Question 1

What is experience research?

Accepted Answer

Experience research is used in market research, product research, user experience (UX) and customer experience (CX) research. The following objectives are shared across the different disciplines:

⚡Gain a deep understanding of current and future users
⚡Take an evidence-based approach to design decisions
⚡Design in a human-centred and user-led way

Question 2

Is experience research for me?

Accepted Answer

Experience research can be leveraged by any business or organisation, regardless of its size or age. Understanding the experiences of others when using a product, system or process can benefit all sectors and industries. It can be applied to customers, service users, internal colleagues and external partners.

Use experience research to understand your people's experiences, motivations, goals, pain points and workarounds regarding a particular service or process. This enables you to improve efficiency, reduce frustrations and increase satisfaction.

Question 3

What is User Experience (UX) Research?

Accepted Answer

User Experience (UX) Research involves observing and listening to people as they interact with and share their experience of using a process, product or service. It's all about gaining a deep understanding of users' behaviours, goals, needs, preferences, and pain points to identify improvement opportunities. Research methods can be used to understand how to make design enhancements to products and services and therefore improve user journeys. Examples include usability testing, depth interviews, A/B testing, card sorting, tree testing, diary studies, surveys, workshops, focus groups and analytics.

Question 4

Can you provide some real-world experience research use cases?

Accepted Answer

Of course, we can!

⚡User Experience (UX) research insights can improve a public-sector digital service such as the DVLA's online car tax payment system. By improving the service user journey, more people can pay their car tax quickly and easily. The DVLA can also save time as fewer people will likely call them to tax their car over the phone.

⚡Staff experience research can help a business to understand what it's already doing well for its employees and where it needs to make improvements. By regularly reviewing employees' experiences, businesses can refine internal processes and systems, and improve company culture. This can save time, keep people happy and productive, and reduce staff turnover.

⚡Service user experience research can be leveraged by non-profit organisations. Interviews, focus groups, observational research and surveys are just some methods that can be used to understand how digital and non-digital services can help people in need more effectively. Non-profit supporter experiences can also be enhanced to increase volunteer sign-ups and donations.

⚡Customer experience research can shed light on offline and online customer journeys. For example, a health insurance company can understand which customer journey touch-points need to be improved by evaluating call logs, feedback and reviews, online analytics and customer sentiment. Conducting focus groups, workshops, surveys, interviews and observational research can also highlight opportunities for improvement to refine the customer experience and increase customer loyalty.

Question 5

Can research help my organisation in any other ways?

Accepted Answer

Yes, research is incredibly versatile!

⚡It can help you to understand crucial issues such as how to mindfully integrate artificial intelligence (AI) within your business. It's important that sensitive topics like this are discussed with your colleagues to record and respond to concerns. Use research methods to show internal and external users that you are taking them on the journey of AI integration right from the start. Improve your understanding of their expectations, fears and needs during rapid transformation and get their buy-in to make the transition smoother.

⚡More broadly speaking, sharing original research with the world can help you to be seen as thought leaders in your sector or field.

⚡It can give you an edge in a crowded market as you'll be seen as an organisation that contributes something original in a sea of repetition.

⚡Sharing findings via a blog can help your website's search engine optimisation, enabling you to rank higher in search engine results.

⚡Original research can be a great PR and social media marketing tactic. Sharing new insights via journalists and social media platforms can help you stand out and provide people with valuable content.

Need to ask something else?