Feb 2024 - June 2024
Lead Product Designer
1 founder, 1 designer and 6 engineers.
Launched 🚀
Overview
Context
AI Automation Marketing Platform
AdsGency AI is an innovative platform that leverages AI to craft compelling marketing content across social media, email, and search engines. By analyzing user-inputted assets and business goals, it tailors ads and content to maximize campaign effectiveness.
Objectives
Unlock the full potential of Digital Marketing in one platform
Phase 1 (Completed)
The product focuses on generating ads and marketing content tailored to business needs and goals, based on user-inputted assets and information.
Phase 2 (In Progress)
The product advances by generating ads and marketing content tailored not only to the business needs and goals but also to customer and user profiles. By incorporating customer data, the platform can create even more personalized and targeted content.
Challenges
We encountered several significant challenges during the development process.
Time Constraints
The time constraints were one of the biggest hurdles, as the product needed to be shipped within a tight three-month timeline to secure the next round of funding.
Budget Limitations
We faced budget limitations for conducting extensive user research and interviews, which restricted our ability to recruit participants and gain deeper user insights early on.
Marketing Knowledge
I initially lacked in-depth marketing knowledge, which added complexity to developing a product that would meet industry standards and business needs.
Achievements
Evolved product from AI-generated marketing to AI data-informed marketing
Successfully launched customer data platform.
Receive major companies as clients, enhancing our market presence.
Received positive feedback and comments at various fairs, validating our product's effectiveness and appeal.
1k+
Attract new paid users in a month
25%
improved monthly retention rates
$2.4M
Raised funding for the next round
Research
Desk Research
What is a Customer Data Platform?
A Customer Data Platform (CDP) is a piece of software that combines data from multiple tools to create a single centralized customer database containing data on all touch points and interactions with your product or service. That database can then be segmented in a nearly endless number of ways to create more personalized marketing campaigns.
Competitive Analysis
Informed the CDP workflow and identified gaps in the market.
Segment and Amperity are direct competitors, while Salesforce 360 is an indirect competitor. We compared their features and functionality to understand design patterns, industry trends, and user expectations.
Our goal is to identify gaps in the market where competitors may have overlooked or underdeveloped areas, enabling us to innovate and create unique solutions.
Opportunity #1 Small to Medium-sized Businesses
We discovered that many existing platforms have a steep learning curve and can be too complex for small to medium-sized businesses, which are our target clients.
Opportunity #2 Streamlining the Entire Process
Users can streamline their marketing process by launching campaigns directly on our platform after gathering recommendations and insights. We've designed the solution to leverage AI, helping users generate ads and marketing content in the phase I.
Opportunity #3 AI Algorithms
We will incorporate AI to handle identity resolution, leading to more accurate identification of customers across different channels. Additionally, AI can process data in real time, allowing businesses to quickly update and maintain accurate customer profiles.
User Research
We recruited participants who are active users of the product.
Initially, recruiting participants for a 30-minute interview was challenging as we didn't have too much budget for user research. However, we made a concerted effort, sending invitation emails to our current users. As a result, we successfully recruited four individuals who have different background.
User Persona
Each persona helped guide the design and feature priorities of the CDP.
Small Business Owner #Data Overload
Elena
"I don’t have the time or the know-how to dig into all this customer data and turn it into marketing that actually works. I just need something simple that I can understand and act on quickly."
Digital Marketing Specialist # Customization Struggle
"There’s just too much data coming in from everywhere, and analyzing it all to create segmented campaigns feels overwhelming. I need insights without spending hours crunching numbers."
Sophia
Marketing Consultant # Insight Fragmentation
Alex
"Managing data across multiple clients is chaotic. It’s tough to get clear, actionable insights for each client without wasting time jumping between different reports and dashboards."
Design Principles
Ensured the CDP remains user-friendly, adaptable, and powerful.
Clarity
Design for intuitive navigation and clarity at every level of user experience. Focus on simplifying complex data insights.
Customization
Offer flexible, customizable dashboards and segmentation options to meet unique user needs.
All-in-One Experience
Minimize the need for tool-switching by integrating core functionalities like data syncing, segmentation, campaign management, and reporting.
