Yep. Let’s just address the elephant in the room: inside many organizations, UX research can be seen as a nice-to-have or viewed as something that sounds smart in a deck, but that doesn’t move the numbers like an A/B test can.
Honestly, we get it. Testing feels concrete. It tells you what’s working right now.
But if you’re relying on testing alone, you’re only seeing half the picture.
According to Forrester, every dollar invested in UX brings $100 in return (that’s a 9900% ROI but who’s counting). But we know from experience that not every study delivers equally.
High-value insights come from doing research right—choosing the right methods, asking the right questions, and integrating qualitative and quantitative data. And you have to do all of this work in tight collaboration with other parts of the organization.
Analytics shows you what users do. Qualitative research can tell you why they do it. Alone, they’re limited, but together, they’re transformative.
Recommended Read: The Power of Mixed Methods Research for Retail & Ecommerce Brands
In this post, we dive into six common UX research pitfalls—and how to fix them—so your research insights don’t die in a deck and can be positioned to drive impact, fuel strategy, and more concretely connect to revenue.
What people say they like and what they actually do are often two very different things.
Too many marketing and CX teams rely on surveys or focus groups that ask users to rank, rate, or react. But preference doesn’t equal action. A customer might rave about a feature in a focus group—then never touch it once it goes live. They might love your ad, but never click.
If your research stops at “what people like,” you’re leaving insight—and potentially revenue impact—on the table.
The fix? Observe real behavior first. Watch how users engage (or don’t), then dig into the why through smart, targeted qualitative research. That’s how you move from surface-level feedback to decision-making that actually drives results.
Asking people what they might do in the future sounds smart—but it’s a gamble. “How likely are you to buy this?” is really just asking someone to guess what their future self will want, need, or be able to afford.
Newsflash – there’s no crystal ball and a users’ future intent is unreliable.
Circumstances change. Priorities shift. And what someone thinks they’ll do often has little bearing on what they actually do.
The fix? Ground your research in what’s real. Ask about past behavior and current habits. What did they buy last time? What made them hesitate? What frustrated them yesterday? And remember that real insights live in lived experience, not wishful thinking.
If you’re only observing people interact with a website, app, or prototype, you’re going to find usability issues—and that’s important. But it’s also just the beginning.
Usability is table stakes. Most digital experiences today are functional enough that if someone’s motivated, they’ll figure out how to get through. That doesn’t mean the experience is great. And it definitely doesn’t mean it’s driving results.
The fix? Don’t stop at usability. Expand your methods to uncover what motivates users, what they expect, and what’s actually driving their behavior.
One all too common trap of UX is designing research around your ideal customer, not your actual one.
It’s tempting to focus on who you want to attract—but if that’s not who’s showing up today, your insights won’t translate. Apply those findings to testing and personalization, and you’re setting yourself up for flat or even negative results. If Audience A needs one thing and Audience B is the one on your site, guess what? That test isn’t going to move the needle.
The fix? Study both. Understand who’s engaging with your experience right now, and how that differs from the audience you want to grow into. Find the overlap, spot the gaps, and adjust your strategy accordingly.
A launch flops. A test loses. And suddenly no one has answers, just theories.
Too often, teams either walk away or throw out a half-informed iteration. The real issue? Research was only done up front.
The fix: Bring UX research in after the launch, too. Follow up to understand what actually happened—what landed, what didn’t, and why. Post-launch insight turns confusion into clarity and makes every next move smarter.
If you can’t link research to tangible outcomes, it’s hard to fight for budget. Most teams know this and still don’t track which studies influence which tests. It’s simple fact that no documentation + no attribution = no ROI story, and no ROI story leaves you at risk for things like reorgs and RIFs.
The fix: Start small. Tag your A/B tests with the UX research that informed them. You’ll begin to see which studies are driving impact. It’s not a full ROI model, but it’s a foundation—and a case for investing in what works.
From focusing on preferences over behavior, to skipping post-launch studies, to failing to connect research with real outcomes—these pitfalls add up. They stall momentum. They waste money. And they leave teams wondering why insights aren’t driving impact.
But when UX research is done right—when it’s integrated across product, experimentation, and strategy—it becomes a catalyst for smarter decisions and better customer experiences.
At Blazer, our UX consulting services help you elevate your practice—refining methods, uncovering deeper insights, and embedding research where it matters most. Working with your team, we can help you build a culture where research leads the conversation rather than sits on the sidelines.
If that sounds like something you’re up for, then let’s talk.
At Blazer, we partner with ambitious brands and leaders that refuse to settle for less.
Blazer is the consulting firm that helps brands prove what drives customer value, and builds teams that deliver on it.
16 W. Martin St., 9th Floor, Raleigh, NC 27601
16 W. Martin St., 9th Floor, Raleigh, NC 27601
