ROI in Design: Where to Focus Your Efforts First

When teams map out a customer experience, the instinct is often to identify the low points and fix them. Maybe onboarding seems impractical, checkout takes too long, or support flow is confusing. The hope is simple: if we remove these frustrations, customers will walk away with a better memory of the experience. 

Yet research and practices suggest otherwise. In The Power of Moments, Chip and Dan Heath argue that patching negative moments rarely produces a strong return on investment. Eliminating pain points makes the experience more functional, but not necessarily more memorable. Customers don’t often recall that something wasn’t frustrating, but they remember the standout moments that left them delighted, surprised, or empowered. 

This is where many teams miss an opportunity. Instead of focusing solely on smoothing the lows, a more impactful strategy is to amplify the highs. Positive elements carry more weight in shaping the overall perception of your product, but this is easier said than done. 

Creating high-impact, positive moments consistently is challenging. It requires understanding not just usability, but also emotion, timing, and context. What feels meaningful to users? When do they need reassurance, and when do they crave delight? Answering these questions demands an external lens that challenges assumptions and sparks new ideas. 

That’s exactly why we offer our Design Critique Lab. By stepping into your product with fresh eyes, we uncover not only where the negatives drag things down, but also where the positives could be amplified into unforgettable peaks. Instead of chasing incremental fixes, we help teams focus energy on the moments that create a lasting impact. Fixing lows keeps you competitive, but magnifying the highs helps you stand out. Our Design Critique can help you find those opportunities and turn them into an experience your customer is sure to remember. 

Learn more here.