User Experience is the quickest way to establish or diminish credibility with your consumers. We’ve all encountered a website or product that just doesn’t function properly, and how long was it until you decided the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze and moved on to find an alternative solution?

When it comes to establishing a well-made UI/UX design, the best way to tackle a project will vary from case to case. Over time, however, we’ve come to learn there are a few huge mistakes product owners continue to make with their user experience that are costing them millions.

In this two-part blog, we are going to be covering the 16 most common mistakes and misconceptions we’ve seen when it comes to UI/UX Design so you can avoid them and improve the quality of your user experience. This will allow you to increase conversions, improve customer satisfaction, and boost your bottom line!

In this first part, we’re going to be focusing on product management-related mistakes.

Mistake #1: Stakeholders Believe They Are the End User and Know Everything

The first mistake that product owners make is believing that they are primary end user and only view an outcome through their line of sight. Being the product owner, founder, or CEO does not automatically make one the target market or ideal customer. In fact, most of the time, the people who are running the show do not have a clear idea what their customers really want or need. They think they do, but they don’t.

The disconnect between who is running the show and who is actually using the product can lead to all sorts of problems down the line.

Solution #1: Talk to Your Customers

The solution here is simple! You cannot serve a customer that you do not fully understand. Find out who they are, what they want, and what their pain points are. Only then can you start building a product that meets their needs.

Mistake #2: Unwillingness to Invest in UI/UX Research and Design.

A successful UX design starts by establishing a strong UX team. Your organization needs to fully buy into UX by understanding what is needed to operate and dedicate enough time into establishing a well-rounded UX team. Having the proper toolkit, knowing what roles to fill your team with and understanding a typical project life cycle are all crucial things to remember in this process.

Making assumptions can be the biggest destroyer to a product company or IT group in the short (and long) term if decisions are made before being fully aware of all the details that go into a well-functioning UX design team.

Additionally, this opens the door of opportunity for engineering development teams to try and manage UX design themselves or do it alone as a stakeholder or owner. Needless to say, this is a recipe for disaster.

This mistake runs simultaneously with the unwillingness to invest in your organization’s UX unit early on and attempting to do it all yourself or with only one designer who isn’t part of the product team. This can also happen when there are multiple stakeholders involved and no one is leading or owning the UX direction. Inevitably, everyone will have their own ideas and visions which will lead to a design by committee (a terrible process).

This can result in inconsistent messaging, branding, and user experience which not only confuses users but creates more support issues and decreases conversions, LTVs, etc.

Solution #2: Appoint a Lead UI/UX designer

Every group needs a leader, and a UX design team is no different. Hire or establish a current designer to manage and lead the group, (could be you if your organization is small.) Provide them with the budget to hire a team of designers and let them do their job. If you’re a larger business, create a UX research and design department with a clear focus on your users and their needs.

Mistake #3: Not Having a Value Proposition That Establishes a Unique Selling Proposition

Your user experience begins with your value proposition. This is the basis of everything else on your website and one of the first and most memorable things visitors will see on your site. It should set the tone for all other components and be clear, concise, and easy to comprehend. Your USP should describe how you differentiate yourself from your competition. Users will have no incentive to visit your website over others if you don't offer a strong USP.

Solution #3: Write a Unique and Compelling Value Proposition

Your value proposition should set you apart from the competition and tell users what they can expect from your website. It should be distinct from your competitors’ value propositions and focus on what your organization specifically has to offer. Using your organization’s internal marketing team would be useful to ensure your value proposition is on brand and compelling . If your organization is small and does not have an internal creative team, an outsourced marketing firm can collaborate with you to produce an effective statement .

Mistake #4: Failing to Do Any UI/UX Research with Prospective Users

If you want to create a great user experience, you need to understand your users. The best way to do this is through UX research. This involves talking to prospective users and asking them about their needs, wants, and pain points. Only then can you design a user experience that meets their needs.

Failing to do any UX research is one of the biggest mistakes SaaS owners can make. They assume they know what users want and need, but in reality, they have no idea. As a result, they create websites and products that no one actually wants to use because founders and owners design software that they would use instead of designing SaaS software that their prospective customers would use.

Research is the backbone of any company. Without it, there would be no way for businesses to grow and succeed in today's competitive marketplace.

Solution #4: Do Your Homework and Invest in Some Quality User Research.

This will help you understand your users and design a user experience that meets their needs. This research not only provides insight into customers' needs but also helps develop new products that will provide them with the solutions they crave!

