There is a growing interest in experience research as businesses recognize the importance of understanding how customers use and interact with their digital products and services. The 2023 Experience Research Industry Report by UserTesting and UserZoom showed that 40% of respondents reported an increase in their budgets for experience research, while 50% maintained their budget, and demand for such research has increased by 61%.
"We have the privilege of partnering with thousands of organizations that prioritize customer-centric insights for more informed decision making, and we find it inspiring. It’s encouraging to see many of these companies innovating in areas of experience research and creating winning digital products and experiences that drive business growth and customer loyalty. Those companies that do not embrace this mindset, risk losing both customers and market share to their more customer-focused competitors. In today's macro economic climate, customer attitudes and behaviors are changing rapidly, and companies need to be able to understand and adapt their products and experiences to address the changing consumer sentiment. Having access to experience research and insights is imperative to an organization’s success," said Dana Bishop, Vice President of Experience Research Strategy, UserTesting.
Three key findings from the 2023 Experience Research Industry Report show the paramount importance of experience research in business strategies and outcomes:
The ongoing demand for experience research and insights
As many as 61% of survey respondents reported an increase in demand for such services within their organizations. The frequency of testing has doubled over the past ten years, with demand continuing to rise steadily. The survey findings also indicate that the practice of experience research has been stable and well-funded, with 90% of respondents reporting that their budgets for this area have either stayed the same or increased in the past year.
The value of experience research for customer satisfaction
Experience research is becoming more valuable to organizations as more teams recognize its benefits. The UserTesting and UserZoom annual surveys revealed that respondents see experience research as a way to improve customer satisfaction (75%), and brand perception (68%), increase revenue (69%), and reduce costs and mitigate risks (51%). Moreover, the value of human insights is not just limited to UX teams, as other departments, such as product management, marketing, market research, and customer experience teams, are also conducting their own experience research.
More focus on human insights
In 2013, a large percentage of respondents reported that their organizations did not have a dedicated usability team, and few had teams focused on it. However, this has changed over the past ten years, as now more than half of the respondents stated that their organizations have dedicated ResearchOps teams to scale human insights and operationalize experience research processes. In addition, 82% of respondents stated that they incorporate user feedback into their daily processes and decision-making, showing the value of experience research to businesses.
Just a few days ago, UserTesting announced a new integration with FigJam to allow joint customers to incorporate the voice of the customer into their organization easily.
