Intuit Mailchimp
#smallbusiness #marketing #emailplatform
Mailchimp is an Intuit's AI-powered email marketing and customer engagement platform designed for small and mid-sized businesses.
My role: Lead Intuit Ecosystem Projects including One Intuit Account migration and integration between Mailchimp product and its marketing branded website.
Mailchimp Marketplace Directory Revamp
The shared marketplace services built in FY23 no longer support the distinct, evolved needs of our Dot-com and In-app teams:
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Dot-com (Marketing & Findability): Needs high-converting public pages optimized for SEO, prospects, and social proof.
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In-app (Pragmatic Onboarding): Needs streamlined pages optimized for existing users to find, install, and adopt integrations quickly.
Because the current infrastructure forces a single dataset onto both experiences, it has become fragile, restrictive, and prone to downtime.
The Solution
We must upgrade these services to deliver:
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Flexible Content: Shared data where possible, but with full support for platform-specific custom content.
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Scalable Architecture: The ability to add new content types and search filters without breaking existing pages.
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Independent Optimization: Dedicated levers for public marketing and internal product growth.
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Stability: Reduced risk of downtime and deployment outages.
Initial approach & User research
I explored mainly three different initial approaches and conducted an user concept testing to narrow down to one. Once I got the strong potential design, I also conducted an usability testing with 4 different layouts including previously designed by In-app side design team. Because we didn't have a separate Design Research for Dot-com, I lead the research coming up with a learning plan and unmoderated tests using usertesting.com.
Overall I conducted 10 users (7 prospects and 3 Mailchimp users) for In-depth interview, 16 users (12 prospects and 3 Mailchimp users), 6 prospects for the Concept test and 14 prospects for the Layout test.
The results
Through the in-depth interview, I was able to come up with a couple common themes listed below.
• Ease of use and automation: Many users emphasized the importance of easy integration, minimal cost and effort, and automation to save time and simplify processes. Users heavily rely on automation to simplify marketing tasks and
improve efficiency.
• Functionality and flexibility: Users want integrations that offer a wide range of functions, are flexible, and can be customized to their specific needs.
• Seamless experience: A seamless experience with no errors or glitches is crucial. Users want integrations to work smoothly and efficiently.
• Data flow and centralization: Having a central source of truth and ensuring data flows smoothly between different systems is important for some users.
• Guidance and discovery: Some users appreciate integrations that guide them through the process, offer new ideas, and help them discover functionalities they might not be aware of.
Users prioritize integrations that are easy to use, automate tasks, and provide a wide range of valuable functionalities.They want a seamless experience with minimal friction and maximum efficiency. Cost-effectiveness and the ability to manage integrations in-house are also important considerations.
In-depth Interview Key Themes
• Efficiency: Users value integrations that streamline workflows and save time through automation.
• Value: Integrations should offer a comprehensive set of features and be flexible enough to meet diverse needs.
• Reliability: Seamless performance and error-free operation are essential for user satisfaction.
• Discoverability: Clear guidance and intuitive design can help users explore and utilize the full potential of integrations.
Usability Test Results
Testing the new design comparing to the old design showed a significantly improvement.
Old design
CES: 50% (50%-65% considered as "Average - Quite satisfied")
SUS: 87.5
New design
CES: 57.5% (50%-65% considered as "Average - Quite satisfied")
SUS: 96.8
Concept Test Results
• 3.5/6 users preferred Option 1 because it’s clean, simple, utilitarian-like, and shows the list of items well-organized like the industry standards.
• 0.5/6 users preferred Option 2 since his company values social proof a lot while 2 users mentioned it’s too advertisement-like and don’t care much about how others are doing. (Even a user who values the social proof the most didn’t like the Option 2 - rating is something they are looking for more)
• 2/6 users preferred Option 3 because it looks more popped out and the custom tools finder section (Help us help you section) especially when a user has a set of tools of their choice. 1 user mentioned it’s too game-looking/bubbly and might look less professional.
Overall Option 1 is the most preferred and some design parts of Option 3.
Concept Test Conclusion & Recommendations
• Combine Option 1 and a finder tool from Option 3.
• Update the content:
Reduce the hero section height and bring the search up.
Create a Hero image to show more integrations while keeping the most commonly used ones.
• Finder tool: Update CTA to something like “See how my tools connect to Mailchimp”
Layout Test Results
• 5/7 users preferred Grid layout with the common reason being they can read more information at a glance without scrolling down too much.
• 2/7 users preferred Grid all laid-out layout since it’s less clicking and you can see everything laid out on the screen. (Users prefer to see all the apps on one page as much as possible, not necessarily worrying about scalability.)
All users mentioned that horizontal cards require more scrolling.
“ feels more heavy on the content”
“A little overwhelming.
“Feels like busy”
Layout Test Conclusion & Recommendations
Again, for the hero section, reduce the hero area and bring the search up.
Finalize filtering options and sorting.
Detail out contents (hero image and copy).
Create a Qualtrics survey to collect the list of apps users are looking for.
As a team, make a decision on adding a section to link to the pricing plan or adding a mini pricing plan page that links to the sign up page (if we need).
