User Experience of a South African membership-based organization website

Abstract

When customers come to a company’s website or digital platform, the platform only has seconds to influence them to continue to use the platform. Investing in User Experience (UX) optimisation is essential to gain loyalty, brand visibility, and ensure customers return. Businesses that recognise the value of UX understand the importance of providing memorable experiences to their users and believe in creating long-lasting relationships with them. However, while UX should be at the core of every digital product or service, there are many businesses that do not invest in the UX. Furthermore, a website plays a key role in how an organisation interacts with its members. Therefore, the research purpose was to explore the current User Experience (UX) for the digital platform of a membership-based entity in South Africa. The research offers a case study of “The Drone Council South Africa”. The aim of the study was to evaluate and improve member’s digital experiences of using the website, with a view to increase and sustain membership by offering a member-centric user experience. The study provided an adapted theoretical framework that considers the user experience and how it can be evaluated. The framework brought together relevant concepts to address the study’s objectives, such as UX, UX strategy, emotional design, benchmarking evaluation and membership-based models. A qualitative research study using semi-structured interviews was conducted with a sample group of 16 participants, made up of members and staff of the organisation. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes in the data analysis. The UX was evaluated according to usability, trust/credibility, appearance, and loyalty. The research findings point to a large gap between member expectations and what the organisation’s digital platform currently provides. The data revealed that 75% of interviewed members are dissatisfied with the current service and are undergoing a poor user experience. Meeting the expectations and needs of users is required for an organisation to succeed. Therefore, the study proposes a high level UX strategy for the organisation’s website with the aim of increasing and sustaining membership as well as reducing the customer experience gap between members and the organisation’s website