Upload links
Strategically improved the UX of existing functionality into a new feature that gave sales a 30% increase in engagement with customers that had gone cold.
Summary
Role
Senior product designer + product manager + UX researcher. Yup, a three-in-one!
Problem
Revver, a B2B enterprise document management app, had the ability to meet an increasingly loud customer request for an always-open link that customers could send to their clients to securely upload files into Revver at any time. The catch was that the experience was clunky, required some inelegant workarounds, and was spread across multiple locations in the app. Could we re-package existing functionality together with a better experience, while keeping the scope to a minimum so as not to derail priority roadmap items?
Outcomes
When Revver teams reached out to announce and educate about the launch of Upload Links, they realized a 30% response rate from those customers that had stopped responding to all other Revver outreach, significantly boosting retention efforts.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the views or position of Revver.
Getting started
Quick collaboration
Comprising a nimble and tight product team, one other UX designer, a PM and the VP of product and I meet semiweekly to talk about customer issues, designs in progress, big picture items, and more. Through various touchpoints with customer support, we had been made aware of our largest customer’s struggles with collecting documents from their own clients into Revver. We moved quickly to brainstorm ways to cobble together existing features.
The initial designs and requirements came together as we collaborated as team, but once we were off the ground and running, I took ownership of the feature as the product owner and UX designer in finalizing the design, leading the implementation with engineering, and coordinating a successful launch by giving demos and trainings, authoring documentation, and working with marketing and sales on a go-to-market strategy.
Design
Creating an Upload Link generates a link that users can easily pass on to their clients to securely upload files into Revver. Before, creating a link like this with an automation to be notified if any files were uploaded, took a total of 37 clicks, 4 page loads, and 5 input fields. The new feature only requires 4 clicks, 2 modal loads, and one optional input field.
Friction reduced
To utilize the existing Document Request feature, a user could technically generate a link that they could put into their email signature or website that any of their clients could use to upload files securely into Revver. However, the process was clunky. 27 clicks, 2 page loads, 4 input fields and a bit of head-scratching later, you’d have the link. There was also existing functionality to choose a location (one of your folders, for example) that you could set up an Automation on that would notify you via email if any new files were uploaded within it. That process required 9 clicks, 2 page loads, and 1 input field.
To keep scope small but experience quality high, we utilized the existing features but hid all of the clicks, loads and inputs behind the curtain. It was tempting, given how much friction exists in the current document request flow, to want to lean into addressing every problem (or even just the low-hanging fruit!).
To do this, we created a feature that paired a default document request with only one customization offered and a straightforward automation built on educated assumptions. A user could go to the location that they want future files from clients to uploaded within, right click on the location’s name, and select “Create Upload Link.” A modal appears, offering a default request page title (a user could customize if they wanted to) with the account name prepopulated. The user clicks a button, “Next: Create Link”, and sees the link they can start using. The “close” button also copies the link when it collapses the modal. Two clicks!
Launch
I wanted to enable our customer-facing teams to be able to offer this feature to customers, answer questions about it, and be excited about the benefits.
I prepare and presented with the VP of product in an internal company-wide training about the feature.
I led a live demo and follow-along exercise with employees, walking them through how to find the feature, set it up, and manage the automation alerts.
I collaborated with the head of marketing to prepare a go-to-market strategy including a blog post and step-by-step tourial
I wrote a detailed help center article for Revver’s knowledge base about the feature. The help center article garnered nearly 400 clicks in under three months, making it one of the most accessed articles in the knowledge base with a positive helpful rating.
Impact
Sales was able to use the Upload Link feature to reach out to customers that had stopped responding to Revver. Although these customers had not answered any other outreach, sales had a 30% response rate amongst this group.
Revver’s largest customer was delighted, and another significant account was retained specifically because of this feature.
Scope was successfully kept small to not derail other roadmap items.
“Absolutely, upload links has been a great way to get clients to lean in and book time with us. We’ve leveraged upload links to provoke convos with Red Accounts (accounts with no documented strategy yet) and Gray accounts (non-responsive red accounts). Clients are excited when they see it and have been more eager to book time. About a 30% response rate. Once they book with us, we are showing off a few features, and then having a bigger conversation regarding expansion and strategy within the account. It’s been an effective tool to create more conversations and uncover more opportunity for us!”