In the software industry product experience refers to the portion of the customer journey that takes place within the application. As SaaS becomes the primary software delivery model, more and more of the customer’s engagement with a vendor takes place within the application. It’s where users get onboarded, where they learn about new features, and where they ultimately realize value. Today, leading product teams are focusing closely on understanding improving the experience they deliver in their products to grow revenue and reduce customer churn.
While UX is concerned with the specific interactions a user has with a product, product experience looks more broadly at the entire customer journey in the product. In many SaaS products the complete customer journey from trial to purchase to renewal takes place within the product. Product teams, therefore need to think not only about usability, but how the product can facilitate each stage of the journey and ensure that customers realize ongoing value.
The software industry is transforming rapidly. Highly intuitive and deeply personalized experiences are dramatically raising user expectations for business software, while subscription licensing models are making it easier than ever for dissatisfied users to switch. Today, usability and good design are no longer enough to meet growing customer expectations. Software products must onboard, educate, engage, understand, and ultimately adapt to their user’s needs.