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In a previous article, we examine a question of how to make UX design prototyping for startups and what part of this process is most important. In this article, we consider how the design process by corporate web projects and mature SaaS products should look like. Please, mention, we are talking of platforms intended for redesign or launch of a new project for existing customers.
Examples can be found in all marketing classics when, by launching a lousy product, a brand spoiled its reputation and suffered losses. As a result of such decisions, proper and successful products suffered. The Museum of Failure was opened in the Swedish city of Helsingborg. Exhibits were selected for this museum that should have been the companies’ innovation, but failed or haven’t met client's expectations.
Examples include Colgate Frozen Lasagna, BIC “For Her” Pen, Google Glass, and Apple Newton
Therefore, when creating a new product, it is very important to take into account the portrait of your customers, their tastes and preferences, even the political and social situation, in order not to play the wrong card and not become the object of sarcastic users’ comments.
If you decide to change your image radically and, say, convert from a “strictly corporate” to a “democratic” brand, be prepared to explain this to your customers. And be aware that they will not like it. People do not like changes in principle and especially the drastic ones. When Colgate launched frozen lasagna, no one understood them.
“A brand is a promise a company makes to its customers,” said Mathew Brian, founder of Mathews Columbus.
This approach doesn’t mean that you are entirely dependent on your users’ desires. But it is essential to understand how they live and how your product fits into their lives. Read more on how to explain the changes in your product, and how not to do this, below.
Few can boast of reaching users like Facebook or Vkontakte. Moreover, their users are emotionally (and often financially, since their work communications also occur in these social networks) dependent on the product. This makes it possible to introduce changes quickly by facing users with a fact. But concerning corporate SaaS products, things look different.
To avoid the active users’ dissatisfaction during the launch of your product’s new interface, do it in one of two ways:
In a “try if you want to” mode
In this case, a “Switch to the updated version” button appears in the corner of the interface. And the user decides whether to do this or not;
In this case, the user immediately becomes immersed in a new interface and new logic, but can return to a more familiar format.
Whichever option you choose, make sure the user knows when the change of interface becomes irreversible, and there will be no further opportunity to switch.
In any case, when immersing the user in a new interface format, kindly take the trouble to give him various “explanations/training” on how to behave in the new conditions. The sooner the user navigates and feels confident, the more relaxed he will perceive your changes.
Take into consideration that most likely, you have many different customers from different businesses, often with different needs. And it will be difficult to please all target groups.
For example, the main target groups of tour operators are independent travelers and travel agents. They are very different. The first one wants to relax at an affordable price while the second one aims to sell them the vacation tour and gain from it.
It is best to distribute the functionality ultimately between different products or different versions of the product (pro, light), aimed at the diverse target audience.
Any redesign (as well as the launch of a new, unusual product) carries a risk. On top of that, redesigning the UI Kit while redesigning the old framework costs a lot of money. But often, when doing a redesign, companies rely only on the external consumer, forgetting about the internal one – their employees.
What is the importance of domestic consumers? They affect the end product of the organization, even if they do not directly participate in its creation. For example, travel agents do not develop tours on behalf of your company but only sell them. However, they will more willingly sell the tour to your company, if you have a more user-friendly system than your competitor (you know that travel agents often work with several tour operators at the same time, do you?).
Therefore, it is essential that they feel comfortable when using your new interface, so that they like it. Even if the external client is delighted, 400-1,000 internal employees who reject and do not accept the new design will create problems.
And this is very bad because without the internal support you will face difficulties. If you are making a revolution in your field, you should fulfill it in a separate product. Only one department should deal with it. Do not show it to anyone and create a product for a separate group of customers. If you can’t do this you should mind the internal consumer as well.
Open analytics allows you to use all the data that you can retrieve from your website visitors. UX testing tools based on surveys and data will work well for you. This means that the UX audit will indicate the strengths and weaknesses of your product:
users leave quickly - why? (options: they don’t like the design, it’s uncomfortable, incomprehensible)
users go through many pages, but do not complete the purchase - why? (options: users don’t see the “Purchase” button at all; poor information about your product and the available one does not convince the user; there is no clear structure of the product catalog, etc.)
users abandon cart - why? (options: too complicated payment process, forced registration, etc.)
These are just a few options, and in fact, there are many more indicators and possible problems, but already, these allow us to conclude the importance of analytics.
Moreover, its results help you make the right decision regarding the product/resource and solve the problems associated with the UI/ UX design coherence. For example, use open analytics, such as UI patterns databases, conduct user polls, and collect as much data as possible for UX testing. At a minimum, this will help you to argue your position on disputes within the company. As a maximum, it will save a ton of money for the company, as well as earn it through proper product design.
UX design of corporate SaaS products requires attention to dozens of details that may seem insignificant only at first glance. For many years of work, we have studied all the nuances of such design, problems that may arise, and ways to overcome them.
Do you want a product that takes into account both external and internal users, refreshes your image, and does it in favor of your product? Call us and come to our office. We will be happy to give your product a new lease of life.
