01 Overview
The problem
The substantial demand for IoT products from business customers prompted our product team to redirect their attention towards our longstanding marketplace, which has not been reviewed or updated in a considerable period. Consequently, customers have gravitated towards competitors with digital stores offering updated deals, trendy products, and a superior user experience.
The requirement
The product team has requested that I analyze the shortcomings of our digital store, identify the competitive advantages of our rivals, understand the pain points leading to customer churn, and determine the motivations that would encourage retention. Therefore, I will lead my team in employing design thinking methodologies to gather this data, revamp our marketplace, and monitor its impact on the business.
MY ROLE
UX Lead
Research - Writing - Design - Testing
As the UX lead, after establishing the roadmap and milestones with the product team, I was prepared to assemble my task force. I requested the following resources from my directors: one researcher, two external designers (for budgetary reasons), one in-house designer, and two testers.
02 Research, definition & ideation
User research
Our researcher and I conducted interviews with both current contractual and former churned customers. Using a prepared list of questions, we explored their challenges with purchasing through our portal and buying such products online in general. We also inquired about their motivations for continuing to buy from us and their vision of an optimal purchasing experience.
Competitive analysis
Additionally, we conducted a competitive analysis of both direct and indirect competitor marketplaces focusing on the business customer shopping experience. The findings were illuminating, revealing significant gaps between our platform and those of our competitors.
Key findings
Key findings from our user research and competitive analysis include:
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Users distrust the outdated layout and branding.
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Users prefer a more streamlined and intuitive user flow.
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Users desire accessible contact methods.
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Users want smart product suggestions tailored to their solution needs.
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Users wish to see offers and discounts upfront, without needing to contact an agent to discuss contract-based deals.
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Competitors offer a faster purchase process designed for business customers.
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Competitors provide a straightforward tracking feature.
Definition and ideation
Using these key findings, we defined:
Personas
User journey map
Information architecture
03 Design
Styleguide
I assigned one of our designers to extract colors, typographies, grids, breakpoints, icons, and components from the pre-approved global design system. Their task was to create a customized style guide and component library tailored for our project.
N.B: Not all the elements are presented in this case study.
Wireframes
Next, we designed wireframes for all the screens to present to the stakeholders and obtain their approval.
High fidelity
Homepage
Before:
User directly lands on the product list.​
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After:
A homepage featuring concise sections highlighting the main features of the website.
Shop
Before:
Basic product tiles lacking high-quality images or no images, with no displayed discounts, and without search or filter functionalities.
After:
A well-designed product page featuring categorization tabs, an easy search function, and detailed filtering options. The product tiles include high-quality images, visible discount opportunities, and actionable buttons.
Solutions page
New:
IoT solutions showcased to customers, fully managed by our team of IoT experts.
Solution-hardware pairing tool
New:
During our design sprints, we conceived a new feature allowing users to architect their solutions with just a few clicks. Utilizing front-end algorithms, our portal will then suggest the necessary hardware to achieve their goals.
Login/Sign up
New:
Creating a profile enables users to add products and services to a wishlist, save shipping and payment information, track orders, and reorder items. Additionally, it allows us to tailor offers for specific customers based on their provided information.
Bell chat
New:
Customers can now receive assistance with any portal-related features by chatting with our AI-powered bot.
Product page
Before:
Basic product page with minimal description and specifications listed.​
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After:
A contemporary page featuring comprehensive hardware details and specifications, along with estimated delivery times, relevant solutions, recommendations, required add-ons, and more. For items not currently in stock, users have the option to receive notifications when they become available again.
Miscellaneous
Detailed cart summary, manual address finder, order tracker and more ...
Mobile responsive
New:
Responsive web portal to accomodate for cross-channel experiences.
04 Testing
Usability testing
I assigned our testers, in collaboration with the researcher, to conduct unmoderated usability testing with users matching the personas we developed during the definition phase. They utilized prototyped flows that we had created beforehand for these sessions. Iterations were conducted based on established success thresholds and feedback from users.
UAT
Following development, our testers conducted user acceptance testing based on a meticulously organized schedule I created to validate the staging environment. Defects were logged into a jira board in the form of tickets for developers to fix.
RESULTS
Key takeaways
Challenges
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Assigning and delegating tasks to team members.
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Managing an agile project among waterfall-driven stakeholders and departments.
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Finding unbiased users who work in small to medium businesses as purchasers with a need for IoT products.
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Overcoming backend infrastructure limitations.
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Getting approvals from marcom, legal, and other judiciary departments.
Product results
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10% increase in customer onboarding in the first month.
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40% decrease in customer churn from our portal.
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20% engagement with our chatbot and hence smoother flow through the journey.
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100% satisfied customers with complete orders in the first month.
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100 recognition points given to our team from stakeholders and department directors.
What is next?
Continue collecting feedback from customer behaviour through:
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Web tracking​ tools and analytics data.
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Quarterly research sessions with customers.
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Continuous iteration and updates based on feedback and trend changes.
