The relationship between user experience (UX) design and the customer journey

When it comes to a person’s interaction with a brand, there are a lot of words that people use. Customer experience, for example, commonly referred to as CX, is a term used to describe all the things a business does to deliver a good experience for their customers, and to raise their customers’ perceptions of the brand.

When considering the customer experience, another popular term is the customer journey, or the customer journey map. This is a map of all the steps and touchpoints between a person learning about a brand or its products and then making a purchase – or even going beyond that to how they interact with the brand post-purchase.

But we live in a digital age, which means that a lot of the customer journey and a customer’s experience happens digitally or online. And this is why it’s essential to consider user experience (UX) design when mapping out the customer journey.

What is user experience (UX) design?

At its core, user experience design is about creating digital products that are not only functional and usable but also a pleasure to interact with. It encompasses all aspects of an end-user’s digital interactions with a brand and its products or services. And the aim is to make the entire experience as smooth as possible.

“User experience (UX) design is the process of building products that are easy and enjoyable for people to use,” explains Hotjar, a behaviour analytics and metrics platform. “By building products to be as effortless as possible for users, you can encourage adoption, retention, and loyalty.”

It’s also worth noting that UX design will often consider the user journey, which is similar to the customer journey, but focused only on the steps and touchpoints that happen online, whereas the customer journey considers all steps and touchpoints, online and offline.

The principles of UX

User experience design is underpinned by several key principles, such as:

• Usability. When it comes to an app or a website, people often become fixated on what are, essentially, trivial details about how the product looks. What really matters, however, is how the product works. There’s no point having gorgeous photography and JavaScript-heavy components if the website is slow to load, the information and messaging is hard to find, or the journey through the product is clunky and difficult to navigate. Functionality is crucial.
• User-centric design. The user should always come first. Rather than focusing on what the business wants to achieve, focus on what the user wants to achieve, and how the business can help them to do so. 
• Accessibility. Accessibility is essential on multiple levels. For example, some websites are required by law to be accessible to a certain standard. But even without a legal imperative, online accessibility boosts SEO and means that the digital product can be accessed and used by the highest number of people possible.

To help deliver on these principles, UX designers will strive to understand user needs, pain points, and common behaviours through user research, and then translate these insights into user-friendly interfaces. A holistic approach to UX involves considering every touchpoint along the user journey and ensuring that digital experiences meet user expectations – and solve specific user problems – effectively.

Why UX design is important in the customer journey

As we now know, the customer journey encompasses every interaction between a customer and a brand, from initial awareness to post-purchase support. In this journey, UX design plays a crucial role in guiding and informing the target audience during any digital interaction. It ensures that at every touchpoint – be it on a mobile app, a website, an e-commerce platform, and so on – the user experience is seamless, engaging, and aligned with both user’s needs and business goals.

Creating positive digital experiences can enhance customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and customer retention. And by delivering a positive and productive user experience, brands can turn their customers into promoters of the brand, helping to drive growth even further. 

Effective UX design can also provide valuable insights into user behaviour, preferences, and expectations, all of which can then be used to further refine the customer journey as well as product design or wider business strategies.

The difference between user experience (UX) and customer experience (CX)

Just like user journey and customer journey are related but separate terms, so too are user experience (UX) and customer experience (CX). Often used interchangeably, UX and CX actually refer to different aspects of a customer’s interaction with a brand:

• UX is focused on users’ interactions with digital products and services.
• CX is focused on all interactions a customer has with a brand, digital or otherwise. For example, this might include in-store experiences, customer service conversations, and social media interactions. Essentially, UX is a component of CX.

How designers can deliver exceptional user experiences in the customer journey

Delivering exceptional user experiences requires a deep understanding of the customer journey, including all digital and physical touchpoints. It also needs support from a variety of stakeholders, from designers and product developers to marketers and business strategists.

There are a variety of methodologies and tools that can help achieve positive user experiences – and business success – but the best enable user-centric approaches and continuous customer feedback for improvements. For example:

• User research and user journey mapping. Dig deep to understand the user’s needs, expectations, and challenges, and then map out an appropriate journey to address this insight.
• Prototyping and usability testing. Create prototypes of digital products and conduct usability tests to gather feedback – and then iterate on the design.
• User-centric design thinking. Solve user problems in innovative ways by putting the user at the heart of the design process and thinking about the challenges from their perspective.

Create exceptional user experiences 

Develop and expand the practical skills you need for designing, building, deploying, and evaluating user-focused digital products with the 100% online MSc Computer Science at Keele University. This flexible, part-time programme has been designed for ambitious individuals who may not have studied computer science previously, as well as computer science professionals who want an academic qualification to accelerate their career progression in information technology.

