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Matthew Berger
CONTENT DESIGN
Work · About
Personalized
content
CONTENT STRATEGY / UX
Style guides / brand voice
User education / onboarding
Information architecture
Notifications / errors / ads
Product strategy
Chatbots
Personalized content
Product-generated emails
MARKETING
Blogs
Success stories / case studies
In-product marketing
Emails
Reports / white papers
EDITING
SQUIRRELS
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Dashboard
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The problem:
The product was due to launch six months after I joined the company. Prior to me joining, no other writers and just one designer had been working on it. So in that scramble the focus was on getting the more medically and legally sensitive content just right — on simply avoiding endangering customers or the product as a whole. Making it an enjoyable, clear, satisfying user experience was a priority, but not one we had the resources or time to address. This is how the front door of the product became almost an afterthought.
So it wasn't too surprising when the first reviews came in and customers said they were confused about what their test results were and what they should do with them. Some people whose results revealed a genetic condition weren't sure whether they did. Others thought they had something they didn't have. Others just felt like it was a waste of time.
Starting point
The process:
Luckily, we now had some time, a few more writers and designers, and a clear mandate to improve the experience and messaging throughout the product — to make it clearer and more in line with customer expectations, rather than solely in line with scientific or legal concerns.
The first step was listening to customers, poring over and categorizing reviews to distill what the main areas of improvement were. Then I created a set of messaging principles based on that feedback and the legal and medical guardrails we'd internalized earlier. Those principles (page 4 here) set a roadmap for revamping both copy and design. We then implemented a phased process of addressing different parts of the product, starting with its heart: the Dashboard, the one page every customer spends at least a bit of time on. We formed break-out teams, we brainstormed, we iterated, we sent proposals for review, we pushed back, we found compromises we were all confident in, we published updates, and eventually we saw CSAT scores begin to rise.
Brainstorming iterations
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The result:
Based on all this customer and stakeholder feedback, I worked with the design and engineering teams to create a layout that would allow me to use more personalized, human and direct language on this page. And then I drafted language that could achieve that, below.
The result was a page that is no longer bare-bones and vague. It's chock full of useful info, with customized variations based on your test results and with the the content seamlessly and intuitively organized so it's clear what a customer should do with each bit of info we're throwing at them. It's not perfect. It won't still look like this years from now. But that's the point: It's a huge improvement, and it sets the groundwork for how to develop and implement further improvements.
Final product:
Customized variations based on customer segment, more clarity on what to do with this info, clearer visuals, more human language
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