Marketing Automation, Analytics, and Lead Management Software.
Ground up redesign of ReachEdge – a marketing automation, analytics, and lead management software currently used by over 3,000 local businesses. Key objectives of the project included making the product easier to understand and start using, refactoring the navigation to surface previously buried core functionality, establishing a scalable navigation and UI design framework that could accommodate future features and enhancements, and ensuring consistency across desktop and mobile experiences.
Project Information
Client
ReachLocal is a digital marketing company specializing in helping local businesses grow. They offer online advertising, web presence solutions, and software to manage and track marketing results, helping businesses reach and engage consumers effectively.
Project
Ground up redesign of ReachEdge, making it more user-friendly and surfacing key functionality. The update ensures consistent, scalable UI across devices, accommodating future features and enhancements.
Devices
Web, iPad, iPhone, Android Phone, Android Tablet
My Role
Served as a Hybrid Architect and Designer on the ReachEdge project. Focused on enhancing ease of use and innovative design to heighten user satisfaction and functionality, ensuring a seamless user experience of the product across multiple devices.
Team
The ReachEdge project team at Interactivism included a team of 3, including one Architect/Client Lead, one Designer/Client Lead, and myself as a Hybrid Architect and Designer. Our collaborative expertise revolutionized the user interfaces, enhancing both functionality and design for optimal user experience.
6 Months (01/2016 - 06/2016)
Duration
Contract - B2B
(Full-Time)
Engagement Type
My Contribution
Research, Ideation, Architecture, Design, and more.
The Problem
The Problem
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) faced a major challenge in effectively managing and converting their digital marketing leads into actual customers. Many SMBs were spending significant resources on digital advertising but lacked a streamlined, automated way to track and nurture leads throughout the customer journey. Without insight into which marketing efforts were driving the most business, these companies often struggled to identify and engage high-potential leads, missing out on key growth opportunities. For businesses without dedicated marketing departments, this fragmented and manual approach was time-consuming and rarely delivered the ROI they needed to justify their investment.
The Solution
The Solution
ReachEdge by ReachLocal was developed as a comprehensive lead management solution tailored to the needs of SMBs, addressing the complexities of tracking and converting leads with an intuitive, automated approach. The platform centralizes lead information, automates follow-up processes, and provides clear insights into the performance of digital marketing campaigns, allowing businesses to understand exactly where their best leads are coming from. By integrating with existing digital campaigns, ReachEdge made it easy for SMBs to stay on top of lead engagement, capture missed opportunities, and ultimately maximize their marketing ROI. With a user-friendly dashboard and actionable insights, ReachEdge empowered SMBs to drive meaningful results from their digital efforts without the need for a full-scale marketing team.
Before and After
Navigation
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After
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Before and After
Dashboard
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After
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Research
User Interviews
Conducted interviews with ReachEdge CRM users to understand their workflows, common frustrations, and desired improvements, gathering insights that informed the redesign approach.
Contextual Inquiry
Observed users in real-time as they navigated the CRM’s web and mobile versions, noting where they encountered difficulties, which helped identify high-priority areas for improvement.
Surveys and Questionnaires
Distributed surveys to collect quantitative data on user satisfaction, mobile usage, and feature preferences, validating qualitative insights and identifying common user needs.
Strategy
Stakeholder Workshops
Facilitated workshops with ReachLocal stakeholders to discuss key objectives, prioritize feature improvements, and define the redesigned ReachEdge CRM’s unique value proposition for both web and mobile.
Competitive Analysis
Conducted a competitive analysis of CRM solutions in the small business space, noting strengths and weaknesses in usability, mobile support, and task flows that helped guide ReachEdge’s positioning.
Persona Development
Created user personas and journey maps for typical CRM users (e.g., small business owners, sales reps), highlighting tasks like lead tracking and follow-ups to focus the redesign on essential workflows.
Ideation
Brainstorming Sessions
Organized brainstorming sessions with designers, product managers, and developers to generate ideas for improving core features such as lead tracking, notifications, and mobile accessibility.
Sketching and Wireframing
Developed low-fidelity sketches and wireframes for key screens, like the dashboard and lead management view, enabling rapid iteration and refinement based on feedback from ReachLocal stakeholders.
Design Sprints
Led a design sprint to explore solutions for mobile-responsive layouts and simplified navigation, which resulted in tested concepts that streamlined CRM tasks on both web and mobile platforms.
Design
High-Fidelity Wireframes
Created detailed wireframes for primary workflows, including lead management, task reminders, and reporting views, ensuring clarity on structure and user flow before advancing to visual design.
Design System
Built a design system with standardized UI components, typography, and color schemes to maintain consistency across web and mobile interfaces, simplifying future updates and maintaining brand alignment.
Visual Style Guides
Design team developed moodboards and style guides that balanced a professional aesthetic with an approachable feel, ensuring the CRM felt accessible yet suited to business users’ needs.
Prototyping
Interactive Prototypes
Built interactive prototypes for web and mobile, allowing stakeholders and test users to interact with redesigned workflows, test lead management, and explore new navigation elements.
Microinteraction Design
Designed subtle microinteractions, such as hover effects on the web and tap animations on mobile, providing feedback that enhanced the user experience by confirming actions and improving flow.
Feedback Sessions
Conducted feedback sessions with stakeholders and a select group of users, gathering input on prototypes and refining specific elements, such as lead details and task reminders, based on their suggestions.
Testing
Usability Testing
Facilitated usability tests with CRM users, observing how they completed tasks like updating leads and managing tasks in the redesigned product, identifying any remaining usability issues to be addressed.
A/B Testing
Performed A/B testing on different dashboard layouts and lead management flows, comparing user performance to determine which designs improved task efficiency and user satisfaction.
Feedback Analysis
Analyzed qualitative and quantitative data from testing, synthesizing key findings that led to targeted updates in the user interface, particularly around navigation and task prioritization.
Measure
Time on Site
120%
120% increase in time on site, indicating higher user engagement and interest in the content.
Pages Visited
400%
400% increase in the average number of pages visited per session, showing improved content exploration.
Annual Revenue
40%
40% increase in annual revenue specifically in the AUS & EUR markets, highlighting revenue growth due to improved engagement and conversions.
Conversion Rate
15%
15% increase in conversion rate on landing pages, showing a higher rate of visitors taking desired actions, such as signing up or making purchases.
Lead Acquisition Rate
30%
30% growth in leads generated through ReachEdge, reflecting success in attracting potential customers.
Bounce Rate Reduction
25%
25% decrease in bounce rate, suggesting that more visitors are staying on the site and exploring content rather than leaving immediately.
Build
Handoff to Developers
Provided a detailed handoff to developers, complete with annotated designs, a design system, and interactive prototypes to ensure a smooth transition from design to development for both web and mobile.
Quality Assurance (QA)
Collaborated closely with QA to identify and resolve functional issues, ensuring the redesigned ReachEdge CRM met quality standards and functioned seamlessly across devices and platforms.
Developer Check-ins
Held regular check-ins with developers to review progress, address any implementation challenges, and ensure the design’s integrity was preserved throughout the build process.
Deliver
Soft Launch or Beta Testing
Conducted a soft launch with a select group of users, gathering real-world feedback on usability and performance, which helped identify last-minute improvements before the official launch.
Final Approval and Sign-Off
Secured final sign-off from ReachLocal stakeholders, QA, and product teams, confirming that all requirements were met and the redesigned CRM was ready for public release.
Launch Event or Announcement
Coordinated with the marketing team to create a launch announcement that highlighted the new features and improvements, formally introducing the redesigned ReachEdge CRM to the user base.