How to Explain the Value of UX in B2B SaaS in 60 Seconds
January 7, 2025
Valentin Brixner
Consultant & Founder @ DDPI
Imagine stepping into an elevator with your CEO. Just as the doors close, they turn to you and ask, “So, what are you working on right now?”
You have less than a minute to answer. What do you say?
For many UX professionals in B2B SaaS, this question can feel unexpectedly tricky. Not because the work lacks impact, but because translating research, usability improvements, and design decisions into clear business value isn’t always straightforward.
The challenge isn’t just about communication—it’s about bridging the gap between UX efforts and business priorities in a SaaS environment, where customer retention, product adoption, and expansion revenue are the ultimate goals.
So, why is this so difficult, and what can you do to fix it?
Why Is It So Hard to Explain UX’s Value in B2B SaaS?
At its core, articulating UX impact means translating user research, design decisions, and data insights into business terms that resonate with leadership. But that’s easier said than done. Here’s why:
- UX work is inherently complex: Research findings, usability improvements, and design iterations don’t always have immediate, visible business outcomes. In SaaS, it’s about long-term retention, not just quick wins.
- Communication barriers: UX teams focus on user behavior, friction points, and accessibility, while SaaS executives care about ARR growth, conversion rates, and reducing churn. Speaking their language is key.
- Vague success metrics: Without clear KPIs tied to business goals, UX efforts can seem like a “nice-to-have” rather than a core driver of product success.
For a CEO or CPO, phrases like “we improved the information architecture” or “our usability score increased by 10%” don’t mean much. While these details matter to the UX team, what leadership actually wants to hear is:
- Revenue growth: Does this help convert free users to paying customers or increase expansion revenue?
- Retention improvements: Are we reducing churn and keeping customers engaged?
- Efficiency gains: Will this lower support ticket volume, reduce onboarding time, or cut acquisition costs?
If your explanation doesn’t connect to these priorities, it’s unlikely to make an impact.
The Problem with Failing to Communicate UX’s Value in SaaS
I’ve worked with many UX teams struggling to bridge the gap between their work and business priorities in B2B SaaS. The challenge isn’t about dumbing down the complexity of UX research, design, or data-driven insights—it’s about ensuring leadership understands how these efforts contribute to the company’s success.
Why does this matter?
If UX value isn’t communicated clearly, there are real consequences:
- Loss of trust: If stakeholders don’t see measurable impact, they may question the UX team’s effectiveness, leading to reduced influence and funding.
- A service role, not a strategic one: UX gets treated as a last-minute design resource instead of a core driver of product and revenue strategy.
- Team frustration: When research and design work is ignored or underutilized, UX professionals feel demotivated, leading to burnout or disengagement.
- Missed opportunities: Valuable user insights and usability improvements may never reach decision-makers, resulting in wasted potential for growth.
- Unimplemented recommendations: If UX teams don’t align with business needs, their findings and prototypes might never make it into the product roadmap, failing to drive real change.
Without a clear connection between UX and business goals, it’s easy for teams to be sidelined. The key is ensuring that UX work is framed in terms of measurable business outcomes.
Transform Your Narrative and Make UX Impact Clear
Imagine being able to say:
„We redesigned the onboarding experience to reduce friction for new customers. By streamlining key interactions and improving guidance, we aim to increase activation rates by 15%, which could lead to an additional $2 million in annual revenue.“
Clear. Concise. Impactful.
Reaching this level of clarity isn’t just about better communication—it’s about alignment and starting with the why.
At DDPI, we help UX teams in B2B SaaS bridge the gap between research, design, and business priorities so their work drives measurable impact.
- Facilitate collaboration across teams to ensure UX efforts align with product and revenue goals.
- Prioritize initiatives based on their potential to improve key SaaS metrics like activation, retention, and expansion.
- Communicate UX value effectively to stakeholders by linking design decisions to outcomes that matter.
By shifting from isolated UX efforts to an impact-driven approach, your team can ensure every design decision contributes to business success.
The Ripple Effect of Clear UX Communication in SaaS
When your UX team can clearly articulate its value, the benefits extend far beyond a single conversation:
- Stronger stakeholder alignment: When leadership sees the direct impact of UX on business outcomes, collaboration and support improve.
- Empowered teams: UX professionals feel more motivated and confident when their contributions are recognized and understood.
- Proactive leadership: Instead of being seen as a last-minute design resource, your UX team becomes a strategic driver of product success and business growth.
By making UX value clear, your team gains influence, drives better decisions, and ensures user experience remains a key part of business strategy.
Value That Resonates Across the Organization
Ask yourself: Are you clearly defining the impact of UX? Are you collaborating effectively with stakeholders? And are you focusing on the work that drives real business results?
It’s not just about justifying your team’s existence—it’s about positioning UX as a key driver of business success. This means consistently linking your research, design, and insights to company goals and ensuring those connections are understood at every level.
So, the next time someone asks, “What are you working on?” you won’t just have an answer—you’ll have a compelling story that ties UX directly to SaaS growth.