The challenge
A multinational B2B SaaS company launched a new, B2B-focused account management system and wanted to switch existing users of a device management platform off the existing B2C account management system.
The key challenges around this process were twofold:
- We faced significant technical constraints that restricted UX options from the start.
- Initial terminology coined in the user stories didn't match users' mental models.
My job was to make a complex, multi-step process feel clear and manageable to users, all with limited design leverage.
My role
I was the sole content designer on the project. My work spanned the full content ecosystem, from shaping the product upstream with PMs, owning every content touchpoint in the workflow, and enabling technical and marketing writers to extend the experience beyond the product itself.
Shaped the product value proposition with PMs
In the early stages of the project, I partnered with PMs to develop and articulate the value propositions for the new B2B account management system.
These value propositions would become the critical foundation for all user-facing content that followed.
Wrote end-to-end UX content
The work involved in the end-to-end UX content was extensive, spanning multiple branching flows, communication channels, and edge cases.
Beyond the content for the actual process, I also needed to consider which parts of the entire device management platform would be affected by the switch, and provide just the right amount of user education at those touchpoints.
With limited design leverage, content became the primary tool to build user confidence.
Created a documentation requirements list for technical writers
As I was drafting the content, I anticipated several areas of potential confusion in the UI caused by technical limitations.
I kept a running list of technical concepts and interaction-based quirks that were important for users to understand, but weren't essential to getting them through the workflow.
I later turned this list into a documentation requirements list for the technical writers who were creating the admin guide and how-to video.
Wrote a blog brief for the marketing writers
As part of the soft launch strategy, leadership wanted to promote the new B2B account system through a blog post.
I created a blog brief that translated the product's value proposition into customer-facing language, giving the marketing writer the strategic context they needed to write effectively without being embedded in the product work.
Research insight: The “conflict” problem
PMs were using the term “conflict” in user stories to indicate that the user's email address was the same in both the B2B and B2C systems, which requires the user to change their email address in the B2C system after the migration.
However, in user testing, we uncovered that the term "conflict" actually meant the opposite to many participants, leading them to assume their email addresses in the B2B and B2C systems needed to match.
"Conflict" had the inverse meaning from what we expected.
We revised the content to write around the term "conflict", and the confusion was resolved.
Research insight: “Migration” – but not really
We also encountered a similar issue in user testing with the term “migration”, which was also used frequently in the user stories.
We initially labelled the primary CTA “Migrate to Samsung account for Business”, and peppered the term throughout the rest of the workflow.
However, participants interpreted “migration” to mean that all their account data would be moved from the B2C system to the B2B system, and their B2C account would be deleted. That wasn't the case, though–both accounts could continue to exist.
So, what were our options?
- Migrate to Samsung account for Business — it's not a migration.
- Transition to Samsung account for Business — transition from what? Too lengthy to clarify through UI copy, and implies a long, drawn-out process.
- Switch to Samsung account for Business — conveys a two-track approach where both systems run in parallel, and connotes a quicker, snappier process.
We finally landed on: “Switch sign-in method to Samsung account for Business”. More accurate, clear, and adheres to plain English principles.
Working within constraints
Early on, user testing revealed that users weren't paying attention to the default account ID generated for them. Since they'd need this account ID to sign in to the new system, this was a major problem.
Knowing that we were facing resource limitations, the UX designer and I had to lean on the tools we had. The low-lift, high-impact lever? Content.
We proposed a series of emails that, upon completion of certain steps, would provide timely information (like the account ID) and guide the user towards their next goal.
Unfortunately, competing priorities meant that the development team wasn't able to commit to many of those emails, resulting in a disjointed, dead-ended flow that fell short of the white-glove service we wanted to emulate.
In the end, many of the UX issues we flagged couldn't be fixed before launch, and support tickets skyrocketed.
Our post-launch impact
The product design team revisited the user flow based on the two main categories of support issues:
Users were prematurely changing their email address in the B2C system, which locked them out of the device management platform.
Users were trying to sign in with their old B2C credentials instead of their new B2B credentials..
Together, we identified a few key touchpoints to mitigate user confusion:
- Added alert banners to specific steps in the user flow, instructing users not to change their email address in the B2C system until they're instructed to.
- Revamped the device management platform's sign-in page to add a “Don't know your account ID?” link, which provided documentation guidance through a larger surface area.
- Added a tooltip to indicate when a user should sign in with their email address instead of their account ID.
Since the spike in support tickets corroborated what we'd flagged, we were able to use this opportunity to push for content improvements that were previously deprioritized.
The result?
What I learned
The value of considering terminology early
Throughout my time with the company, I've advocated for a “from code to customer” approach to terminology, meaning we should be using the same terminology during development as what users see.
This project really highlighted the importance of content involvement and user testing early in the product development process. Without user testing, we wouldn't have uncovered the terminology issues impacting users' core understanding of the workflow and been able to solve for them before launch.
The impact of content strategy in technically constrained environments
When our hands are tied on the UX side due to technical limitations, we learned how effective it is to lean on cross-functional partners to help compensate for what the user experience lacks.
For workflows as complex as this one, we can only do so much in the UI — technical documentation and how-to videos become imperative in supplementing user knowledge.
Using data to help prioritize content improvements
One of the most important lessons I learned is how to use business data to move the needle in organizations at this scale, and how to get that data.
Historically, content changes are often deprioritized for the shiny new features. When our changes are backed by user testing and quantitative metrics, it's much easier to convince stakeholders to get on board.