Indonesian visitors were landing on our pages via their mobile device, we started to question how we can better cater to these visitors, who might not have a stable web connection at the time of entry. We had to first understand the context of their behaviors, environments, and needs before designing a proper experience. So, we conducted a field research activity in the streets of Jakarta, interviewing strangers ranging from families to GO-JEK drivers. And at the end of the day, we walked away with several key insights that we are implementing today.

UX is a rapidly growing field in the APAC region and it’s definitely worth investing your time and resources to ensure your team has a basic understanding of user-centered design principles. Such investment, as shown time and time again, will yield significant dividends not only for your bottom line, but your customers will also love you for it!

"If you have any questions or want to discuss more, you can reach Ben via LinkedIn and visit www.iprice.my to learn more."

The articles from these contributors are based on their personal expertise and viewpoints, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of their employers or affiliated organizations.