We’ve all been there. You know a specific user flow is broken, you can see the friction in the research. But when you ask for resources to fix it, leadership asks for the "business case." Suddenly, a simple design fix feels like it requires a six-month study and a hard-to-put-your-finger-on ROI calculation. We are here to tell you, it doesn’t have to be that hard.
Welcome to our new series: Back-of-the-Napkin Business Impact. The idea here is that a few numbers literally on a coffee napkin should get heads nodding instinctively about the business impact. We’re stripping away the complex modeling and focusing on "ballpark" ROI, baseline metrics that prove a problem is worth solving right now. Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore simple ways to calculate:
- Support Deflection
- Revenue Leakage
- Risk Avoidance
- Productivity Drain
Part 1: The "Support Deflection" Calculation
In UX, Task Completion is the holy grail. The math is refreshingly clean: if a user can’t finish a task on their own, the business pays for it in one of two ways. They either lose the revenue, or they pay a support agent to help the user finish.
The "Support Deflection" model focuses on the latter. Use this when users fail at a basic task, like resetting a password or tracking an order—and pick up the phone instead.
The Napkin Formula:
(Monthly Support Tickets for Task Failure) × (Cost Per Support Interaction) = Potential Monthly Savings
Example: If we can reduce by 1,000 tickets/mo × $15 per ticket = $15,000/mo saved if research helps us fix the flow. By fixing that one flow, you aren't just "improving UX", you are handing the company $180,000 back in found money annually…that pays for a good chunk of your salary with just one fix!!
Stop Guessing, Start Calculating
Ready to see what your friction points are actually costing you? We’ve built a tool to do the heavy lifting for you. Try the Alida UX ROI Mini-Calculator now.
Plug in your numbers and turn your research findings into a compelling business case in seconds.
Want to keep the UX conversation going? On March 26th, we’re bringing together some of the industry’s top minds to talk about where user research is headed next. Click here to save your spot.
