Strategy: Business Strategy

The second decade of the 21st century was a buoyant one for the UX Design discipline. Thanks to the work of organizations such as IDEO and dynamic academics such as Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur—authors of the famous Business Model Canvas—the UX design profession and its design-thinking approach became strongly associated with the fields of innovation and business strategy.

While the newfound prominence of UX design was not without merit, it also led to some misconceptions about the limitations of UX design professionals and their academic backgrounds in dealing with the intricacies of competitive and corporate strategy—and more broadly, the practical workings of enterprises. Read More

For any business-to-business (B2B) startup, an effective user-onboarding process isn’t just a nice-to-have, but a pivotal factor in driving customer satisfaction and retention, increasing customers’ Lifetime Value (LTV), and driving sustainable business growth. An effective user-onboarding process can turn a customer’s initial interest into a long-term commitment.

The path to successful user onboarding in the B2B world is distinct from that of business-to-consumer (B2C) organizations. The challenges are unique and stem from the different expectations and needs of business clients. In B2B, the process of making a decision to become a customer typically involves multiple stakeholders, who have their own concerns and criteria. This complexity requires a more tailored onboarding experience that caters to the diverse roles and interests within a single large organization. Read More

This month in Ask UXmatters, our expert panel discusses how to prevent a project whose goal is defining UX strategy from devolving into a tactical exercise. First, our panelists considers how important it is that a project team have a shared understanding of what strategy is, but also acknowledge that, even among UX professionals, not everyone defines UX strategy in the same way. Our panelists define the terms strategy, tactics, business strategy, product strategy, UX strategy, and design strategy.

Our expert panel agrees, only once a business and a product team have aligned on their strategic goals can UX professionals understand how best to support all of those goals. Our panelists also recognize the importance of understanding where UX strategy work fits within a company’s projects and roles. Finally, the panel looks at how to create UX strategy artifacts that support business goals and propel their company toward achieving them. Read More