December - May 23 (6 Months)

CRM Integration

Help4Homes (Formerly The Energy Support Hub)
Front side of the user persona’s company ID card, displaying key information and branding.Back side of the user persona’s company ID card, featuring company logo.Colorful gradient

Project Overview

The CRM Integration project at Help4Homes (formerly The Energy Support Hub) was aimed at developing a prototype for a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to streamline and enhance the workflow across various departments. The main objective was to centralise customer data, improve communication between teams, and increase operational efficiency. This initiative was crucial in minimising customer churn and boosting customer interactions, thereby supporting the company’s growth and customer satisfaction goals.

Role

As the UX Designer for this project, my primary responsibilities included conducting user research, developing the CRM prototype, and leading usability testing sessions. My role involved collaborating with stakeholders across different departments to understand their needs and ensure the CRM system addressed key pain points. I was also responsible for iterating on the design based on user feedback to create a user-friendly and efficient solution.

Target Audience

The primary users of the CRM system are internal teams at Help4Homes, including sales, marketing, customer support, and management. These users required a seamless and intuitive system to manage customer interactions, track inquiries, and streamline communication. The target audience also included new team members who needed an easy-to-navigate system for onboarding and training purposes.
Mockup of CRM system with a focus on data visualisation.
Prototype mockup displaying customer data analysis.
Mockup of a mobile screen receiving a call from the user persona, illustrating incoming call functionality.Mobile view of a user persona making a phone call, showcasing their communication preferences.
The Tools Used In This Project

Context

As the UX Designer for this project, my primary responsibilities included conducting user research, developing the CRM prototype, and leading usability testing sessions. My role involved collaborating with stakeholders across different departments to understand their needs and ensure the CRM system addressed key pain points. I was also responsible for iterating on the design based on user feedback to create a user-friendly and efficient solution.
Introduction

UX Stages

The CRM Integration project at Help4Homes followed a user-centred design process, structured around key UX stages. This approach ensured that the system was designed with the users’ needs in mind, from initial research to final testing. The following stages provide an overview of the key activities undertaken at each phase.

Empathise

Conducted user research through contextual interviews to understand the needs, workflows, and challenges of internal teams.

Define

Identified key pain points and formulated problem statements based on research findings to guide the design process.

Ideate

Facilitated brainstorming sessions and workshops to explore a range of potential solutions, leveraging diverse interdisciplinary perspectives.

Prototype

Developed a functional CRM prototype using Google Sheets and Zapier, allowing for quick iterations and user feedback integration.

Usability Test

Conducted moderated and unmoderated usability testing to evaluate the prototype’s effectiveness and usability, leading to further refinements to the new and improved CRM.
Empathise

Contextual Interviews

To ensure the CRM system was tailored to the specific needs of Help4homes, I conducted 6 contextual interviews with team members from sales, marketing, customer support, and management to understand their specific tasks, workflows, and challenges with the existing systems.

Goals

  1. Identify pain points in current workflows
  2. Understand the specific needs and preferences of different departments
  3. Gather insights into how data is currently managed and communicated

Key Findings

  1. Fragmented Data
  2. Data Entry Issues
  3. Communication Gaps
  4. Delayed Responses
  5. Inconsistent Reporting

User Journey

The user journey for the CRM integration project mapped out the typical workflow of the sales team members at Help4Homes, from lead acquisition to booking follow-up actions. This journey highlighted key pain points in the current system, such as fragmented data and communication gaps. These insights informed the design opportunities for developing a more efficient and cohesive CRM system.
User journey showing the steps and touch points of a user’s interaction with the CRM system.

Persona

This section introduces Emma Johnson, the persona representing a typical user of the CRM system. Emma’s bio, goals, and frustrations were crafted based on real user data gathered during the Empathise stage.
User persona detailing the attributes and goals of a fictional user.
Define

Problems & Proposed Solutions

Key issues such as data fragmentation and poor communication across departments were highlighted. From this, targeted solutions were developed to streamline workflows, improve data accuracy, and enhance collaboration.

Problem 1

Teams at Help4homes struggle with fragmented and inconsistent customer data across various departments. Leading to data inaccuracies and inefficiencies.

Problem 2

Lack of a centralised system resulting in poor communication between sales, marketing, customer support, and management teams. Causing delays and miscommunication.

Problem 3

New team members find it challenging to navigate the fragmented systemsLeading to longer onboarding times and decreased productivity.

Solution 1

Develop a CRM system that consolidates all customer information into a centralised database. This will ensure data accuracy and make it easy for  teams to access customer information.

Solution 2

Implement features like shared notes, task assignments, and real-time updates. This will improve collaboration and reduce the risk of miscommunication.

Solution 3

Design a user-friendly interface and comprehensive onboarding resources. This will facilitate quicker adaptation for new team members and enhance overall productivity.
Halah Gabar doing UX Design work on a whiteboard with sticky notes.
Ideate

Design Thinking Sessions

During the ideation phase, various brainstorming sessions were conducted to generate a range of potential solutions. These sessions aimed to leverage diverse perspectives and foster creative problem-solving.
10+
Onboarding Sessions
16.4%
Increase in Customer Interactions
Conducted workshops to gather stakeholder insights and facilitate open discussions for sharing experiences and challenges.
Used design thinking to guide problem definition, solution ideation, and idea prioritisation.
Enabled collaborative brainstorming and prioritisation for prototyping.
Prototype

Prototype Key Features

Google Sheets was chosen for its flexibility and ease of iteration. Allowing me to create a functional prototype that could be easily tested and refined based on user feedback. It allowed for quick adjustments based on user feedback and could be implemented without incurring additional development costs.

Share team inboxes

New leads automatically populate a shared spreadsheet with all relevant data and fields for additional information collection.

Deliver instant answers

These leads are directly entered into a dialler, minimising the time between receiving enquiries and making the first contact.

Manage your team

The spreadsheet automatically updates the CRM, ensuring consistent and accurate data across all systems.

Connect with customers

Integrated basic analytics provide insights into customer interactions and data trends.
Prototype mockup highlighting targeted marketing metrics.

Onboarding Sessions

To ensure that the prototype was effectively tested and users were comfortable with its features, several onboarding sessions were conducted. These sessions aimed to familiarise users with the new system, demonstrate key features, and provide hands-on training.
Summary

CRM Integration

Help4Homes (Formerly The Energy Support Hub)
Strengths of the Project
The CRM system significantly improved customer interactions, highlighting its effectiveness in streamlining workflows and enhancing user engagement. The collaborative design approach ensured that the system met the specific needs of inbound department, leading to a more cohesive and user-friendly solution.
Areas for Improvement
Exploring mobile interfaces is crucial for supporting users who access the CRM on various devices, enhancing overall accessibility and user experience.
Insights Gained
The project underscored the critical value of direct user feedback in the iterative design process. The importance of effective training and support was also highlighted, ensuring that users could adapt quickly to new systems and workflows.
Obstacles
One of the main obstacles faced was initial resistance from staff towards adopting the new system, which required targeted change management strategies to overcome.
Whats Next
The next steps involve completing the development and full implementation of the live CRM system. Continuous improvement will be a focus, with regular updates based on user feedback and evolving business needs, along with exploring advanced features and further optimising the user experience.

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