UAE is a case study with more than 5.5 lakh small and medium-sized enterprises, contributing more than 60% to its non-oil GDP. Many of these SMEs are aspiring tech startups, vibrant tourism companies, businesses in the hospitality and recreation sector, fintech, real estate, and construction.
What’s the natural consequence when a significant
portion of SMEs undergo digitalization at an unprecedented level, as we have
been witnessing in UAE? The demand for better services shoots up! Studies show
‘70% of online businesses fail due to poor usability’.
Today, the application market is a
battleground, with businesses of all shades vying for customer attention and
retention. Reports suggest that UAE customers do not think twice before
abandoning digital products with poor online experience. In a recent survey,
80% noted that they have either stopped or completely deleted applications due
to poor performance in the last 12 months.
So, how would businesses opting for web or
app development in Dubai ensure they meet the high digital standards set? The
key is optimizing application performance. As the discussion of user experience
opens up, we will show how User Experience (UX) design plays a key differentiator and marker of success in the UAE
market.
Lessons in UX from the most popular
SMEs are optimizing UX not just as an
option but as a deep necessity to effectively engage, attract, and retain customers. Let’s talk about Careem. From going anywhere to getting anything to eating anywhere to paying anyone, it does all and lives up to its tagline, “the
everything app.” The role of UX design in this success story is significant,
enlightening us on its power in customer engagement and retention.
Have you noticed what makes it hugely popular and the go-to app for UAE citizens? Besides creating great localized experiences, such as services during Ramadan hours and bilingual support, what stands out remarkably is the UX design built into the popular app. With a clean and intuitive interface users of all ages love using it every day.
The UX reduces the steps required to book a
ride, offering a quick and smooth booking experience. These are just few
examples. The design supremacy speaks through its personalized experiences,
booking options, in-app support and feedback, loyalty programs, and
everywhere in the app.
How is great UX design linked to SME’s digital quest in Dubai?
"Design is the beauty of turning
constraints into advantages."
UX design is not just a technical enhancement but a strategic tool that SMEs in Dubai are strategically integrating to gain a competitive edge. Slowly, business owners are warming up to the fact that it doesn't pay to have just an app or website for the sake of it. It has to be quite good in the game.
No wonder web design companies in
Dubai are churning out performant apps with customer-centric design principles
and superb usability. It is crucial to enhance customer satisfaction, boost
customer retention, and increase conversion rates. In today's business
landscape, a well-conceived UX design can significantly enhance an
organization's brand reputation, a key factor in driving sustainable growth.
User experience – the recipe for business success
What is UX design? Simply, it's about
creating meaningful and relevant user experiences for optimum satisfaction. The
aim is not merely transactional but to provide a refined experience when one
uses a product with great functionality and convenience.
A business's User Experience (UX) design strategy
aligns UX design with website and mobile app
development processes, ensuring consistent and cohesive content across all
digital platforms.
UX clubs your business's vision of
experience, technical know-how, business goals, and customer needs together to
create a unique framework that is easy to navigate and potent enough to engage
users.
When the User experience strategy is
conceptualized correctly, it acts as the bridge to lasting relationships with
end users, promoting the brand and increasing conversions. Importantly, it also
reduces the churn rate, demonstrating the financial benefits of a well-designed
UX strategy.
How does a clean UX strategy influence SMEs?
Initially, SMEs were hesitant to go
digital. Today, they are competing for better digital services. Nearly 62 % of
such businesses have added a mobile app or are considering building one. But is
it enough?
In 2024, it's no longer about competitive
pricing or products; it's more about the quality of experience users get when
they use your business app or website. The mantra is: If you want them to pick
up your products and services, give them an excellent user experience. Do you
have a UX strategy?
As an SME, you benefit significantly from
seamless and fulfilling interactions based on a clean UX strategy. This
strategy fosters customer loyalty by bolstering usability and accessibility,
promoting goal achievement, and making each engagement enjoyable on your website
or mobile app.
Small and medium-scale companies attract
and retain customers, increase their sales, and stay profitable and competitive
with a relevant and strategic user experience design. Brand impression improves
and positive word of mouth brings new customers.
