What's The Difference Between UI, UX, and CX?

I was surprised recently when I attended CA's Built To Change Summit and the opening remarks by Ayman Sayed, President and Chief Products Officer, and Otto Berkes, CTO, were talking about helping their client deliver better customer experiences (CX). As a marketer, here was a technology company that "got it."

As we move forward, companies will differentiate themselves based on the CX they provide. This is a smart way to differentiate since very few companies provide a consistently good CX.

So what is CX? It's the sum of all engagements a customer has with a company in each touch point throughout the customer lifecycle - website, apps, CSRs, sales, and service. It's measured in each moment and is the sum of all the moments. USAA, Zappos, and Ritz Carlton are known for their CX.

As an IT professional, you already know User Experience (UX) refers to a person's emotions and attitudes about using a particular product, system, or service. It includes the practical, experiential, affective, meaningful, and valuable aspects of human computer interaction and product ownership. UX is bigger than digital interaction but it's where a developer can have a significant positive or negative impact on CX.

Consumers are demanding more. They won't wait more than three seconds for an app to open and they will discard 80 percent of their apps after a single use due to an inadequate UX. In large cities, if an Uber driver is more than five minutes away, users will open the Lyft app to compare the availability of drivers. 

The user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal is to ensure seamless operation and control of the machine from the human end, while the machine simultaneously provides feedback that helps the user's decision-making process.

UI and UX are critical elements of website and application design and function and have a significant impact on CX. As a daily diner at Chipotle, I'm still waiting for them to improve my CX with a mobile app that's as smooth, seamless, and user-friendly as the Starbucks mobile app.

Providing a great UI, UX, and CX requires empathy, vision, resolve and the ability to bring together the right people, technologies, and partners to deliver timely, relevant, customer-centric experiences. UX will inspire a more human approach to CX and digital transformation.

This will lead to more satisfied customers, more revenue, and a more valuable brand and this is something every company needs to be cognizant of if it wants to be around in 20 years.