Product Experience Explained: Key Insights & Best Practices

“We are at a crossroads — digital is the path forward. When we use digital correctly, we can provide a human experience that leads to true value for your users, which in turn, impacts adoption and retention. ”

— Nick Mehta, CEO at Gainsight, in the Digital User Journeys Playbook

Churn rate — the metric we all dread. If it’s too high, it means you're spending a lot on user acquisition without great ROI. 

Subscription models only add to the challenge. Customers find it easier to turn tail than to stay another day. As a result, SaaS companies targeting SMBs see annual customer churn up to 58%.

Focusing on product experience is the best way to reduce churn; and frankly, churn is just the tip of the iceberg. 

Good product experience leads to more engaged, loyal, and vocal customers. You build a long-lasting bond. You ensure growth — for your bottom line, employees, stakeholders, and everyone else involved with your business.

By focusing on this one crucial aspect, you can trigger a positive domino effect for your product. 

Now, let's flip the first tile.

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What is Product Experience?

Product experience (PX) is the customer’s journey within a product. While similar to user experience (UX), PX encompasses the customer’s entire interaction with the product, from beginning to end — across browsers, mobile apps, and more. In the software industry, PX specifically refers to the portion of the customer journey that takes place within product applications.

Contrary to the reality decades ago, a product is not just something you hold in your hand— a toothbrush, a pair of sunglasses, or a piece of clothing. In the modern day, product experience is multi-dimensional. You get to sync the experience through multiple channels — mobile, web, custom hardware, and more. 

Lastly, understanding consumer product experience means understanding the entire user journey through your digital assets. This journey isn't just about using the product. PX is a focused subset of UX, capturing a more comprehensive lifecycle: from trial and purchase to usage, cross-platform interaction, product adoption, and renewal. It's all part of the product experience management.

Why is Product Experience Important?

A majority of SaaS features go untouched. That’s billions in R&D down the drain because the product experience is sub-par. Furthermore, out of an average of 300 SaaS apps used in businesses, 53% of licenses go unused.

If users aren’t engaging with the new features you’ve poured resources into, it’s a clear sign something’s off. It’s not just about having features; it’s about having features that people actually use and find valuable. 

People remember how your product made them feel, how easy it was to use, and whether it met their needs in all stages of their customer journey. That emotional and practical connection? That’s the essence of PX and customer experience altogether.

Who is Shaping Digital Product Experience? 

Everything starts and ends with customers.

PMs and product designers aren’t the ones who shape great product experience. At the core, it’s your customers. Internal teams interpret customer demands and make sure they’re met. 

Understanding this is how Steve Jobs built the iPhone. It’s why PX is engraved in the business philosophy of many tech giants such as Amazon, Starbucks, Netflix, and Airbnb.

As it says in our  Product Mindset eBook

“To build products people love, you need to know your customer better than your best friend. Better than you know your parents. Better than you know your spouse.”

Any team that touches the product plays a part in the product experience. Keeping these teams in sync will help you cater to your customers.

• Product Experience Management. To ensure customer satisfaction with a product, a product experience manager oversees the design and optimization of the entire user journey within a product.

• Product Development. They develop and maintain the product, ensuring it is functional, reliable, and performs well.

• Product Management. The product team defines the vision, strategy, and roadmap, ensuring the product meets customer needs.

• Design (UX/UI). They create intuitive and engaging product designs that enhance usability and customer satisfaction.

• Customer Support. They provide assistance, gather customer feedback, and address issues, directly influencing user satisfaction.

• Marketing. They communicate the product's value and ensure it reaches the right audience.

• Sales. They interact with customers to understand their needs and ensure the product's features align with market demands.

• Quality Assurance (QA). They test the product to ensure it meets quality standards and provides a seamless experience.

Practical Tips to Be Better at Consumer Product Experience

Consumer product experience is a complex and nuanced discipline — far from a one-trick pony. 

