Global market intelligence leader International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts an investment of $6.8 trillion for a three‐year period ending 2023 to transform organizations into digital‐at‐scale enterprises (organizations that build and grow through significant investment in technology). At the same time, 56% of users of digital services stated that they are dissatisfied by the user experience, according to a 2021 McKinsey Global Digital Sentiment Insights survey.

In other words, businesses are “sinking” staggering amounts of money into digital products and services that people (users) don’t find usable, useful, and desirable. For that investment, some businesses will generate growth, but most will lose trillions of dollars simply because they don’t understand the new problem where the user’s experience directly affects current and future business outcomes.

The User Experience Problem

In simple terms, the experience problem means ensuring that each user that engages in the business ecosystem gets what they want, when they want it, where they want it, and how they want it, every time they experience the digital product or service.

Every company is now a technology company, either because it offers technology products or has made (or will make) immense technology investments for internal operations. To thrive, companies must create the best user experience for all users engaged in their business ecosystem. This includes (but is not limited to) their direct users, their employees, and any partners and vendors who are part of the system.

Companies need to recognize that they are not creating value¹—and in fact are losing value—by doing the following:

• Not understanding users and their context to build a relevant solution;
• Forcing users to engage with multiple products/services to get their work done;
• Shipping features that user(s) cannot find easily;
• Having capabilities that require training;
• Delivering a digital product or service that is not aesthetically pleasing.

Conversely, users today are making decisions based on attributes such as:

• How fast they can learn and onboard the product;
• How easy it is to find information in the product;
• How intuitive the product is;
• How easy it is to navigate through the product;
• How desirable the product is aesthetically;
• How well customer support is integrated with the product;
• How the product makes them feel;
• How well it enables collaboration with other users in the product;
• How seamless is the overall experience engaging with the business;
• How connected it is with their existing systems.

A Clear and Present Risk

According to research by Credit Suisse, the average age of an S&P 500 company is now less than 20 years, down from 60 years in the 1950s. Researchers directly attributed this shift to the disruptions caused by technology transformation. Blockbuster vs. Netflix, Nokia handsets vs. Apple iPhone, Borders vs. Amazon—examples abound of companies that perished while competitors thrived.

Businesses today do not have the luxury to sit around and slowly evolve, as the competition is just a click away. With the cost of technology innovation exponentially decreasing, competitors can easily and quickly launch a better alternative. Consider that it took eBay years to build an e‐commerce platform that can now be launched in minutes on Shopify.

Leaders who understand and leverage the power of user experience by constantly delighting their users with useful, functional, and desirable solutions will ride this wave to growth. That is the fundamental thesis of this Playbook. Those who do not will be left wondering what just happened and how they missed the opportunity of the decade.