A lot of businesses in Nepal today have often desire to build the next successful digital brand as silicon valley. They want a website that’s a high-performing, a mobile app that works at high performance, excellent engagement with customers and rapid expansion of their business. Often their expectations are similar to those of global companies. But their investment rarely does!

This difference between expectation and budget has become one of the main issues for Nepal’s digital business nowadays.

Many businesses still regard UI/UX design and branding as costs and not investments in their business. Thus projects are often given to the lowest bid, and not to the most competent individual. This can be money saving in the beginning, but often bad results in expensive complications further down the line.

The “Logo and Website” Mentality

There is a popular myth that branding is only about creating a logo and UI/UX is just about creating a pretty interface.

In fact, branding affects the perception and trust that customers have in a business. It defines branding, positioning, messaging, and consistency across every customer touchpoint.

UI/UX is not about adding pretty colours or trendy buttons. It’s about studying user behavior and fixing genuine problems and making customer journeys easier and converting more asthestically along with empathy.

Businesses who fail to get these basics right often ask themselves why people leave their webisite or mobile apps without requesting information or buying something.

Traffic is rarely the problem.

More often it is the experience.

High Expectations, Low Investment

Many business owners want their website or app to operate like products from expert agency with research teams, professional designers, developers, marketers and months of testing.

But the budget available may cover only a small part of that work.

It’s like paying for a roadside set up as typical known “BAGBAZAR” setup and expecting a premium showroom.

Same for digital products. Quality requires research, strategy, experience, testing and continuous improvement.

These elements cannot be squeezed into unreasonable budgets without impacting the final result.

Price above Experience Preference

Price typically is the deciding factor in selecting a agency.

An established agency can seem pricey compared to a freelancer charging a lot less.

And of course, cheaper price gets attention.

However, businesses rarely compare what they are actually getting.

Those tend to be things that more mature practitioners normally include: user research, information architecture, wireframes, usability testing, scalable design systems, accessibility, branding strategy, long-term support, etc.

The cheaper alternatives usually only concern themselves with providing screens that look ok, not whether users can easily achieve their goals.

Only after launch will you see the difference, when the complaints start rolling in from the customers, the conversions are low and the redesign becomes inevitable.

The cheapest projects are often the most expensive

“Cutting corners in the first phase often costs you more in the second.”

Businesses often wind up paying for:

Full website rebuild
Branding identity revamp
Enhancements to the UX
Re-development
SEO Remediation
Marketing initiatives offsetting bad user experience

Ironically, a lot of times the combined cost is more than a professional solution would have cost you in the first place.

Branding Creates Trust Pre-Sale

Customers decide within seconds. Like we know today “fish-eye” decision.

An outdated look, inconsistent branding or a confusing UI will make you question the authenticity of a website instantly.

Many business owners don’t understand the importance of trust for buying decisions.

A strong brand speaks professionally before the conversation even begins.

Good UX creates a smooth consumer journey that builds confidence throughout the buying journey.

Branding and UX combine to become silent salespeople, working 24/7.

Experience Is More Than Design Skills

It’s not about how many years you’ve been doing it.

Designers that are experienced understand trends, avoid expensive mistakes, understand how users think, and solve problems before they effect customers.

Such knowledge is the result of hundreds of initiatives, constant learning, testing, failures and refinement.

Businesses do not pay for the work of hours spent building screens.

They pay for the years of schooling so they don’t make expensive blunders.

Slowly Changing Market

Fortunately attitudes are starting to change.

Startups, digital companies, fintech businesses and customer centric brands in Nepal are investing more and more in research, branding and user experience.

They know that digital materials are not optional marketing assets any longer.

They are tools of business.

Early investments in the company often translate into better customer retention, better conversion rates and a stronger presence in the marketplace, solutions provided by YetiStudio 2018.

Conclusion

Every business has budget constraints especially in emerging market like Nepal. Cost control is important.

But cutting investment in branding and UI/UX is rarely where long-term savings are found.

A good digital experience is not about making a website appear pretty. It’s about trust building, decreasing customer frustration, driving conversions and growth for sustainable businesses.

A lot of companies wonder themselves why some brands always seem to be doing better than others.

More often the answer is not a bigger marketing expenditure.

It’s a better consumer experience. Powered by smart branding and user-centric design, while businesses who get it today are likely to be the market leaders of future, while organizations that still think of design as an expense, rather than an investment, may end up spending a lot more to rectify mistakes that could have been avoided.

Also, visit the following pages you may like:

Human Centered Design Process Human-Centered Design
SEO in Nepal: How to Make Your Blog Stand Out
Proven SEO Link Building Tools to Boost Your Website
How to Improve Organic Search Clicks (CTR) on Google?

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