Beyond adhering to theoretical practices, product experience managers need practical, actionable advice to truly excel. They require fresh, original insights, not the same, trite clichés. Based on our assessment of the most common mistakes and misconceptions, here are some expert strategies to help you actually take action:

1. Listen to Consumers (But Ask at the Right Time)

It's important to collect feedback through surveys, reviews, and direct conversations with customers. You don't know if you don't ask, right? However, timing is crucial. 

Many companies ask for reviews too soon. This irritates users and results in fewer responses. According to a study reported in Harvard Business Review, sending delayed reminders significantly increases the likelihood of receiving reviews. 

Additionally, teams need to identify systems that help them differentiate between what users want and what they ask for.

2. Don't Fall For Exclusivity Paradigm

Modern products often stick to a single cultural and accessibility standard, which doesn't work for a diverse audience. Many companies fall into this trap by copying what they see popular brands doing on TV. 

For instance, if you market a product messaging solely beauty and success, without thinking about accessibility, you're going to alienate a big chunk of your target market. Designing for inclusivity is key — make sure everyone feels valued and included. It will result in bigger profits and more importantly, humanize your brand.

3. Onboard Your Customers Without Friction 

Complicated onboarding drives away 74% of potential customers while only 40% of companies report positive onboarding experiences. Mash the data and you have an obvious problem — poor customer onboarding. That's why it is a key recommendation in our Digital User Journeys Playbook.

To onboard new users smoothly, focus on simplicity, clear instructions, and immediate value. These elements reduce frustration and quickly demonstrate the benefits of your product.

4. When You Lose, Ask Why Without Re-Pitching

There are reasons why people quit using your product other than price. In fact, the issue with the price being 'too high' is likely the issue of product not meeting expectations. 

Quitters' blunt feedback can be invaluable for improving product experience. 

Ask these users for their input as soon as they decide to leave. Each churn may be an invaluable lesson to enhance your product experience.

5. Product Experience Teams Need To Test, Not Trust 

There are over 180 cognitive biases that affect how we process data, think critically, and perceive reality. This makes us very prone to mistakes, often without realizing it.

Biases are especially common in PX design. For example, when designing a coffee machine for elderly people, designers might think it's helpful to add fancy buttons and brewing options. However, these complications can frustrate elderly users, leading them to sell the machine for good. They just wanted the coffee…

Sure, make assumptions. We have no doubt you’ll nail a few. But test rigorously. Use data to get to know your audience. Other means may be just too costly.

 6. Use Product Experience Metrics For Analysis

Tracking how users interact with your product helps identify pain points and areas for improvement. As we stated already, the majority of SaaS features go unused. It urges us to seek a deeper understanding of user behavior. We need to know what features are valuable and which ones are overlooked.

Bear in mind that using manual tools to track data is one of many options available. Using product experience software can help streamline the process of collecting and analyzing user feedback. These product experience tools can provide real-time insights into user behavior, helping you refine your product experience strategy.

Additionally, analytics can uncover patterns in user behavior, such as common drop-off points, frequent errors, and popular features. By leveraging this information, you can make data-driven decisions to optimize your product, improve user satisfaction, and increase overall engagement. 

 7. Conjure Up Product Experience Insights

When we talk about product experience, we hear about metrics and insights. While they might appear similar, they actually serve distinct purposes. 

Metrics are the numbers you see on a car’s dashboard — fuel consumption, average speed, total mileage, etc. In the world of product experience, these would be usage rate, usage time, feature adoption rate, error rate, etc. 

Metrics alone don’t provide much value. However, when they are combined and put into context, they feed into product experience insights. These insights offer qualitative and contextual understanding. They allow teams to make sense of the numbers they see on most product experience platforms nowadays.

Understanding common themes within the user feedback is an insight. Identifying behavior patterns or pain points is another pair. Customer segmentation or user journey mapping - you guessed it. 

Insights, unlike standalone metrics, help teams craft product experience strategies. They give cues to understand user motivations and guide decision-making.

Mastering Product Experience Management Goes a Long Way

Good product experience is essential. It reduces churn and fosters long-term customer loyalty. By focusing on these practical tips, companies can create products that truly resonate with their audience. Remember, every interaction is an opportunity to learn and improve the product experience. It ensures your product evolves to meet and exceed customer expectations.