{"id":700042,"date":"2020-10-27T10:20:11","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T17:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/?post_type=msr-blog-post&p=700042"},"modified":"2020-10-27T16:42:32","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T23:42:32","slug":"customer-driven-content-design-a-real-life-example","status":"publish","type":"msr-blog-post","link":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/articles\/customer-driven-content-design-a-real-life-example\/","title":{"rendered":"Customer-driven content design: A real-life example"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Antonia Blume<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Erica Jorgensen<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo credit: iStock<\/p>\n

S<\/span>mall business owners\u00a0<\/span>take on many diverse tasks to keep their business running<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>While they may have become entrepreneurs because they like to bake, or teach, o<\/span>r design tattoos, they also\u00a0<\/span>by necessity<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>wear many hats<\/span>\u00a0to keep their business runnin<\/span>g–<\/span>\u00a0bookkeeper, customer service agent,\u00a0<\/span>procurement specialist, sales manager, social media planner, HR manager, and IT specialist, just to name a\u00a0<\/span>few<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our<\/span>\u00a0UX content\u00a0<\/span>writing<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>team<\/span>\u00a0w<\/span>anted to understand\u00a0<\/span>how\u00a0<\/span>very small<\/span>\u00a0business (VSB) customers\u00a0<\/span>approach\u00a0<\/span>their IT tasks<\/span>, specifically those in M<\/span>icrosoft\u00a0<\/span>365\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>dmin\u00a0<\/span>c<\/span>enter<\/span>\u00a0(MAC)<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(VSBs are classified as organizations with <\/span>fewer\u00a0<\/span>than\u00a0<\/span>10<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>users<\/span>.)\u00a0<\/span>The\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>dmin\u00a0<\/span>c<\/span>enter is a portal for\u00a0<\/span>anyone who\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0managing\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0<\/span>Microsoft 365<\/span>\u00a0subscription for their organization<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>I<\/span>t’s important<\/span>\u00a0that all users of the\u00a0<\/span>admin center <\/span>achieve their business goals (<\/span>for example<\/span>, adding a new user)\u00a0<\/span>as productively\u00a0<\/span>as possible<\/span>. T<\/span>he language<\/span>\u00a0within the user experience (UX)<\/span>\u00a0is\u00a0<\/span>key to supporting that.\u00a0<\/span>We also want users to feel confident as they\u2019re using\u00a0<\/span>the admin\u00a0<\/span>center<\/span>. This confidence is\u00a0<\/span>essential<\/span>\u00a0in supporting our team\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>objectives<\/span>, including\u00a0<\/span>Net<\/span>\u00a0Promoter Score (NPS) and overall customer satisfaction (SAT).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our hypothesis was that\u00a0<\/span>the I<\/span>T terminology would largely be\u00a0<\/span>unfamiliar<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>VSB<\/span>\u00a0admin<\/span>s<\/span>, impeding\u00a0<\/span>their a<\/span>bility to complete tasks efficiently<\/span>\u00a0a<\/span>nd reducing<\/span>\u00a0their\u00a0<\/span>con<\/span>fidence and\u00a0<\/span>satisfaction in using\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>dmin\u00a0<\/span>c<\/span>enter<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>We wanted to\u00a0<\/span>thorough<\/span>ly\u00a0<\/span>test<\/span>\u00a0that hypothesis,\u00a0<\/span>check our biases,\u00a0<\/span>understand wh<\/span>ich specific<\/span>\u00a0terms were not intuitive, and\u00a0<\/span>identify\u00a0<\/span>what alternatives would work better<\/span>\u00a0for them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

U<\/span>ser research can be a valuable tool\u00a0<\/span>in<\/span>\u00a0understanding the language preferences of a particular group<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span>customers<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>M<\/span>y<\/span>\u00a0colleagues and I explained our approach<\/span>\u00a0to this research<\/span>\u00a0in\u00a0<\/span>this p<\/span>revious\u00a0<\/span>blog post<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>One aspect of that post is worth revisiting here<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0as these were the driving principles behind the VSB research<\/span>:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Five things language can do as part of UX\u00a0design\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n