Mistake #5: Not Creating User Personas or Worse, Not Using Them

User personas are one of the most crucial aspects of any UX design project. They allow you to better understand your target consumers and what they want from your website or product. User personas are essential to creating a great user experience and choosing not to establish (or use them) would be a detrimental mistake.

Personas are fictional representations of your target users that help you to understand their needs and goals. They are based on user research and can be used to inform design decisions. UX personas are a specific type of persona that is used in User Experience design. They consider the user's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors when interacting with a product or service.

Creating user personas doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming. You can start by creating a few basic profiles of your target users. Once you have your user personas, you need to use them! Make sure they're front and center in your design process. Refer back to them often to make sure you're on the right track.

UX personas can be used to create more user-centered designs. However, they can also be useful for other team members such as sales, marketing, development, and leadership. This is because they provide insights into the customer that can be used to inform decisions in these other disciplines. Personas can help create a shared understanding of the customer and can make it easier to empathize with the user. As a result, they’re proven to be a valuable tool for any team that wants to create a better user experience.

Solution #5: Create and Use User Personas

Do your research and create UX personas for your target users. Use them throughout the design process to ensure the user experience you’re creating aligns with their needs.

Mistake #6: Pushing the Market to Use the Product, Instead Of Pulling Them Into It With Effective UI/UX

The biggest mistake that SaaS owners make is forcing the market to use their products instead of pulling them in with an effective user experience. When you force your product onto users, they will eventually find a way to avoid it. This can lead to lost customers, churn, low daily active users, and revenue.

Instead of forcing the use of your product, you need to design an experience that pulls users in. Make it so user-friendly and intuitive that they can't help but use it. When you design with the user in mind, they will be more likely to use your product and recommend it to others.

A great user experience is essential for any website or product. If you're not designing with the user in mind, you're not creating a design for the user.

Investing too much money into marketing and not enough in UX is a mistake that too many SaaS owners make. They think that they can market their way to success, but the reality is that no amount of marketing can save a bad product. A great user experience, on the other hand, will do wonders for your business.

Committing to UX is one of the best decisions you can make for your business. It will help you save money in the long run, increase conversion rates, reduce churn, and improve customer satisfaction.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that UX is only for big businesses. Even if you're a small business with a limited budget, you can still benefit from investing in UX. There are many free and low-cost resources available to help you get started.

Solution #6: Invest in UI/UX First

Make UX a priority and invest the time and money into designing an experience that is so well made it pulls users in instead of forcing them to use your product. A successful UX design will benefit all aspects of your organization, and it’s not difficult to accomplish.

Mistake #7: Failing to Define Your Target Market

This is a huge, yet common mistake across all industries, and SaaS owners are no exception. Identifying and understanding your ideal customer is essential to creating an effective marketing strategy. If you don’t know who you’re trying to reach, you’ll have a hard time creating content and campaigns that resonate with them. As a result, your marketing efforts will be less effective, and you’ll miss out on potential customers.

Solution #7: Identify and Understand your Target Market

When it comes to your target market, it’s important to be as specific as possible. This means defining things like their age, location, income, interests, and needs. The more specific you are, the easier it will be to create content that appeals to them. Consider using a business canvas to help define the target market and understand how they are influenced by your business.

Mistake #8: Bloated Customer Support Team

Your customer support team is one of the most important parts of your business. They are the ones who interact with your customers on a daily basis, and they are the ones who can make or break your reputation.

If you have a poor UX and product design, it will lead to a bloated customer support team. This is because your customers will need more support to understand how to use your product properly. As a result, you will have to hire more customer support representatives and train them extensively. This can be a costly endeavor that could have been avoided if you had designed your product properly from the start.

Fix #8: Design a Successful UX or Product

To avoid this mistake, invest in good UX and product design. This will save you money in the long run by reducing the need for a large customer support team. User issues are inevitable, so ensure your customer service team is well trained to provide a helpful and pleasant experience.

What’s Next?

Now that we’ve covered the product management related mistakes, you may be wondering, “what are the other commonly made mistakes when it comes to UX Design and how can you avoid or solve them?”  Lucky for you, there’s no need to wonder; read Part Two for 8 more of the most common mistakes organizations make when it comes to UX, specifically regarding research and design.

If this blog has opened your eyes to realize your User Experience could use some reconsidering, or maybe you’re starting from scratch, Onebridge can help you find success. Head over to our Contact Page so one of our experts can reach out to you to start a conversation.