There is an intrinsic link between the success of a white label software partnership and the ease of navigating and using the software’s user interface (UI) – in other words, its user experience (UX).

When you’re launching a new white label product like a website builder for small businesses, so much focus is on how to get those small business owners to take it up. From honing your go-to-market strategy to maximising its positioning among your other services, it’s easy to get caught up in seeing each sale as an end goal.

But success for a white label solution, like the BaseKit platform, doesn’t occur when it’s first picked up by a small business owner. Success comes when they can use it with ease, and fully integrate it into the day-to-day of running their business.

Ultimately you don’t just want a small business to take you up on a product you’re selling, you want them to keep using that product so that they stay a loyal customer.

UX/UI plays a significant role in customer loyalty

With whitelabeling, you can generate customer trust simply by having a UI that makes things simpler for small businesses.

In our side hustle culture, there are lots of people who are trying to balance their full time, or other part time jobs, with their own independent businesses. Even those who can dedicate every hour to their small business are incredibly pressed for time, and most don’t want to think about software for longer than they have to.

Our independent study found over one quarter of micro businesses in the UK don’t have a website yet. 39% of respondents didn’t even know where to start looking for a website host. There’s a high barrier to entry. Here, offering a white label product with an easy setup would significantly improve time management, and the success of her business as a result.

The good news is that once they find a provider that makes it easy to get started, they’re less likely to leave that brand behind. Creating a memorable and simple experience that benefits your users’ work life balance is everything. You get this right, and loyalty is simply the better option for your customers.

In our study with YouGov last year, we found that 62% of micro business owners were either not very likely, or not likely at all to change their website provider in the next 12 months. When small business owners find a digital tools provider that not only meets their needs, but makes running their business effortless as well, they have a lot of loyalty to give in return.

Mobile-first interfaces encourage returning visitors

Many small business owners need digital products, even if they don’t know it. Consider artists and craft businesses, for example. Their livelihood depends on selling their pieces online, but many will still be relying on selling through social media platforms.

While that might work in the beginning, there’s always the worry that one algorithm change or a commission hike on a marketplace will throw their ability to connect with customers and make a profit into the dark.

And while they might be aware of the need to build an independent online presence, sitting down at a laptop to create and update a website isn’t always an option. Many of these businesses are one person shows, so they’re constantly balancing creating new pieces, staying on top of admin, and spending time with their families – none of which presents an ideal time to hop on a desktop.

Clients whose businesses don’t require them to sit in front of a computer are why BaseKit created a mobile-first platform, with its own dedicated UI and UX. Some small business owners need to be able to tinker from their sites exclusively from their mobile device. Our website management platform wasn’t built for desktop first and then retrofitted to a mobile screen.

Rather, it allows business owners who are more comfortable with mobile to make changes and modifications to their site whenever they find some spare time, and on the device that’s most familiar to them.

This kind of user experience is the bridge between those small business owners and your goals for your white label partnership. If you can offer a platform that gives small business owners a frictionless, intuitive way of taking their business online, you stand a far better chance of becoming an integral cog in their business machine – part of their livelihoods, thus delivering a longer tail return on your white label investment.

UX/UI can help close the digital divide

The right white labelled software unlocks new ways to diversify your services and connect with one of the world’s most promising markets. And a huge part of the secret to making that investment successful is UX/UI, since it’s one of the main factors in customer retention.

There is a growing divide between small businesses who embrace technology and those who shy away from it. To close the divide, software UI must meet small business owners where they’re at, and provide them with what they need most.

At BaseKit, we provide our partners with a white label platform that supplies what their small businesses customers need, and nothing they don’t. A way to create a website, take bookings and sell their products without becoming technical experts themselves.

We’re on a mission for tech democracy for small businesses – are you in? Request a demo of our software, or get in touch to see how we could collaborate.