Design Challenge
Ideation
Features
Defined the product scope into two stages with features.
Stage 1 Data Integration and AI-Driven Workflow (Current)
Ingest customer data from multiple data sources and channels.
Validate and clean raw customer data to ensure accuracy and consistency.
Perform identity resolution to create unified customer profiles by linking data points across sources.
Create personalized customer segments to enable targeted marketing content.
Generate insights and recommendations based on customer behavior and data patterns.
Stage 2 Post-Launch Insights and Optimization (Future)
Launch targeted marketing content aligned with customer insights and business objectives.
Optimize campaigns based on real-time data and customer engagement to continuously improve outcomes.
Analyze performance metrics from launched content and campaigns.
Refine strategies by uncovering deeper insights and recommendations to enhance future campaigns.
We added three new tabs to the sidebar, View Data, View Customers, and Segments, to accommodate the new features which ensures that users can easily access new functionalities without disrupting the original workflow.
User Flow
Visualized how users navigate through the platform.
This flow helped us streamline the process and ensure a clear and intuitive journey for users. It guided us in determining the next steps in the design and development process.
Design Process
We have daily standup meetings to address questions and review comments.
In the design process, consider optimizing the user experience. For example, when viewing data, the left side does not support viewing multiple databases, and there is ambiguity in the data percentages. Relevant content has been added to the right side, along with a filter.
Design
View Data
Data Uploading and View Data
Onboarding
Users are invited to upload data by connecting to their data warehouse if they want to turn the data into actionable campaigns. The platform enables the integration of all data, making it easier to manage and utilize for marketing efforts.
Data Table
Users can view individual or combined datasets using table schema, table sample, and table summary views, with filters available for customization. If the primary column record is complete, an AI algorithm can be applied to generate and identify unique customer IDs.
View Customer
Customer Profiles and Attributes
Overview of Customers
Users can view all customers categorized by attributes, with the ability to adjust and add custom attributes. If interested, they can click on an attribute to view more data. Additionally, users can create attribute relationships for deeper insights.
Customer Profile
Users can view each customer profile and gain insights into their attributes, behaviors, and predictive traits with the help of AI, providing a deeper understanding of their customers.
Segments
Customer Segments and Insights
Recommendation
Users can create customer segments based on various attribute relationships. The platform leverages AI to generate recommendations at the customer profile, content, and strategy levels, helping users optimize their marketing efforts.
Campaign
If users want to generate a marketing campaign for a specific customer segment, the platform will guide them back to the original workflow for marketing planning, where the segment data will be utilized for targeted customer analysis.
For more details on the design process, please contact me.
Metrics
Insights from our customers
This data platform connects all the missing dots when it comes to understanding your customers, enabling a 10X return on investment (ROI) in advertising. It has helped our clients achieve significant revenue growth and business expansion.
Reduced costs for Inkeverse
Increased clients for Playheads
Improved ROAS for SENDAIST Knife
Conclusion
Achievements
Successfully increased user base and engagement
1k+
Attract new paid users in a month
25%
improved monthly retention rates
$2.4M
Raised funding for the next round
Next Steps
Conduct Usability Testing
Post-launch usability testing will provide critical insights into any friction points, bugs, or areas where the product is not performing as expected. By observing users in real-time and collecting their feedback, we can ensure the product to meet their needs effectively.
Establish a Feedback Loop for Continuous Improvement
Establish a process for continuously gathering feedback, whether through surveys, direct contact, or social listening tools. Having a robust feedback loop will help stay on top of evolving user needs and ensure the product remains relevant and valuable.
Key Takeaways
Stay Flexible and Adaptable
UX projects often face unforeseen challenges—whether it’s changing user needs, new business goals, or technical constraints. Being flexible and adaptable is essential to navigating these obstacles. The ability to pivot and adjust based on new information allows teams to stay agile, ensuring that the final product is not only viable but also successful in addressing both user and business needs.
Clear Communication Improves Efficiency
Maintaining open communication between all team members ensures everyone stays aligned on goals, timelines, and feedback. This clarity prevents misunderstandings, reduces unnecessary revisions, and keeps the project moving forward smoothly.
