This article emphasizes the value and necessity of having a user-centric business plan in the medical device industry. Within, we outline some of the key reasons this is true as well as several aspects of a business plan that should be specifically addressed by the medical device industry to improve their user experience (UX).
What is the Value of Emphasizing User Experience?
According to the Oxford Journal Interacting With Computers, UX design is simply about making customers’ interactions with a brand more enjoyable and efficient. A positive user experience is one where customers find value in what you're offering and their overall experience is a satisfying and fulfilling one.
The term “user experience” encapsulates all the aspects of the end user’s interactions with the company and its products and its services. That means that UX also includes how a person feels when engaging with a “system” or interface. This could include their interactions with a website, web application, desktop software, or nearly any other form device.
User experience (UX) or user interface (UI design) is merely a framework for creating a user journey. A good user interface (UI) caters to the users' preferences, perceptions, emotions, feelings, and much more. The emphasis should be on creating a good product design (visually and on a practical level) to maintain or even increase customer retention and satisfaction and to create an overall positive user experience within a given platform. Meanwhile, a revitalized visual design can enhance usability, access, and user satisfaction as they interact with your website or app.
The focus of UX design should be to find the synergy between the business’s goals and users’ needs. User research plays an essential role in understanding the best way to maintain new and existing customer engagement and create this positive user-brand relationship. With any goods or services, marketing strategies should always focus on long-term user experience to get the most out of what’s being offered rather than seeking short-term solutions. And the best way to make a lasting impression is by starting with a solid understanding of the target audience and building solutions to meet their needs and desires.
Why Do User-Driven Solutions Matter Within the Medical Device Industry?
There has been a drastic shift in healthcare systems thanks to major technological advancements. The implementation of machinery has been a solution to common anatomy-related concerns such as surgical procedures, holistic diagnostic exams, and cosmetic treatments. Such medical devices have provided greater insights and answers about the human body and made processes easier for healthcare workers in many cases. However, these advancements also mean that the way healthcare workers interact with patients is changing. These new technologies have also presented new ways of engaging customers that can be tapped into with the right strategies and approach to user experience.
How Does User Experience Influence the Medical Device Industry?
Within the United States, there are a wide variety of users that engage with a product, including the manufacturer, sales team, physician, supply chain management, and the customers themselves. With each individual, there’s a different interaction and perspective involved, which complicates the process of creating a positive user experience. For example, while the manufacturer may be interested in the most cost-effective solution, the hospital's priority may be the value the product adds to its current medical practice. Nevertheless, it’s imperative to create a user-centered design to fit the needs and expectations of everyone involved. With the aid of user research, not only is it easier to understand and, therefore, meet these expectations but other ideas can emerge that can influence future product design and customer engagement.
A successful healthcare transformation should not be limited to the goal of adding value to the life of the patient, although that is a respectable and worthwhile aim. Other possibilities can be considered as well, such as data analysis for future product enhancements or a better means of quality control for product or service inventories. Such opportunities can create positive changes that are more influential and longer-lasting.
Aspects of the Medical Device Industry That Can Be Enhanced:
Company Image:
“A picture is worth a thousand words” is a common phrase that expresses the power of imagery to enhance content. Likewise, user experience relies on visual design to enhance the user journey. Not only must the content be good, but there must be a long-term visual appeal for customers when it comes to lasting product engagement. This applies to websites and social media accounts as well as the overall business strategy. Although it may be superficial, a good visual design can make customers see the company in a better light, improving the brand’s image.
Data Analytics:
The most valuable part of a business is the data it collects through the interactions the organization has with its customers. That data is the key to appealing to customers and making improvements.
Healthcare technology can help sway the business model of an organization to optimize its data-gathering efforts. What’s recorded would assist in engaging both existing customers and potential ones, improving customer retention. Collected data would include but not be limited to demographic information, financial data, and the quality of the supply from the supply chain.
Customer Retainment:
Good customer service is pivotal for any company to thrive. If the healthcare industry is known for great customer service, people will be more interested to remain or become customers.
Having a customer service representative at the disposal of a clinician can add intrinsic value to the product by improving the customer’s experience with it. Improving the customer service experience could be as simple as adding a live chat functionality. Such digital solutions put the customer service team at the center of the user experience but can be largely automated to minimize time and staffing.
Summary:
UX design is simply about making sure people have a positive experience when using your product or service so that they remain customers or even spread awareness of your organization. This means ensuring that customers find value in what you're offering and that their overall experience is a positive one. User research is the key to creating this value and helps businesses to understand the best way to maintain new and existing customer engagement.
A successful healthcare transformation should not be limited to adding value to the life of a patient. It can be so much more! Having good visual appeal when it comes to websites, social media, and overall business strategies can not only create long-term customer engagement but improve the overall brand image and increase interest. With any goods or services, the marketing strategy should always be focused on long-term user experience for the best results, and this can be achieved with the help of user data and attractive visuals, among other improvements.
Healthcare technology can be used to help sway the business model of an organization to optimize its efforts. Data can be recorded that helps the business understand how to retain existing customers and gain potential customers as well.
About our company: Tonic3 is an international agency with headquarters in Dallas and offices in Madrid, Buenos Aires, and São Paulo. We've worked with a wide variety of clients over our 27 years in business, from large corporations to small startups in over 20 countries. A few of the brands we’ve worked with include Disney, Citibank, Yum! Brands, Lennox, and Accor Hotels.
We’re considered experts in agile methodologies, cutting-edge visual techniques, and UX design. Most importantly, we’re known for taking a user-first approach to design, making sure it works well for both our clients and their customers. We also make sure to test everything thoroughly before it ever reaches the public eye to make for the best launch possible!
Interested in seeing more examples of what can be done with extended reality? Check out the capabilities of AR with our Target Tracking AR Filter and our Gesture Tracking AR Filter.