Oracle Communications Buying Experience

August 2020 - November 2021

Role

Lead UX Designer responsible for research, product strategy, prototyping, IxD, VxD, and IA.

Team

Designers (3), Product Managers (2), Developers (20), Content Strategist (1)

Objective

Design a modern unassisted buying experience for Communications Service Providers (CSPs).

Challenges

We got pushback from Product Management to adopt the new Design System at Oracle.

The problem

CSP’s sites prioritize business goals over user experience. This makes it difficult for users to compare and make a decision so they abandon the site or rely on assisted channels to complete their purchase.

Solution

We designed a scalable storefront theme that can adapt to the CSP’s needs while offering a guided and omnichannel buying experience.

Latest iteration of guided sales in a B2C scenario.

View motion prototype

Outcome

Our solution helped Oracle to sign contracts with 2 new customers and 1 existing customer on a 5-year commitment term to uptake the storefront theme.

Screenshot taken from a promotional video used by Oracle's Sales Reps.

Background

The design had already been built using an outdated framework. We saw this as an opportunity to reframe the problem we were trying to solve and rethink the buying experience.

Screenshots taken from the existing design.

To succeed in today’s market, CSPs should focus on delivering the best customer experience throughout the customer journey, and buying is a key stage.

Research

Oracle has conducted research on Customer Experience Trends in Retail and Customer-Centric Buying Experiences, which we took as a starting point.

The key takeaway is that customers will engage with multiple channels at different stages in the buying journey.

22%

Of CSPs are not sure they deliver consistent CX across channels.

29%

Of customers will use web self-service apps to complete payments.

50%

Of B2B customers are moving to unassisted channels.

Competitive analysis

The following examples show how B2C customers have to go through a tricky and complex process to be able to view a cart summary and B2B customers usually end up at a dead-end and have to rely on assisted channels.

AT&T B2C buying journey.

AT&T B2B buying journey.

User insights

We conducted interviews and design workshops with 3 B2C customers and 2 B2B customers. We got the following insights:

Insight 1

B2C customers compare between 2 o 3 providers and prefer to visit a physical store before they can make a decision.

Insight 2

100% of B2B customers rely on assisted channels because the site wouldn’t recommend a solution that would fit their needs.

Insight 3

B2B prospecting requires a lot of effort from sales agents, as less than 5% of their leads will qualify enough to close a deal after months of work.

Users

After my initial research, I found 2 types of potential users that had similar pain points and needs.

B2C customers

Pain points

01 Needs help from a human to decide.

02 Gap in the buying journey.

User goal

B2C customers need to find a solution that fits their needs and pause their buying experience so that they can make a decision and complete the purchase when they're ready.

B2B customers

Pain points

01 Internal approval processes are manual.

02 Have to rely on assisted channels to get a quote.

User goal

B2B customers need to find and get a quote for solutions that meet their requirements in order to get approval from their organization.

Ideation

We focused on allowing users to engage with CSPs at any stage of the buying process.

Reproducir video

Latest iteration of saving a cart.

We tested our early iterations and got the following insights:

  • 1.) Users didn't want to go through the configuration process just to see a cart.
  • 2.) Users felt like it was still hard to choose the right mobile plan.

Early iteration of mobile plan configuration.

Design process

We wanted to reduce the user’s pain of not knowing which mobile plan to choose, so we introduced a guided sales flow to help them make a decision.

Our intent was to keep it as simple as possible and any additional configurations or cross-selling opportunities would done once the user commits to check out.

Reproducir video

Latest iteration of guided sales in a B2C scenario.

Managing B2C and B2B scenarios

B2C offerings tend to be very limited, so a click-based process helped users stay focused on the task and not feel overwhelmed. On the other hand, B2B offerings are very complex and usually don’t offer a one-size-fits-all solution. 

Latest iteration of guided sales in a B2C scenario.

Latest iteration of guided sales in a B2B scenario.

We introduced a free-type layout to help B2B customers be as specific as they need to be in order to get a better recommendation.

Reproducir video

Latest iteration of guided sales in a B2C scenario.

Proactive up-selling

Up-selling and cross-selling products is an important business goal for CSPs, so we designed tailored experiences allowing customers to engage in multiple channels.

Latest iteration of recommendations.

Tailored SMS notifications.

Scalability

CSPs can adjust widgets and brand guidelines to match their needs using Oracle’s Visual Builder (VBCS).

Homepage rebranded example #1.

Homepage rebranded example #2.

Mobile plan catalog rebranded example #1.

Mobile plan catalog rebranded example #2.

Final design

The following demo shows an end-to-end buying journey, combining guided sales to help users find the best deal, an omnichannel experience so users can engage in any part of the buying stage, a checkout process, and an opportunity for CSPs to tailor recommendations based on user’s behavior.
Reproducir video

Latest iteration of an unassisted B2C buying experience.

A major difference between a B2C and B2B checkout process relies on collaboration. We introduced a guided flow where Buyer personas can add other colleagues in their organization to the quote, for example, users with approval permissions.
Reproducir video

Latest iteration of B2B collaboration.

Final thoughts

What's next?
Design a self-service experience for users to manage their accounts and services.
Learnings
Adopting a new design system can lengthen delivery expectations, but it’s always beneficial in the long term.
What would I do differently?
Work on my communication skills to emphasize the benefits of adopting a design system.
Success
Our solution has inspired the core Design System team at Oracle to design commerce patterns across the company.

Let's talk!

Reach out at luissomellera@gmail.com or through my LinkedIn profile.