Website Redesign
Lead UX Strategist & Designer
UX • UI • Research • IA • Branding Workshop • Exec Presentations • Customer Interviews • Stakeholer Interviews • User Testing
Agency: Frank Collective
2020
sailthru.com
Sailthru’s website lacked a clear point of view. The brand felt fragmented and lacked clearly articulated core values. There was substantial content debt which obscured the product's value proposition and created confusion for potential customers. These shortcomings slowed down lead capture, conversion rates and site engagement. Our objective was to help Sailthru realign its brand messaging, communicate with authenticity, and articulate a compelling narrative that would resonate with its audience.
At the start of a project, questions are far more useful than answers. This engagement began by putting together a long list of questions grouped by topic to faciliate a stakeholder discussion and brand workshop. Before this meeting I carefully studied all existing research, conducted a pain points survey, did an initial competitive analysis, educated myself as much as possible on the business and offerings, reviewed online customer reviews and had informal conversations with colleagues at Frank to share our first impressions. Our goal was to established an open dialogue with the client that would make it comfortable for us to share differing view points throughout the project and allign on core issues.
After the initial desk research and conducting 15+ interviews with customers and stakeholders certain themes started to reveal themselves. Customers told us a story we weren’t seeing on the website: Sailthru offered a best-in-class customer service experience that set the platform apart from the competition. In fact some daily users saw Sailthru “as a friend” (an actual quote). Through user testing data we learned there was extreme interest in opportunities to meet other users via learning and events (most clicked section on services page).
Click maps revealed that a huge number of users were clicking on client logos which didn’t link to anything at all. They were on the hunt for proof of credibility from existing customers. There was a big opportunity to merchandise the site with short and long-form case study, testimonial and proven metrics and results. I would attach this to product information across the site.
We heard time and time again in our interviews how easy the platform was to use and how it made it possible for marketers to do more with less. Our audience cared deeply about this point and it wasn’t evident on the existing site.
Customers and stakeholders consistently told us what an effective platform Sailthru was. This should be table stakes but it wasn’t communicated properly on the existing site. We identified an opportunity to share core product features in simple language, connect features and capabilities to testimonials, leverage stylized product artwork to tease key features and find ways to share product vision and roadmap on the blog and website.
We alligned stakeholders around a collection of eight core data-driven insights. I created key user personas and user journeys to bring our insights to life.
Nothing was added to the site map that didn’t trace back directly to the insights presentation. A highly detailed site map with page sections, CTAs, key links, important content and 6Sense personalization opportunities provided an excellent benchmark to get remaining stakeholder feedback before moving into higher fidelity design.
Wireframes were an extension of these detailed site maps. I produced a responsive set of wireframes for every page of the site. Menus, interactions and content was completely fleshed out allowing for seamless handoff to the graphic designer. During the visual design phase a copywriter was brought on to polish headlines and optimize copy.
Below are some screen captures from mid-build that showcase how the wireframes translated to live website:
A new website and brand refresh that dramatically increased sales leads, increased dwell time, and improved brand perception. We also provided the underpinnings of a marketing strategy (brand and content) that would drive blog articles, events, a shareable product road map, 6Sense integration and more.