Myth 1: UX = UI

When you ask people to define UX (user experience) design, you often get answers like “Designing clean, modern interfaces” or “Making things look good.” But that’s actually UI (user interface) design. Though they are closely related, UX is about much more than just aesthetics, it’s about designing the entire user journey, both digital and physical.

• UI = How it looks
  User interface design refers to the visual and interactive elements of a product, such as buttons, icons, typography, colors, tactile controls, ergonomics and overall layouts. It’s all about how the product looks (aesthetics) and how users interact with it intuitively.
• UX = How it works
  User experience design is about the overall feel of the product and how easily users can accomplish their goals. It involves research, usability testing, wireframing and interaction design to ensure a smooth, efficient and enjoyable experience.

A great example of this came up while we were developing Ordo Key. Initially, the focus was on look and feel, but user feedback quickly revealed that installers found the installation process unintuitive. This insight led to a shift in approach, prioritizing usability improvements to streamline the workflow, proving that UX is not just about aesthetics but about making products truly work for their users.

© Ordo Key

Myth 2: UX is a luxury expense

Thinking of UX as a “nice-to-have” rather than a critical investment can be a costly mistake. Poor UX doesn’t just frustrate users, it can lead to market failure, expensive updates and even brand damage. Some examples? In 2012, Apple Maps launched with inaccurate data, poor navigation and distorted 3D maps. This resulted in Apple’s shares losing 4.5% of their value, price tag: $30 billion. Volkswagen‘s touchscreen-only controls in the 2020s was widely criticized for being frustrating and unintuitive. In the end, the company announced it would bring back physical buttons. In 2018, Snapchat changed the app’s layout in an attempt to make it more user-friendly, but instead, it caused confusion and frustration. The company lost millions of users and stock prices dropped drastically.

If done right, investing in UX becomes a strategic move that generates significant returns. In fact, research from Forrester showed that for every $1 invested in UX, companies can see up to $100 in return. Or to give an example of the value of a product with a great UX, various analysts estimate that the value of Apple’s Airpod business is $195 billion. That is in line with the value of the combined Bel 20, excluding AB InBev (or about twice the value of AB InBev).

Another mistake is thinking UX requires a massive, time-consuming investment, while it actually can be delivered in small, focused sprints, building on a design roadmap defined in initial project brainstorms.

Myth 3: UX is subjective

Let’s set the record straight: UX is not about the designer’s personal preference or ‘what looks good’. It’s about what works for users, based on data and research. UX uses clear, actionable insights gathered from surveys, feedback and real-world usage data. You dive deep into how features are actually being used, identify pain points and understand frequent tasks.

To measure UX success, we rely on hard metrics like task success rate, task duration, NPS (Net Promoter Score), error rates and misclick rates, defined based on the company’s objectives. For Reynaers Aluminium, research was key in finding the right features for their online platform, DigiTrace. As a result, it’s now widely used, has received a lot of positive feedback and has become a key driver for data-driven innovation.

© Verhaert Digital

Based on a mix of human psychology, usability research, industry best practices and accessibility principles, UX also follows established standards. For example, by following common UI patterns and visual cues (affordances), users don’t have to “learn” a new interface, they can rely on what they already know without needing instructions.

Myth 4: More features = Better UX

Actually more correct would be: More features, more problems. Overloading an app with unnecessary features can overwhelm users, while they crave simplicity and intuitive workflows. In many cases, companies focus more on driving business goals and adding features quickly rather than understanding users’ true needs. The key to great UX is prioritizing the right features, and this starts with research before any development begins.

Alberto Savoia put it perfectly when he said: “You have to build the right it before you build it right”. A great example comes from our work with TEO. Their interfaces had evolved based on customer requests, leading to a variety of workflows and a complex architecture. Based on in-depth research, we helped them refine their design, streamlining features and creating a more structured, intuitive app. Another great example is from Loop. These earplugs are super popular for a reason: They’re a simple product that offers a great experience.

© Loop Earplugs

Myth 5: Users will figure it out

According to PwC, 32% of users will leave a brand they love after just one bad experience. That’s not very surprising. People expect products to be intuitive and effortless to use, and they don’t want to struggle or waste time trying to understand how something works. So the idea that users will simply ‘figure it out’ how to use it is a recipe for failure.

