In today’s digital world, creating products users love isn’t just about pretty interfaces or cool features. It’s about creating experiences that resonate with users and drive business results. That’s where an effective UX strategy comes in. Let’s get into what UX strategy is, why it matters and how you can do it.
What is UX Strategy?
User experience strategy is an overall plan that aligns a company’s brand with the desired user experience across all customer touchpoints. It’s the roadmap that guides UX designers and teams to create digital products that meet user needs and business objectives.
As Jaime Levy, author of “UX Strategy: How to Devise Innovative Digital Products That People Want” says, UX strategy is built on four pillars:
Business strategy
Value innovation
Validated user research
Killer user experience design
Why is UX Strategy Important?
Having a successful UX strategy gives you:
Alignment with business goals
Buy-in from executives by tying design to business objectives
Clear metrics for success
A user-first mindset across the company
Consistency across all customer touchpoints
UX Strategy Components
A UX strategy typically includes several key elements:
Vision: A statement of what you want to achieve
Goals and measures: Specific, measurable objectives tied to business outcomes
Action plan: The roadmap to get there
How to Do UX Strategy
Here’s a step-by-step approach to creating a UX strategy: conduct user research to align with business goals and user needs.
1. Define Business Strategy
Talk to stakeholders to understand the company’s high-level goals, brand positioning, success metrics, and how the UX strategy can align with user and business needs.
2. Competitor Research
Research the market to find your competitive advantage and key differentiators.
Look at UX strategy examples from global brands to understand how they have effectively implemented their strategies.
3. Validate with User Research
Get feedback from target users early on. Use surveys, interviews and usability testing to make sure you’re solving real user problems.
4.4 4. Set Design Goals Based on User and Business Needs
Based on stakeholder and user insights, define specific, measurable objectives for your UX design to keep all team members on the same page.
5. Experiment and Refine
Create MVPs, test with users and refine based on feedback.
UX Strategist Tips
Remember:
User needs only
Quantitative and qualitative data
Cross department collaboration (research, sales, support etc.)
Clear UX strategy for the UX team
Be prepared to adjust your strategy as new information comes in
End
UX strategy is the connection between business goals and user needs. By doing UX strategy you can create digital products that users love and drive business results. UX strategy isn’t a one time thing, it’s a continuous process of research, planning and refinement.
As you do UX strategy remember Tom Lowry, Director of Advocacy at Figma: “User centricity is big. Your UX strategy should include figuring out who your core persona is so you know who you’re designing for”.
By putting users at the heart of your strategy and aligning with business goals you’ll be creating digital experiences that will cut through the noise.
