The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model marked a monumental shift in the late 1990s and early 2000s by providing software applications over the Internet using a subscription plan, eliminating the need for users to manage complex software installation, hardware, and ongoing updates.
The market is still growing, especially in the business-to-business (B2B) space. The competition will only get hotter, so how can you set yourself apart from your rivals? Data-driven UX design that puts the customer in the forefront.
UX design is a key part of any product design, but if you want to elevate the experience and provide true value to the customer, UX design agencies play an essential role.
Customer Centricity in the B2B Space
The customer has been the focus of business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing for a long time. Now, customer centricity has been growing in the B2B space to offer more value and nurture leads in the sales process.
According to a Vantage Partner survey, 250 individuals at 180 B2B organizations show how customer centricity is related to revenue growth. Over a five-year period, organizations reporting a “very mature” level of customer centricity experienced 2.5x revenue growth compared to those reported as “very immature.”
There are tangible benefits to customer centricity in marketing that can be applied to SaaS products. This puts the customer, or user, in the forefront as the ultimate judge of a product’s success and the quality of its experience with the goal of delighting and empowering them.
A Customer-Centric SaaS Product Comes from Knowing the Audience
If the customer is the judge of the product’s experience, you have to understand them and what they want. When you have an in-depth understanding of the needs, preferences, and pain points of the target audience, you can design and tailor the product to those expectations.
In addition, customers who feel like they’re getting the experience they want and feel empowered by a product have a greater sense of trust. This encourages better customer loyalty, which is important for a sector that’s built on long-term relationships, customer retention, and customer lifetime value.
When business customers experience tangible benefits with your product – not just flashy features – they are often willing to invest more in their usage or even upgrade to the high-tier plans. You can enjoy greater revenue, but more importantly, brand loyalty that can facilitate recommendations and referrals to draw in more business.
Customer centricity is key to your SaaS product’s success, but you also have to align your products to your business objectives. That’s where data-driven UX design can help you maximize the customer experience without compromising on your own goals.
Benefits of Data-Driven UX Design Agencies
Data-driven UX design agencies offer experience and expertise that harness the power of data to get you results faster. Here are some of the key benefits of working with a UX design agency:
Enhanced Customer Experience
Customer-centric SaaS products put the focus on the customer. This is important in any industry, but even more so with the long-term relationships in the B2B space. By working with a UX design agency, you can leverage skills and experience in identifying the customer’s needs and preferences to provide a tailored user experience.
Better Market Insights
Market research, product testing, and other forms of data analysis are time-consuming, especially if you’re just learning how to conduct audience and competitor research. Data-driven UX design agencies have the know-how to analyze user behaviour data and identify important trends much faster, giving you a starting point for marketing strategies and your product’s direction.
Agencies also utilize data-driven tools like UX audits, which give you a clear view of your market and an in-depth analysis of the user experience. By marrying the two, you can understand what your audience wants, where you’re currently falling short, and how you can make the necessary improvements.
Serving the Customer, Not Yourself
You may have a specific vision in mind for your product, its features, and the bells and whistles you want to include, but you’re not building your product for yourself. Yes, you have business objectives and goals to meet, but ultimately, you’re building a product to serve your customer.
With strategies like design ops, UX design agencies can glean important insights to inform design decisions, validate assumptions, and test new ideas before they go into development. You can be sure that you’re putting your resources into creating SaaS products that address the needs of your target market.
Better Brand Perception
Customer experience plays a big role in your brand’s perception. Businesses that prioritize the customer experience are more trustworthy and reliable – two important factors in nurturing B2B leads and earning long-term customers.
When you create a compelling user experience, customers feel valued and understood, building their loyalty. Data-driven UX design agencies can ensure that you’re keeping the customer at the forefront and providing the experience they’re looking for, improving your brand perception and loyalty in the process.
Opportunities for Growth
Your user and market data offer insights to improve your product right now, but they also offer key insights to inform your future growth trajectory. You can develop your ideas for future SaaS products and services that will meet the needs of your target audience, driving your business’s growth and success.
A data-driven UX design agency can help you pinpoint these opportunities for growth and build your strategy for the future, based on years of combined experience helping other businesses succeed.
How UX Design Agencies Help You Achieve Your Goals
Data-driven UX design agencies rely on an array of tools and methodologies to balance the goals of their clients and the needs of their customers. Data may come from user testing, customer feedback, interviews, and surveys, all of which provide information about preferences and pain points.
Once this foundation is set, your design agency can develop your design and conduct functionality and A/B testing to validate your SaaS product and ensure it meets technical and performance specifications. Heat maps and behaviour flows also help the designer get in the mind of your customers and take their journey to understand any bottlenecks or sources of frustration.
Create a Customer-Centric B2B SaaS Product with a Data-Driven UX Design Agency
Data-driven UX design can be a challenge, but not when you have the guidance of an experienced UX design team. By leveraging data to inform design decisions, you can get valuable insights into your audience and market to improve your product, boost performance, and deliver for your customers.
Author Name: Jinny Oh
Author Bio:
Jinny Oh is a globetrotting entrepreneur, angel investor, and renowned UX professional with a passion for Design Thinking. Embracing a fully nomadic lifestyle, Jinny has founded WANDR, an award-winning product strategy and UX design firm that operates with a remote team of experts. With a diverse clientele spanning over 300 startups, US Air Force and Fortune 500 companies like IBM, Geico, and Adobe, Jinny has propelled WANDR to the forefront of the industry.
As an advocate for Design Thinking and Remote Work, Jinny has shared her expertise as a keynote speaker, equipping them with the skills needed to excel in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