Here's, in a nutshell, we dig deeper into how focusing on User Experience (UX) Design can be beneficial for a small and medium business:
Improves conversion rate
Tailors the website and mobile applications to match user needs and preferences by guiding users to the desired action, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a final purchase.
Increases visibility and ranking
Google prioritizes websites and mobile applications with a strong UX, relevant designs, and well-thought-out layouts that cater to the informational needs of the audience. This helps businesses achieve their online visibility and higher ranking and, most importantly, fulfill their growth goals.
Boosts brand perception
A well-structured and visually appealing website and mobile application reflect the brand's professional approach; hence, users can trust the brand with seamless engagement.
Streamlines user experience
When the website or mobile application has intuitive navigation, fast loading time, and clear messaging, users are most satisfied, and hence, the brand is likely to experience increased stay times and conversion rates.
An amazing user experience can increase website conversion by 400%
How does a good UX strategy increase conversion and reduce churn rate?
Customers visit websites and use mobile applications with a clear and efficient User Experience (UX) Design. User frustration is a big risk today. Users quickly switch to other brands due to poor satisfaction. Alternatively, it's a huge win if users cherish the experience. With the number of visitors increasing, the chances of higher conversion rates also spike.
Achieving the goals of increasing
conversion rates and reducing churn rates can be fast-tracked by partnering
with a professional UX design agency in Dubai, like Proquantic Software.
A well-conceptualized UX design impacts customer satisfaction significantly, but for a business, there's more:
Increases brand affiliation
Saves overhead cost for the long run
At the very early stage of website or mobile app development, attention to the creativity and detail is crucial. If both lack appeal, users who are potential customers will switch to your competitors."For every dollar spent to resolve a problem during product design. 10 dollars will be spent on the same problem during development. and multiply it to 100 dollars or more if the problem had to be solved after the product's release."
Provides support to SEO
When it comes to SEO rankings, a successful strategy creates a huge difference. The ultimate aim of the search engine is to give its users correct information timely and convenient.
- User-friendly URL structure
- Page load time
- Mobile responsiveness
If all these factors are correctly considered and implemented in the UX, it will secure a top position in the search engine, which users will trust. The chances of lead conversion and customer retention will increase from here.
Research indicates that on the first page of Google Search results, users click on one of the top five results 91.5% of the time. Between 6-10% of users go to the second page of results, and only 1-2% go beyond the second page.
Creating the right UX design strategy for your small business
Gone are the days when businesses could rely on a basic website to keep their business running. Today, the bar is raised, and the stakes are even higher. With the coming of AI and disruptive technologies and demand for better services, a good website or mobile app is a powerful tool fulfilling the role of conversion generator and customer retainer.
Today, we are seeing amazing
websites and mobile applications being built to satisfy users' appetite for
unique, rich, and two-way interactive platforms while selecting a brand.
The success of your company's websites or mobile applications' User
Experience (UX) Design is not just a matter of design but a collaborative
effort with the users. Their satisfaction is the ultimate measure of success.
Most organizations decide upon their UX strategies based on the following
parameters:
- Marketing
- Visual appeal
- Usefulness
- Speed
- Usability
- Performance
- Accessibility
The more relevant, robust, and precise the strategies will be, the
higher the chances of lead conversion and customer retention. Ask the questions
below to gauge the effectiveness of your website or mobile application's
effectiveness to get the right idea:
- Does your website or mobile application have paths clearly defined?
- Is your website compatible with mobile viewing?
- Are the visuals in your website and apps appealing?
- Is your website or app page load speed fast enough?
Of course, you are definitely on the right track if the answer is yes.
How to craft an excellent customer User Experience design
UX architecture strategy should be created around a clear choice of technology that furthers marketing goals. Small businesses may be tempted to think that strategy might be a misplaced word in the scheme of things, as resource constraints are typical of such businesses.
But our strategists and
developers have helped small businesses do more with less over the years. So,
the possibilities are limitless.
Even the smallest group of professionals focused on designing the most
effective interface and experience for the business's customers can save the
company thousands of dollars while achieving the goals of increased conversion
rates and reduced churn rates.