Take this door, for example. Would you push or pull? Everyone can recall the frustration (or embarrassment) of pulling a door that you should actually push open. In UX, we call this concept the ‘Norman door’, a design that confuses its users, causes errors or functions counterintuitively. It also highlights that UX goes far beyond digital interfaces and apps, it applies to the workflows of any product, service or system. These kinds of frustrations may seem small at first, but when they happen too often, it’s all the user will remember about the product.

Many companies assume they know enough about their users, but there’s a huge gap between being familiar with a product and being a first-time user. This can lead to poor decision-making because what seems obvious to the creator might be confusing or unintuitive for someone who hasn’t spent hours with the product. Thanks to the previously mentioned user research, UI standards and affordances, even a first-time user can use your product intuitively. Creativity is cool, but usability wins every time.

A strategic approach to innovation

The misconceptions around UX can seriously stifle innovation. When companies make decisions based on incorrect assumptions, they end up with products that frustrate users and fail to provide real value. UX is not an afterthought or a luxury; it’s a strategic tool that directly impacts user satisfaction, engagement, and business success. To truly innovate, companies should regularly challenge their assumptions and ensure they understand the real needs of their users. After all, developing a product that doesn’t offer value to the end user will inevitably fail.

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Join our keynote session

“Innovation traditionally focuses on product development and intellectual property, yet today’s markets demand a broader approach that includes the 4Ps: product, price, place, and promotion,” says David Pas, Customer Success Manager at Verhaert Strategic Innovation. How do you empower a business to innovate more holistically and successfully? Find inspiration in the keynote session of David Pas on Thursday, November 7th at 8h25 in the morning ‘From ‘innovation for IP’ to ‘innovating the 4Ps’: a phenomenon or a strategic shift?’.

Let’s create new business and grow together

Innovating successfully requires you to understand user needs and set up rapid learning and validation cycles on market and tech dimensions to hit the sweet spot of innovation. With the right methodologies, tools, experts and mentors you have access to unique e-learning, funding and start-up ecosystem assets to help you overcome common innovation challenges:

1. Which strategies enhance solution-market fit for successful product launches and minimize business failure?
   Strategic pilots have achieved remarkable successes in developing and introducing new products, services and new customer experiences.
2. How do you accelerate the adoption of emerging technology and ventures, and ignite market development?
   Thematic business acceleration programs to spur start-ups and technology transfer, with a leading entrepreneurship team active in coaching, scaling and funding.
3. Which disruptive business models and technologies can fuel growth in venturing initiatives?
   Providing full-service corporate venturing ecosystems to succeed in an agile and lean manner, including training, mentoring and start-up connections.

Visit us to increase your capacity to innovate, strategically and improve the outcome of your new business initiatives.

Book a one-on-one at the fair

Visit Verhaert Strategic Innovation and book a personal meeting at your convenience.

Find us at our booth

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Innovation is the lifeline of FMCG

Johannes Kieven Senior, an industry expert, emphasizes that digital innovation plays a critical role in the FMCG sector. Without innovation, FMCG brands would struggle to survive in today’s highly competitive marketplace. In his words, “Innovation is the lifeline of the FMCG industry. It allows companies to stay ahead of the competition, anticipate consumer needs, and create products that truly resonate with their target audience.”

When it comes to Henkel‘s approach to innovation within its laundry and home care division, Kieven reveals that fostering a culture of innovation is a top priority. Henkel achieves this by encouraging cross-functional collaboration and empowering employees to think creatively. The company also invests significantly in research and development, staying at the forefront of digital and technological advancements. Moreover, Henkel actively seeks out partnerships with start-ups and external innovators, like Verhaert, to leverage fresh perspectives and expertise. This collaborative and forward-thinking approach enables Henkel to drive innovation and develop products that meet consumer needs and embrace digital paths.

Consumers are more conscious about sustainability

The conversation with Kieven also sheds light on how consumer behavior and expectations have influenced the need for innovation in the FMCG industry. Today’s consumers are more conscious about sustainability, demand greater product transparency, and expect personalized experiences. These shifting expectations require FMCG companies to innovate across various dimensions, including product formulation, packaging, and marketing with digital trends in mind. By embracing consumer insights and leveraging data-driven approaches, FMCG companies can deliver on these expectations, build customer loyalty, and stay ahead of the competition.

Henkel’s commitment to sustainability emerges as a key component of its innovation strategy. Kieven highlights that Henkel prioritizes the development of products that are not only effective but also environmentally friendly. The company invests in research to reduce the ecological footprint of its products, explores alternative materials, and optimizes manufacturing processes to minimize waste and energy consumption. By prioritizing sustainable innovation, FMCG companies actively contribute to environmental preservation while meeting the demands of an increasingly eco-aware consumer base.