You’ll gain comprehensive knowledge of user interaction design, and explore important topics such as:

• The systematic use of requirements engineering for user interaction and user experience design.
• The psychological and social-psychological foundations for understanding user interactions.
• The experimental design and evaluation of user experiences.
• The development techniques and technologies for creating user interfaces for web-based and mobile applications.

This is a map of all the steps and touchpoints between a person learning about a brand or its products and then making a purchase – or even going beyond that to how they interact with the brand post-purchase.

But we live in a digital age, which means that a lot of the customer journey and a customer’s experience happens digitally or online. And this is why it’s essential to consider user experience (UX) design when mapping out the customer journey.

What is user experience (UX) design?

At its core, user experience design is about creating digital products that are not only functional and usable but also a pleasure to interact with. It encompasses all aspects of an end-user’s digital interactions with a brand and its products or services. And the aim is to make the entire experience as smooth as possible.

“User experience (UX) design is the process of building products that are easy and enjoyable for people to use,” explains Hotjar, a behaviour analytics and metrics platform. “By building products to be as effortless as possible for users, you can encourage adoption, retention, and loyalty.”

It’s also worth noting that UX design will often consider the user journey, which is similar to the customer journey, but focused only on the steps and touchpoints that happen online, whereas the customer journey considers all steps and touchpoints, online and offline.

The principles of UX

User experience design is underpinned by several key principles, such as:

• Usability. When it comes to an app or a website, people often become fixated on what are, essentially, trivial details about how the product looks. What really matters, however, is how the product works. There’s no point having gorgeous photography and JavaScript-heavy components if the website is slow to load, the information and messaging is hard to find, or the journey through the product is clunky and difficult to navigate. Functionality is crucial.
• User-centric design. The user should always come first. Rather than focusing on what the business wants to achieve, focus on what the user wants to achieve, and how the business can help them to do so. 
• Accessibility. Accessibility is essential on multiple levels. For example, some websites are required by law to be accessible to a certain standard. But even without a legal imperative, online accessibility boosts SEO and means that the digital product can be accessed and used by the highest number of people possible.

To help deliver on these principles, UX designers will strive to understand user needs, pain points, and common behaviours through user research, and then translate these insights into user-friendly interfaces. A holistic approach to UX involves considering every touchpoint along the user journey and ensuring that digital experiences meet user expectations – and solve specific user problems – effectively.

Why UX design is important in the customer journey

As we now know, the customer journey encompasses every interaction between a customer and a brand, from initial awareness to post-purchase support. In this journey, UX design plays a crucial role in guiding and informing the target audience during any digital interaction. It ensures that at every touchpoint – be it on a mobile app, a website, an e-commerce platform, and so on – the user experience is seamless, engaging, and aligned with both user’s needs and business goals.

Creating positive digital experiences can enhance customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and customer retention. And by delivering a positive and productive user experience, brands can turn their customers into promoters of the brand, helping to drive growth even further. 

Effective UX design can also provide valuable insights into user behaviour, preferences, and expectations, all of which can then be used to further refine the customer journey as well as product design or wider business strategies.

The difference between user experience (UX) and customer experience (CX)

Just like user journey and customer journey are related but separate terms, so too are user experience (UX) and customer experience (CX). Often used interchangeably, UX and CX actually refer to different aspects of a customer’s interaction with a brand:

• UX is focused on users’ interactions with digital products and services
• CX is focused on all interactions a customer has with a brand, digital or otherwise. For example, this might include in-store experiences, customer service conversations, and social media interactions. Essentially, UX is a component of CX.

How designers can deliver exceptional user experiences in the customer journey

Delivering exceptional user experiences requires a deep understanding of the customer journey, including all digital and physical touchpoints. It also needs support from a variety of stakeholders, from designers and product developers to marketers and business strategists.

There are a variety of methodologies and tools that can help achieve positive user experiences – and business success – but the best enable user-centric approaches and continuous customer feedback for improvements. For example:

• User research and user journey mapping. Dig deep to understand the user’s needs, expectations, and challenges, and then map out an appropriate journey to address this insight.
• Prototyping and usability testing. Create prototypes of digital products and conduct usability tests to gather feedback – and then iterate on the design.
• User-centric design thinking. Solve user problems in innovative ways by putting the user at the heart of the design process and thinking about the challenges from their perspective.

Create exceptional user experiences 

Develop and expand the practical skills you need for designing, building, deploying, and evaluating user-focused digital products with the 100% online MSc Computer Science at Keele University. This flexible, part-time programme has been designed for ambitious individuals who may not have studied computer science previously, as well as computer science professionals who want an academic qualification to accelerate their career progression in information technology.

You’ll gain comprehensive knowledge of user interaction design, and explore important topics such as:

• The systematic use of requirements engineering for user interaction and user experience design.
• The psychological and social-psychological foundations for understanding user interactions.
• The experimental design and evaluation of user experiences.
• The development techniques and technologies for creating user interfaces for web-based and mobile applications.