The Ultimate UX Strategy Guide.

As more and more companies begin to recognize the value of thoughtful UX design, the role of UX strategy is becoming more unavoidable. A well-defined UX strategy is as important as your organization’s mission statement. It serves as a liaison between the business and the user, helping the design team create user-focused products that fit the company strategy and brand identity.

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When we talk about digital product UX strategy, we mean a detailed and flexible plan aimed to:

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- Match your users’ needs to create user value,

- Deliver this value to users, and 

- Provide a seamless experience while using your product.

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Taking a deep dive, we’ll take a closer look at the four tenets of UX strategy, how to create a successful one, and some crucial tips you’ll need to create a result-inclined strategy. 

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We'll be diving into,

• The four tenets of UX Strategy.

• Creating a successful UX Strategy.

• 5 important tips for creating a result-oriented UX Strategy.

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Let’s begin with,

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I. The four tenets of UX Strategy

In a book titled “UX Strategy: How to Devise Innovative Digital Products That People Want,” Jaime Levy defined four tenets of UX strategy as key elements that work in harmony to make a strategy effective.

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The elements that work in harmony to make a UX Strategy effective:

1. Business Strategy: These are the company’s guiding principles, as well as a competitive advantage, revenue streams, and high-level business objectives. 

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2. Value Innovation: Companies achieve value innovation by pursuing value for customers (differentiation) and lower costs for the company simultaneously.

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3. Validated User Research:  Instead of assuming what is valuable to a customer, get direct input from your target users before starting a design. This saves designers and companies from putting time, money, and effort into a product no one actually wants.

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4. Killer User Experience Design: Once the other tenets are in place, it’s time to craft an exceptional user experience focused on the key features of the product. This experience should not only bring value to the customer but do so seamlessly.

Having known the elements involved, what are then the right steps or processes to follow when developing a success-oriented UX Strategy?

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Follow closely as we explore the right process for UX Strategy creation.

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II. Creating the success-oriented UX Strategy.

Whether you’re a business owner or working as a UX designer, the ability to craft a success-oriented UX strategy can be a valuable skill. Before you start your next design project, walk through these steps to build your UX strategy.

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1. Define business strategy through stakeholder interviews.

Get the decision makers and company leaders involved early in your project. As a UX designer, you’re often focused squarely on the user, and rightfully so. This is the time to shift your attention to the business side. 

How is the product you’re designing positioned in the marketplace? What are the company’s high-level goals and objectives? How are stakeholders measuring the success of the product? 

Answering these questions early ensures that when you turn your attention toward the user, you’re doing so with the brand and business in mind. 

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2. Identify how to differentiate through competitive research and analysis.

Once you know how to align your design with the company brand and strategy, you can begin to assess where the product lies in the competitive landscape. You’ll have to offer value to get a user to start using your product. Where will that value come from? What’s your competitive advantage? 

Research what’s already on the market to solve this user need, and think about the key features that will set your design apart from other options. 

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3. Stay user-centered with validated user research.

Make sure you’re designing a product that people actually want to use. Do this by getting feedback from your target users early. There are several ways you can go about this: surveys and questionnaires, focus groups, A/B testing, card sorting, interviews, or field studies. 

Take that value you think your product will offer, and validate it with real users. If the data doesn’t back up that assumed value, take a step back and rethink your product. 

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4. Set specific design goals to get where you want to be.

Knowing where you want to go is just as important as knowing where you are now. Using the data you’ve gathered from both users and stakeholders, define some specific metrics by which to gauge the success of your design. Be specific about what you want to achieve, how you plan to achieve it, and how you’ll know if and when you have.

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5. Run structured experiments and iterate on the results.

Designing that dream product that users love often involves a willingness to experiment and fail. As you work through your design, let your UX strategy guide your efforts. Continue to validate both the strategy and your design as you work. Create a minimum viable product (MVP), test it with real users, and improve upon it based on that feedback.

Now that you’ve got a grasp of the success-oriented process, let’s finally explore some tips needed to guide you in the development of a UX Strategy that will align your company’s brand identity with the desired user experience at every customer touchpoint.

III. 5 important tips for creating a result-oriented UX Strategy.

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1. Stay user-centered: Many companies get caught up in designing products with their own preferences or profit goals in mind, while setting goals for ROIs and total revenue is important, keeping the user at the forefront of your UX strategy key. It’s more about the user and less about your business.

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2. Define your business strategy: Once you have a good understanding of your user, you can start to combine user experience goals with overall goals for the business. 

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3. Consider all aspects of the user experience: A UX strategy that can give thought to what happens before and after a user interacts with the product can often lead to more satisfying user experiences and better overall brand perception. Additional user touch points include things like advertisements and marketing, purchasing processes, customer service support, etc.

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4. Keep your goals specific: The more specific your goals, the easier it will be to ascertain when they’ve been met or not. It will also be easier to track how effective your UX design team is. So, instead of vague goals like “increase user engagement,” aim for a more specific target: “A 20% increase in both mobile and desktop user engagements.”

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5. Optimize for speed and accessibility: While every UX strategy should be specialized to the individual organization, most all companies should keep speed and accessibility in mind.  Speed highly affects a user’s experience and should therefore have high priority in your UX strategy.

To wrap it all up

It’s obvious that for enterprise UX strategy is a must in the new phase of product development, as it will help in a shared vision at all development levels, broadcast it to the entire cross-functional product team, etc., which will increase efficiency.

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