Embracing technological advancements is crucial

Technology plays a transformative role in driving innovation within the FMCG industry, as affirmed by Kieven. Advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and smart connected devices offer new possibilities to enhance products, offer digital layers optimize supply chains, and deliver more personalized experiences. Embracing these technological advancements is crucial for companies aiming to stay ahead in this competitive landscape. By leveraging technology, FMCG brands can create innovative solutions that not only meet consumer expectations but also drive operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

In conclusion, innovation remains a driving force within the FMCG industry. The insights shared by Johannes Kieven from Henkel highlight the importance of embracing (digital) innovation to anticipate consumer needs, foster sustainability, and deliver even more personalized experiences. By fostering a culture of innovation, investing in research and development, and leveraging digital technologies, FMCG companies can stay at the forefront of the industry, meet evolving consumer demands, and shape the future of FMCG innovation.

If you want to learn more about how we’ve helped Henkel stay at the forefront of innovation, or how we can help solve your innovation challenge, we’re all ears!

Curious to hear the insights from Johannes himself? Check out the full interview here!

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Customer relationships in the mobile app era

The growth of the mobile app ecosystem has been remarkable in the past decade, with new B2C and B2B apps being created and uploaded to app stores by the minute, with app downloads reaching billions. Your customers are mobile, and so is the way they’re managing their lives and businesses. If your business relationship with your customers hasn’t yet moved to the era of the mobile, then this is an upcoming transformation that you’ll likely need to go through sooner than later, as a company. You would undertake that not because it’s a fun activity that you can’t wait to commence but because it will result in tangible business benefits in the long run.

Overdigitization at the price of the human touch

In times of extreme digitization, it’s easy for organizations to get side-tracked and lose touch with their humanity – instead, focusing on app functionalities and features, speed, and other important digital KPIs that seem to be all the craze today. This is great, of course, if it doesn’t happen at the price of putting humans second. Companies must often pause and check whether they’re on course when it comes to human expectations, whether we’re talking about customers, suppliers, partners, staff, or other stakeholders. Not doing so can be a risky and expensive endeavor.

It might be that we’re building a robust new customer service app for them, but they’ve already moved to social media for getting help. Things are moving so quickly today that companies must not simply respond to trends – they must predict and make trends in their industries happen. That means that businesses must be open to incurring sunk costs and abandoning projects previously deemed important if stakeholders are demanding a different, more innovative approach. This level of agility is difficult to achieve, especially for larger corporations, but is the only way to ensure that your company doesn’t get left behind in a technological race with itself.

Getting the desired ROI out of business and enterprise apps

Even though so many consumers are downloading apps today, app retention is certainly an issue for many app developers and providers. Users download many apps but only keep those that they’re using regularly, if not daily. Even though mobile device storage is an issue of the past, users still need a good reason to keep your app in their mobile device app portfolio. Business and enterprise apps don’t need to meet the stickiness factor criteria that B2C apps are subject to, but they still need to provide value in terms of efficiency, productivity, and overall utility in helping users get things done and move their business matters along.

Staying human, while modernizing customer service, experience, and relationships

How can you improve your business app’s retention? Perhaps the most straightforward way is by focusing on the human: human interactions, or the customer relationship. Collecting app user feedback regularly and using it to constantly tweak and improve app features can make a huge difference in building a long-lasting impression with customers. Getting on top of app analytics to help you gauge the usage of certain functionalities is also key. When it comes to improving your business apps and making sure they’re used, it all goes back to the good old principle of ‘being a good listener.’

Loyalty programs transformed by apps

Many organizations have incorporated loyalty schemes within their mobile apps to help keep customers engaged, while also building brand equity. Such programs can help improve the customer relationship, while also improving app retention. The more personalized the experience and the rewards, of course, the stickier the loyalty scheme. How can you ensure you’re offering customers something of value? Again, analyzing buying behavior and app usage data can provide valuable clues as to what’s important for them.

We know that good customer relationships also drive revenue, so your app needn’t simply be a tool but can also act as a revenue driver if it’s built and positioned correctly. Although everything is digital today, let’s not forget that it all boils down to human constituents, even when it comes to B2B target audiences. How we treat them, via all customer touchpoints (apps, websites, customer service processes, etc.) has a sizeable impact on continued business success and is a driver that isn’t to be underestimated.

