Sequences

Drive engagement & revenue with an automated outreach solution

User Research · 0-to-1 · Product Strategy

My role

Lead Product Designer

Other contributors

CEO, Product VP, Product Manager

UX timeline

Aug 2022 - Jan 2023 (6 mos)

Platform

Web App & Chrome Extension

Design objectives

  • High fidelity MVP: Figma designs, flowcharts, a prototype, & annotations in under 6 months.

  • Framework for a 0-to-1 feature: Multi-step, internal/external integrations that can scale.

Business goals

  • Existing biz: Reduce the #1 churn reason “lack of automation”.

  • New biz: Solve for win rate & higher deal size, while enabling sales & marketing verticals.

Press about Sequences

Problem statement

“What innovative solutions can we develop to help sellers, marketers, and recruiters better engage and manage their contacts, reducing the need for repetitive manual tasks and enhancing their ability to focus on high-value activities?"

Early automation ideas

  • Surveys

  • Sub Keyword & Data Collection

  • Drip Campaigns

Low fidelity designs

  • Create Sequence | Capture user's attention with a modal setup

  • Continue creation flow with a guided step by step setup

    Create Sequence | Guide user to decide the best automation logic

  • Contact enrollment | Non-invasive slide out drawer to enroll contacts

  • Contact enrollment | Quickly access contacts via search functionality

  • Message builder | Build steps, edit, and view performance visibilty

  • Manage contacts | Access enrolled contacts statuses and current step

MVP user flows

  • Allows users to create new sequences, duplicate existing ones for efficiency, or start from predefined blueprints to streamline the process.

  • Empowers users to add, modify, or remove individual steps within a sequence to tailor communication strategies.

  • Search for contacts to enroll from an individual sequence’s contacts page easily.

  • Allows users to directly enroll contacts from other TextUs features into sequences for seamless integration.

Final designs

  • Create your new sequence

  • Add steps to start your sequence

  • Option to edit, delete, or add more steps

  • Enroll contacts from your inbox

  • Enroll contacts from your groups

  • Manage your active sequence

Let’s reflect

What went well

Sequences received positive feedback from sellers, marketers, & recruiters. Additionally, the company’s bottom line had a record-breaking impact with churn reduced and record MRR% and Net ARR.

  • Higher SUS score than baseline: 76.7 Sequences vs, 73.7 Web App.

  • Increased response rates: More messages were sent, while our user engagement increased by 27%.

  • Reduced churn: Salesforce data reported a 49% to 8% drop, meaning “Lack of automation” was no longer the top reason.

What could’ve been improved

Sequences was one of my proudest, yet most challenging projects.

  • Everyone had an opinion: Collaborating with all departments humbled my user-first approach, knowing the stakes were high for everyone.

  • The project is never finished: I actively reviewed the designs in the dev staging environment and was available for questions throughout their sprint.

  • Building for responsiveness: The biggest lesson I learned from this project is to start ideation at the smallest breakpoint (320px).