Getting the balance right between value and profit

H

as the digital economy’s promise of seamless, user-friendly experiences given way to a reality where customer satisfaction is increasingly sacrificed for short-term revenue gains? It increasingly seems like it.

Switzerland, as anyone who has been there knows, runs like clockwork. Or at least it did until, like everywhere else, the IT industry was allowed to run rampant.

Brian Herron, director at user experience (UX) design house Each&Other, recently experienced this first hand. Standing in Zurich airport, Herron noticed that out of five security desks, three were reserved for ‘fast pass’ holders, leaving only two for regular travellers.“

This led to an enormous queue for standard passengers. The truly egregious part was that staff were actively selling these ‘fast passes’ to people already in the queue,” he said.

You can see how this sort of thing happens. What had started as an ‘additional feature’ amounting to a little bonus for people with heavy wallets, and a small added revenue stream eventually gets battered into a spreadsheet and, as a result, some bright spark decides to twist the knob to 11. A trickle of extra money becomes a firehose sprayed at the books, but at the cost of annoying every single passenger.

A supposed additional feature can quickly morph into a commercial imperative, ultimately undermining the core customer experience for monetary gain, and this is far from ideal, Herron said.“

Getting the balance right requires a deep understanding of what customers truly value, not just what can be monetised,” he said.

There is no doubt that the commercialisation of platforms has degraded customer experience – what author and commentator Cory Doctorow has dubbed ‘enshittification’. We’ve all experienced it. From user-hostile design to attempts to make users act compulsively, and from degraded web search results to e-commerce sites flooded with junk and even the overstatement of how AI can magically fix problems (or replace staff), the last half decade is increasingly seen as a betrayal of the potential of technological development.

When larger companies behave like monopolies and treat their customers simply as a source of cash, it opens a niche for businesses that operate with a different mindset

This enfeeblement of platforms and the degradation of customer experience occurs when the sole goal is to increase revenue.

However, Herron said, there is some good news: this trend creates a significant opportunity for smaller businesses to thrive.“

When larger companies behave like monopolies and treat their customers simply as a source of cash, it opens a niche for businesses that operate with a different mindset and who prioritise a different approach,” he said

In other words, while revenue is important, restraint is needed for long-term sustainability.

The solution lies not in abandoning commercial objectives, but in recognising that sustainable profitability comes from creating genuine value for customers rather than extracting maximum revenue from each interaction.

What is actually needed within organisations for successful transformation and adaptation, Herron said, is strong UX leadership, as well as talented individuals in product roles who can effectively balance customer needs with business revenue objectives.“

It’s about finding that sweet spot where customer satisfaction and financial success coexist,” he said.

Herron said that there is a critical need for continuous understanding of the customer mindset and staying closely attuned to what is genuinely useful to them.“

As part of this commitment, we are deepening our service design and research capabilities with a new hire joining the team. This investment reflects our dedication to understanding and serving our customers better,” he said.