Changing the way our revenue is made.
Materic E-Commerce System
UX Research • User Interface • Wireframes • Information Architecture • Prototypes
Problem Statement
Problem: Materic needs better online tools—a user-friendly product page, smooth checkout, and efficient catalog. Without these, customers struggle to buy our materials easily through an online channel, hurting sales and engagement.
Goal: Our aim is to overhaul the sales process by implementing a meticulously designed e-commerce system, allowing swift access to our innovative products. Through this, we seek to significantly enhance user engagement, generate leads, and elevate the overall user experience.
Role
Solo UX Researcher & UX Designer - user research, visual design, animation, prototyping
Solo Digital Marketer, specializing in lead generation
Company
Materic
Date
June 2023 - September 2023
Challenge
As the sole marketing and UX specialist for our advanced materials company, I observed a growing trend in online shopping and recognized the untapped potential for ecommerce in our industry. With the influence of e-commerce giants like Amazon and the shift to digital buying during the events of 2020, it became evident that our current sales pipeline was not fully meeting the needs of our potential customers. While our months-long sales process resulted in significant contract deals, it also led to frustration and dissatisfaction among customers who sought a quicker and more streamlined quote process. As a UX designer and researcher, I saw an opportunity to revolutionize our approach, focusing on enhancing the online purchasing experience for our clients. Through user research and iterative design, I aimed to create a user-friendly and efficient ecommerce platform, bridging the gap between our advanced materials and our customers' needs, ultimately leading to increased satisfaction and revenue growth.
UX Research
Seeing potential for growth, I took it upon myself to address the concerns surrounding our sales pipeline's limitations. Despite a very limited budget and wanted to gain valuable insights; to do so I conducted in-depth user interviews with 22 individuals using Google Meet who had been lost as clients in Q1 and Q2 2023 during the sales process. Alongside these interviews I supplied an additional survey designed with Google Forms for clients to fill out, of which 17 of the 22 individuals completed within a given timeframe of two weeks.
The findings were illuminating, with over 60% of clients attributing their decision to discontinue business with Materic to difficulties encountered during the sales process. These difficulties included: a confusing user interface system with no instant online transaction potential, the need for multiple calls with sales representative and conversations with multiple parties in order to get the process moving. A common thread among these clients was the urgent need for the product, which the existing process couldn't accommodate, due to the need to talk to sales representatives to get the ball rolling. This highlighted the critical importance of streamlining our sales journey to provide a quicker and more seamless experience for our clients.
The impact of extended lead times effected beyond current clients as I delved into our potential clients by reviewing digital inbound leads from January to July 2023. Surprisingly, leads requesting instant quotes and products available online constituted approximately 32% of these leads. These prospects sought a swift and efficient process for acquiring their desired advanced materials, but unfortunately, our current system did not cater to their needs. The inability to promptly request quotes caused frustration and hindered users’ experience on our website. I recognized the pressing need to enhance our website's capabilities to empower users with quick and hassle-free access to quotes and products, thereby increasing customer satisfaction and conversion rates.
Visual Design
In this e-commerce project tailored for academics and researchers, my focus centered on integrating a refined visual design seamlessly into the user experience. With our audience's preference for in-depth information, I allocated ample text space, ensuring comprehensive details about our products met their rigorous specifications. Maintaining the original color palette, I ensured a professional style consistent with the website's overall design. By emphasizing readable typography and strategically placing UI elements and prompts, I provided multiple pathways for conversion and access to extensive product information. Implementing responsive design, the interface remained consistent across devices. Iterative refinements, informed by user feedback, resulted in an interface that not only heightened user engagement but also expanded avenues for seamless purchasing experiences.
Low Fidelity Wireframe
Color Palette
Prototype
Final Design
Final Designs for Product Catalogue and Product Pages
Designing a digital sales process from scratch meant crafting several new pages – the Shop, Product, Cart, and Checkout pages. Dealing with complex materials, diving into tech specs without a sales rep can be baffling. Hence, these pages had dual aims: first, furnishing potential customers with crystal-clear product descriptions and specs, and second, ensuring a hassle-free sales journey to sidestep confusion and ease transitions smoothly.
What I Learned
Utilizing user research to create a brand new feature geared toward user needs and desires.
Having the freedom to approach this project however I desired I decided take my market research a step further with additional UX research. This was an unique opportunity to single-handly perform user research with potential clients of our B2B business.
The expedited development of an easy-to-use ecommerce system from the ground up.
With the fast paced system of our company, the time from ideation to design was brief. I had to make efforts to innovate, prioritize and organize effectively within our limited time window.
Collaboration with commercial development managers and engineers in order to produce a well informed digital product.
With how intensive this project was I had the invaluable opportunity to collaborate with our commercial manager and material engineers in order to provide potential customers with a quality digital product that would intrigue, inform and entice new customers.