Here are some tips for strategizing the most engaging User Experience (UX) Design for your website and mobile applications.
Conduct thorough research on the user searches
Enlist the features you want to incorporate, the contents you would like to include, the graphics that would get their attention, and the transitioning or animated elements you think can serve your customers' purposes.
Use heuristic evaluation
Heuristics evaluation is dependent on the set of 10 usabilities as per Heuristic Principles:
- Visibility of system status: Keeping the users updated about what is going on like inclusion of a page indicating the progress of any process.
- Match between system and real world: Use language and tonality that is easily understood by the users; avoid using jargons.
- User control and freedom: Provide your users freedom to cancel, undo, or redo.
- Standards and consistency: Clear any confusion and assure your users of continuity with UX patterns and precise wording.
- Error avoidance: Utilize confirmation messages to avoid common mistakes or use special element conditions.
- Recognition rather than recall: Display all of the relevant information on the current screen to foster user action because users barely remember what they have encountered in the previous pages.
- Flexibility and efficiency of use: Empower regular visitors to use shortcuts or choose from preferences for a more flexible and delightful website or mobile application experience.
- Aesthetic and minimalist design: Reduce load time of the pages and make them aesthetically pleasing with minimalistic themes. The extra information should be hidden, only to be made available for users to view 'on-demand'.
- Recognizing, diagnosing, and recovering from errors: Provide users with error messages as these guide them to resolve an issue.
- Assistance, guidance, and support: The app must provide specific guidance where users may need assistance because the latter do not go through support documents.
Implement usability testing best practices
User feedback is crucial to create a User Experience (UX) Design strategy. Usability tests collect feedback and eliminate bugs. As per research conducted by Nielsen Norman Group, running a usability test on a group of 5 users will identify 85 percent of UX-related issues.
To ensure your website or mobile application performs at its best, here are some measures to consider while testing them for the parameter of usability:
- Determination of the time taken for the users to complete a task and comes across problems they find
- Creation of an aim as well as specific task for each test
- Creating a prototype based on the information collected from interviews, customer surveys, and feedback.
- Two of the most predominant testing methods are heatmap analysis and A/B testing.
Avoid creating a complicated user experience
Regarding UX design, clarity and efficiency are paramount for the SMEs in Dubai. It is ideal for the companies to keep the interface layout simple with minimal navigation. Streamlining design elements ensures intuitive usability and accessibility.
A concise, clear interface uplifts user
satisfaction and engagement, thereby reducing bounce rates and optimizing other
avenues of communication.
Reforming conversion rate optimization
An effective user experience strategy goes beyond aesthetics and strategically guides users through the conversion journey. Strategically utilizing UX components like prominent CTAs, intuitive navigations, and personalized user paths elevates conversion rates.
The insight-driven
adjustments based on feedback and analytics ensure that each customer's
communication contributes to the company's achievement of lead conversion
objectives and reduced churn rates.
Personalization of customer engagement
Customization is a pivotal strategy for Dubai's User Experience (UX) Design companies. Tailored user experiences drawn from demographic insights, individual preferences, and interaction histories foster deeper connections with the target audience.
Customized content recommendations,
adaptive interface designs, and other personalization techniques enrich
customer engagement and generate customer loyalty. All these factors foster a
sense of relevance and recognition, which ultimately helps SMEs forge lasting
and robust client relationships.
Partnering with a reliable UX design agency in Dubai
The UAE market is dynamic, and the pressure to deliver on SMEs in the
digital wave is immense. Collaborating with a professional UX design agency is
crucial for building exceptional UX concepts and driving results. Websites and
mobile applications are the digital doorways for any business, and building
intuitive products is a sure way to maximize ROI.
As a trusted UX design agency in Dubai, our team of innovators and forward-thinking designers will work closely with companies like yours. We assess market potential and customer insights and leverage recent trends in mobile and website app development to create products that boost conversion, save maintenance costs, and offer a consistent user experience. Your app or website could be the next big thing. We do not doubt it, neither should you.
