The global user experience (UX) market is booming, with an expected CAGR of about 18% between 2019 and 2025, when its value is forecast to reach US$420m. However, implementing UX consultancy has tended to be slow and expensive due to the need for specific user profiles and for the participants to be in a physical space.
Alberto Morales, a computer engineer, and Sreeramen Ramaswamy Santhanam, a veteran UX consultant, decided to create a tool to provide this service totally online, testing visual impact (e.g., graphic design and theme), intuitiveness, web structure, navigability, content and trust.
Hence Checkealos, the company, was founded in 2014 in Seville, although it did not enter the market until 2015.
"When we started in Spain in 2015, UX consulting was practically non-existent," COO Rocío Salinero told CompassList in an interview at this year's 4YFN conference in Barcelona. She has been a member of staff since Checkealos was founded.
"We had to explain from scratch what UX was. The market is still growing slower than in the UK or US markets, but now companies know that they have to be much more involved in UX."
Today, Checkealos targets large companies and is specialized in the banking, insurance, automobile and telecommunications sectors. It counts among its clients big-brand corporates such as Volkswagen, Toyota, Sanitas, Vodafone and Iberbank. The Spanish startup is also a UK government-authorized service provider and works with the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wells Fargo. It has offices in Madrid and London and a 15-strong permanent team, plus freelance consultants hired on a project basis.
Improving UX testing
The objective of UX testing is to unmask the real problem behind the data: to discover and improve how users interact with digital products and even to exceed their expectations. Checkealos can tell its customers how to improve the interface and create an extraordinary user experience by becoming more familiar with the application and observing how users interact with the testing platform.
The company also takes care of the analysis so that the customer team has only to look at the results and implement product changes if necessary. They don’t have to perform the UX testing themselves.
"Not doing this type of testing before launching the product may lead to a fall once on the market," said Salinero. "In this case, if the company has a claims department, users will not stop calling. If the website does not have that service, users get frustrated. Then making changes is much more expensive than testing at the beginning.
"The process is carried out online, which means that testing periods are much shorter. We prepare usability tests, we look for adequate participants from our panel of more than than 13m people globally, and we execute the tests."
The testing platform is programmed in Ruby on Rails and records all sessions and user experiences using mobile applications, websites, web pages or other digital products – from the design to the production phase. The recorder works with Java, and participant access is via a native application for Android and iOS.
"User experiences are recorded and then analyzed by specialized consultants to detect behavior patterns and any obstacles users may have encountered," Salinero said. "Videos are sent to the client within one or two days, always with quality filters. Checkealos sends only what the customer needs. In fact, we make sure before sending it, unlike some of our competitors.
Evolving market, plans
"We differentiate ourselves on video quality, simplicity and analysis, which similar tools don’t offer," Salinero said. "We have always tried to be very simple so that users can be on our platform with or without our help. Indeed, we have attracted competitors’ customers on the basis of simplicity."
Checkealos' flexible business model, which adapts to customers’ needs, is one of the startup's singularities.
"We use packages," Salinero said. "In addition to consulting services, each test has a certain number of participants, so depending on the needs of the client and the volume of the project, customers are billed the package that more accurately fits their needs. Customers can consume their package in a year."
As the world becomes more and more digital, even businesses that traditionally had no part in the digital world are investing in user experience. "For example, banks are not only competing to offer the best financial services but also the best quality content and simplicity in the applications they offer their customers," Salinero said.
A generational change is also taking place. "Companies are renewing their staff and hiring younger teams with newer and more innovative ideas. They are the ones realizing the importance of user experience," she said.
In the near term, the company seeks to continue increasing sales, but not so much by increasing customers as by increasing the amount of services they provide to existing clients. They want to grow with their clients, Salinero said.
Currently, the company's best performing markets are in Spain, Latin America, the UK and the US. Globally, North America is the largest consumer of UX services with a 44.7% market share; followed by Europe, with 32.7%.
"The next step is to have a physical presence in the US because we have important clients there," said Salinero. To this end, Checkealos has opened its third investment round, seeking €800,000, contacts and experienced professionals in the UX field to implement its American plan.