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Elevating your Fast Moving Consumer Goods appliances

As technology advances, sensors are becoming more affordable due to improved manufacturing processes and increased competition in the market. This competition has resulted in manufacturers offering sensors in a wide variety to target specific applications. In addition, miniaturization is the first step towards integrating sensors into everyday appliances.

Cost efficiency and size are important, but integrating new sensors can be a challenge. So let’s give you a few examples of the sensing technologies we have employed, their potential applications, and the associated challenges.

1. VIRTUAL TEMPERATURE SENSOR

Temperature is a critical factor to control in appliances, ensuring an accurate and consistent recipe for a quality food or beverage. Temperature sensors are widely used in many applications and are now small and cost-effective. You can use them not only for process monitoring and control but also for signal compensation, as temperature has a considerable influence on most measurements. Despite its widespread usage, there are still challenges that need to be addressed and overcome. Indeed, you can’t indiscriminately add sensors everywhere due to food-safety concerns and/or manufacturing requirements.

For instance, placing a temperature sensor in a beer keg can be difficult. To solve this problem, you can implement virtual temperature sensors, which simulate the behavior of a physical sensor by using data from other physical sensors. Back to the example, the temperature of the contents of a keg can be predicted by using sensors to monitor the temperature of its surroundings. Additionally, you can employ sensor fusion to acquire multiple data and merge the measurements into a single output, ensuring greater reliability and accuracy.

2. SENSITIVE TO PRESSURE?

Beginning with the automotive sector and then extending to numerous industries, pressure sensors are now cost-effective and available in a variety of shapes and sizes. In addition to measuring pressure and flow, you can use these sensors for indirect measurements such as volume. By measuring the pressure and its rate of change over time, it’s possible to calculate the liquid volume contained in a bag.

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Personalization and optimization of consumer interaction

Engaging customers and increasing convenience, user experience, and personalization are essential to staying competitive in today’s market. However, this can be difficult to achieve without the right tools and technology. AI and data can help resolve this pain point by providing personalized recommendations, detecting individuals, demographics, or behavior patterns, and adjusting to them in real time. This allows companies to create a more engaging and personalized experience for their customers, which can in turn lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Another pain point for FMCG companies is the guarantee of optimal quality and proper usage of their appliances. When appliances are deployed in the field, it can be challenging to ensure that they are functioning properly and delivering the best possible experience to customers. AI can help resolve this pain point by fine-tuning and optimizing local process parameters in real time. This allows appliances to automatically check and adjust the dispensed product, ensuring the best possible quality for customers.

Real-time appliance optimization

In addition to these specific pain points, AI and data can also help FMCG companies in a number of other areas. For example, advanced user interfaces can help increase customer engagement through more intuitive and fun user experiences. AI can also be used to drive value in a fleet of smart appliances, providing usage pattern detection, predictive maintenance services, and automated refilling services.

Furthermore, AI can improve churn, demand prediction, logistics, and inventory management. According to a McKinsey report, AI systems can reduce 65% of lost sales due to out-of-stock situations. The report also highlights that AI can reduce 10 to 50% of warehousing costs. Thus, AI forecasting can help organizations increase revenue by enhancing sales and cutting down inventory costs.

AI can also be used for market analytics and pattern discovery. Companies are often sitting on mountains of data, but it can be difficult to find the hidden patterns that can increase product placement, evaluate new product launches, or determine when to delist a product. AI systems can help by categorizing both distribution and retail stores based on location, seasonality, and demographics.

Source: Beer Hawk – PerfectDraft app

Finally, customer sentiment analysis is another area where AI and data can help FMCG companies. Understanding the true feelings of customers is invaluable, but dealing with large amounts of webshop reviews or sifting through customer complaints can be tedious. AI can help automatically detect sentiment in written and spoken language, as well as facial and emotional expressions, providing valuable insights into customer sentiment.

In conclusion, the use of AI and data can help FMCG companies resolve a number of pain points, from personalization and gamification of customer interactions to real-time appliance optimization and smart appliances. By leveraging the power of AI and data, FMCG companies can create a more engaging and personalized experience for their customers, leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty.

Curious about what else AI can do? Check out our services page!

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Adapting to the new market reality

75% of customers admit that they’re more likely to buy from a company that continues to address their needs, and they’re even willing to pay more for a better experience. Customer experience (CX) plays an essential part in the buying process, and if customer behavior changes, you should change with them. This impacts both your business model and target market and challenges you to keep up with the always-connected and ever-changing customer and remain relevant throughout the entire journey. Take for example a customer in a retail shop. Before making the purchase, they can easily look up the product online to find better offers. How do you deal with this, or even play into this? This is where new (digital) technologies can give you more detailed insights to continue increasing customer lifetime value.

