She’s an interior designer for software
By: Kate Larson
Tags: Product Design, User Experience, Customer Experience, User Research, UX

Photo by microgen, licensed by Evanto Elements https://elements.envato.com/

“Kate is an Interior Designer for Software.” That was how the customer service manager introduced me to her team leads in the busy call center after I arrived to conduct two days of what User Experience professionals call “contextual inquiry”. When talking with clients, I never describe the work I do observing and interviewing people as they do their jobs with that terminology. I’m certain it would be met with blank stares and possibly alienate me from the people allowing me into their daily routines.

While Interior Design isn’t a perfect analogy for what I do and the value I provide, I was thrilled when she introduced me this way. It instantly provided a frame of reference for the non-technical customer service agents. It reminded me that one of the more challenging things I’ve discovered since leaving enterprise software to focus on freelance work with smaller companies is that it’s hard to sell the value I provide with the terms we use today.

When I say “User Research” to small business leaders with no prior context of what that means in today’s landscape of digital products, their reactions speak volumes about the branding problem we face with this. Research sounds time consuming. Research sounds expensive. Research sounds wishy-washy and provides no guarantee of return on investment.

If I instead talk about User Experience in more general terms the tendency is to jump to visual design. Given the legacy of products designed and built without doing due diligence to understand the users first, I hate to start the conversation there.

So, what do we do to change this and SELL the value of our services from the moment of the first elevator pitch?

1. Get off our Human Factors High Horses.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad the world of UX master’s degree programs has exploded and brilliant intellectuals with deep understanding of psychology, heuristic principals, and research methods have elevated the profession to first-class status in the large tech companies. But, the flip-side is we’re collectively spending too much time trying to impress each other. Remember, it’s ALL ABOUT THE USERS. No one is going to frame a brilliant research report or the resulting design in the Louvre. The gold standard for our success is that the product is so intuitive that users doesn’t even think about the design; it just works for them. So when we distill our mission down to its essence, it follows that we need to talk about our craft in simple, relatable terms.

2. Market UX services using every day, engaging terms we draw from outside of technology.

“Software Interior Designer” may not encompass the full array of UX services or communicate the level of skills needed to do what we do well. But what it does is more important in my mind: It provides a context for a non-technical audience. I think if we put our heads together, draw from the business stakeholders we work with, and tap into discoveries we’ve made about our user communities, we can create better vocabularies to use for marketing our services.

Let the brainstorming begin! I want to hear your thoughts on what simple, relatable words help people in the industries you serve understand your UX craft.

3. Capture and market our ROI stories collectively.

Photo by REDPIXEL, licensed by Adobe Stock https://stock.adobe.com

A little more than a year ago I founded UXsells because I firmly believe creating digital products that people love to use leads to sales and growth. Taking the pain and frustration out of technology and solving real problems for people is what drives me. By combining my Product Management and UX skillsets, I help small businesses align their strategy with market needs and provide user insights to inform the design and development of their digital products. With my initial clients, I’m working to track ROI and other metrics to reference as I sell my services going forward. But as I write “I” here I’m realizing that’s the problem.

Other UX consultants and agencies have ROI-related testimonials on their websites as well, and we’re all looking to stand out…individually. What’s missing is a public-facing, prominent site that is marketed to business leaders. We need a site where any business leader with the vaguest familiarity with “design”, “user experience” or “customer experience” can instantly find ROI examples for their industry and be directed to resources who can help. We need SEO and ads to ensure when a business leader searches on the problems he or she is facing, our site provides instant exposure to UX services and success stories applicable to that industry.

UX Services Marketplace

With even the most traditional businesses entering the digital age now to survive, the time is right for this type of marketplace and exposure to the services we provide. If you’re as passionate as I am about making the value of UX services easy to understand for all types of businesses, please comment below or connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katelarsonuxsells/