We have worked with a wide range of clients who have never done any user research, and as such, do not have a clear understanding of their audience and their pain points. In order to be a successful and profitable brand, everything that you do on your website needs to have your users’ needs at the forefront of your mind.
Redesigning your website? Creating a new tool on your website? All of these are reasons to perform user research. And these aren’t the only reasons, if you want to create a strategy to improve your website in the most cost-efficient way, then user research could be your answer too.
What user research should I be doing?
There are a wide range of different insight pieces that you could be doing to understand your audience further. These range from on-site polls or surveys, wireframe reviews to moderated user research. Varying in price to execute, each of these have their own advantages and will provide you with actionable insight that can be used towards your next planned activities.
On-site polls and surveys:
Using tools such as Hotjar or Qualaroo, you are able easily ask users any questions that you would like to know more about. Previously, we have utilised tools to ask users about their experience, what they were looking for on the website or if there is anything that they feel could be improved.
These small insights, that have been collated from a wide range of users can then be categorised into key themes which can be used to inform the next iterations of the website.
Wireframe reviews:
We believe that every page can continually be optimised and improved, therefore we often use tools such as Usabilityhub to identify further opportunities.
Being close to a product or website, we know that often it can be difficult to spot any issues, simply because you are familiar with the project that you are working on. Sharing wireframes or page designs for feedback means that you are never at risk of missing the ‘obvious’ opportunities and you are always thinking about your end users.
Moderated user research:
Despite being the most expensive form of research, moderated user research is our favourite way of being able to gather insights. Whether you are wanting to find out more from current website users, or target new potential customers, moderated sessions allow you to be able to have full in-depth conversations with participants.
These sessions allow you not only to be able to get insights on your own website or product but provide you with an opportunity to get insights into your top competitors.
When doing user research, it is important to ensure that you are talking to the right demographic, and this can be done by utilising independent research companies or using tools such as Userlytics or Askable. And remember, industry experts such as Jakob Neilson advise that 5 is the optimal amount participants required per user type for these sessions – so you don’t need to do hundreds of sessions to get these insights!
Practical Example
On a recent project with a client, we conducted 12 research sessions with a range of users and found that 10/12 users were really confused about the product offering, and due to this, they simply proceeded to make a purchase on alternative competitor websites. Their website had been in this format for years, which means that they had already lost a large amount of leads and revenue, purely because they did not clearly explain their product offering.
So, to summarise, we advise all companies to conduct user research, no matter how big or small, the insights prove to be useful and help you to develop your on-site strategy.
Want to know more about our approach and how we can help you to understand your audience further? Head to our contact page or contact us today!
