UX (User Experience) – it’s a term and acronym thrown about by folks who know it’s what they should be providing to their clients, but most have no clue at all. Another term used is Client Centric Design.

So, what is User Experience?

By understanding what your users need on a deeper level, you can provide them with the ultimate experience. And, by ultimate experience, we mean you add value to their lives, you solve a problem for them, and possibly aid them in achieving a goal. The user, essentially, gets a good feel from using your platform, service, or product.

Sounds like a tall order, right?

I mean, how are you supposed to know what every user wants and needs?

And, that is where surveys come in. If you want to create a means to give a user or your client a great experience, you have to know what they want. In your particular industry, you have to be asking the right questions in order to work that out.

The Basic Elements of User Experience

No matter the industry though, there are core elements you should be focusing on, and by asking these basic questions, you should be able to ascertain what they need:

IS IT VALUABLE?

IS IT ACCESSIBLE?

IS IT USEFUL?

IS IT DESIRABLE?

IS IT CREDIBLE?

IS IT USABLE?

IS IT FINDABLE?

Peter Morville’s UX Honeycomb diagram shows this to us.

What is the difference between UX and UI?

UI – User Interface – is easily explained through an analogy.

Imagine, you have this amazingly beautiful laptop bag. It’s made from 100% leather hide. The stitching is strong and the handles are super comfy over your shoulder. When you open up the laptop bag, you see that it’s just one deep cavern of space. There are no dividers. There is no padded slot to protect your laptop. There are no pen holders. No compartments to store the charger and any other gadgets you want to travel with.

This user has received phenomenal UI but the product lacked hugely in UX.

When you decide to present a service or a product to the world, you MUST think about both aspects, the UX and the UI. It is clear that the two need to work in conjunction with each other.

Does Customer Experience mean the same as UX?

While there are similarities, the Customer Experience or CX combines all the elements around a person dealing with your company. It is no longer just about that one element you offer, it is about all interactions, from your website to your staff, from your reception area to your after sales service.

Again, this has to work with the UX and UI.

Why is Affinity Group so passionate about UX?

The Affinity Group was created by individuals who have worked closely with the public, coming face-to-face with situations where a great User Experience was key.

The insurance industry has accrued a bad name over the years, and mostly due to bad claims handling. At Affinity Group we have come up with innovative and efficient packages to help your clients have that ultimate User Experience.

If you are ready to step up your service levels and work on retaining clients, then you want to be speaking to us about our solutions.

We cater to the insurance industry, the banking industry, as well as any business utilizing a call centre style service.