User Experience, aka UX. A term that is becoming immensely popular, for all the right reasons. From fulfilling the needs of end users to defining user journeys, UX design plays an important role in the successful operation of a digital business.

But despite the abundance of UX designers, the exact role still remains a mystery to most. A good time, then, to clarify why we at Salesdock have expanded our one-(wo)man design team by not one, but even two new UX designers.

Anyone who uses the Salesdock platform knows that there are an awful lot of options for setting up the environment to your own liking. Every target group and channel has its own specific ins & outs, for which we as Salesdock offer the best solution. However, due to this abundance of functions, choices and data fields, it is easy to lose your way. And let that be exactly where the design team comes in as the saving grace.

To get the most out of the platform, without sacrificing effectiveness and usability, our designers work daily to optimize our clients' user experience. Here, they don't just focus on designing a beautiful environment, but tackle every issue at the core. With asking the right (yes, and sometimes the hugely critical 😉) questions and observing the current state of affairs (for example, by walking with door-to-door salespeople or listening in on call center agents) they define the customer's needs and wants. Here they look beyond just the existing demand; often there is an underlying issue that was not initially considered.

Once a clear picture of the user need has been formed, a suitable solution is sought. Our design team uses multiple design methods so that all possibilities are highlighted. Prototypes are then created, testing these features for both usability, efficiency and impact. The moment a prototype has been honed enough and passed all tests, the design is forwarded to our IT team in India, where all designs are transformed into perfectly-working functionalities. Throughout this process, there is constant interaction with the customer, creating valuable solutions that ensure a fluid, fine and trusted sales process. Exactly what we as Salesdock want to achieve.

But that's not all. Not only is our design team working on optimizing the current environment, they are also working on expanding Salesdock itself. With the ambition to make Salesdock suitable for all different sales channels (yes really!), it is important to determine what is needed to achieve this goal. By researching potential markets and collecting data in different ways, our designers map out what needs to be done to serve these markets as well; whether it is developing new functionalities, adjusting microcopy or omitting certain features.

However, the options that come out of this don't just stay within the design team; the various scenarios are discussed with the rest of our team so that solid choices can be made that the entire team supports.

When a decision is made with the Salesdock team to enter a specific market, the design team ensures that this process is effectively initiated. In other words; asking questions, listening, brainstorming, designing and testing.

When we come back to the question of why we have expanded our team with two (!) UX designers, the answer is actually quite simple: Our design team contributes to the achievement of our unprecedented ambitions to enter both new markets and new countries, and they make the IT world a little simpler, finer and more beautiful for our customers.