Expanding your buyer persona

With a constrained development budget, it would be an absolute waste to dive into digital or physical feature development before understanding which experience you want to deliver. A success factor to effectively identify monetizable CX options is to go beyond the persona you already know: map out which other users, influencers, and advisors are involved and in which needs are underserved. If you look at professional construction devices for instance, you should take into consideration the drive towards the lower total cost of ownership for a large contracting company (e.g. energy usage and traceability), on top of the traditional usage features (e.g. drilling performance and cordless).

Want to know more?

Have a look at our webinar with different examples of how digital transformation can boost the CX for your clients. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to explore your options.

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Innovating during inflationary times is tough but a thorough scan of your current product portfolio or innovation roadmap will help you navigate more successfully through these uncertain times. As this might not be enough, we recommend innovation and R&D leaders to gear up their teams and focus more on pricing, to install tools and accommodate the new environment, and finally to adjust product features to the new buying behavior. Here are 4 ways to re-strategize innovation and put your company in the driving seat to shape the future.

Develop the art of price setting during your development process

An analysis can plot your current price positioning in the market and evaluate if there’s still room to increase prices without losing market share and volume. Of course this should be an investigation of customers’ willingness to pay relative to comparable products, allowing you to evaluate the consequences of price changes in volume and margin. It will ensure your customer relationships and balance them with an increase in profits. It’s also important that you check the cross-elasticity with your biggest competitor product. Why? A price increase in your product might lead to a large volume switch to a substitutable product from a competitor.

You might also want to re-adjust the planned innovation portfolio as not every planned product might have the same price elasticity and therefore not every product you had in mind will be eligible for a similar price increase. Does every product have the same price elasticity, resulting in a -1% volume change when a +1% of price change is implemented? You can either stop some projects, or reconsider the features compared to intended price levels. Now more than ever, adjusting your innovation portfolio is a profitable strategy to consider.

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The introduction of new tools and technologies (like internet of things, artificial intelligence or machine learning) have increased the level of complexity while the decision making based on the (nearly) live and accurate data is becoming the new standard. We want to use, monitor and manage products in ways that are self-explaining and logical. That’s why the interface hides the complexity and data from the user. Gesture and voice control are nice examples of intuitive user interfaces with complex technologies and logic behind it. So how can we make sure the solutions to our needs are built in the right way, taking into account all the shared data while the complexity stays hidden?

Why is the user interface such an important part to think about when developing a digital product in your innovation of tomorrow? There are several reasons.

Increasing use of technology

Let’s use “construction” as an example industry to illustrate some use cases that have led to the increasing use of technology, especially since the outbreak of the latest pandemic.

Safety has always been a well-known driver. Using drones to avoid high risk locations for workers is an obvious one, just like the use of wearables to keep track and guarantee social distancing. Of course safety regulations as well as legislation must be applied before using certain technologies, which sometimes may slow down the process.

Efficiency increase is another driver that has pushed the use of technology forward. Remote inspection of a yard to check the state of progress thanks to a web session on a smartphone or smart glasses enables the project leader to inspect more yards without the need of traveling from one site to another (or when home working has become mandatory for some colleagues).

Providing training to employees has proven to be time consuming, often without proper assessment of the improvement. Nowadays a lot of solutions help to train the worker (remote or virtual) and assist him/her on location when expert knowledge is needed at that specific moment in time.

The above mentioned use cases are only a few examples that explain why we’re building more technological solutions. So, let’s just summarize that drivers like (mental) health (short and long term), stress reduction, automatic and/or anonymous alarm systems, complying to all rules (big or small) as well as control, are the most common answers to the question why the use of technology is increasing.

As technology use is rising, the magnitude of data is becoming more important and difficult to manage without the support of sophisticated systems. Building more sophisticated solutions with user interfaces also result in the growing importance of user friendly graphical user interfaces, without a doubt.

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Every brand knows that planning and developing NPDs is a challenge – only 20% of cases end in success. During the EyeSee webinar, our colleague Stijn Smet, director of Verhaert Academy for Corporate Entrepreneurship, shared his best practice tips on improving that success rate. Watch this webinar to learn more about how to manage and de-risk the innovation process for new product development.

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