Cushman Wakefield | Content-first design to demonstrate value
Solo project, Prime Digital Academy
Cushman Wakefield provides commercial real estate solutions.
Situation
Cushman Wakefield’s brokers wanted a more engaging experience. Their brokers approached Prime Digital Academy to assess their customer-facing tools.
Insight
Their tools had been built without a good understanding of the user’s mental model. As a result, potential customers didn't see the value of Cushman Wakefield's services.
Approach
Design a new experience that answers users' questions and connects them to the value of the broker and the next steps in the relationship.
Process
How I helped
Takeways
Contextual inquiry > Cognitive walkthroughs > Recommendations
I met with the brokers to learn about their business and how they use the tools:
Brokers walked prospective customers through the tools during WebEx meetings
Their goal was to demonstrate how they could help customers make good decisions
Users were presented scenarios and explored the current tools, uncovering the following insights:
The tools didn't reflect users' mental model
They would use some of the tools to get "good information and advice" but weren’t converted to clients
Meaningful content was masked by jargon and multiple web forms
UX writing with an emphasis on word choice and plain language
Content design and strategy: create context for the tools with a new flow and messaging, and move forms inside a new customer dashboard
This project was a great example of how content design and storytelling can help match the product with a user’s mental model
I learned the importance of a landing page in telling the story of how the product can meet the user’s needs
Content-first design evolution: Landing page
The landing page incorporates themes from the previous experience in a new context to tell a story about the value the brokers offer.
Supports broker’s preferred approach of sending a link to prospectives clients during a call and allows broker to walk prospects through the story.
User experience — Before
The pages weren’t organized in a flow to tell a story.
Prospective clients were confronted with a series of seemingly unrelated web forms.
User experience — After
Cushman Wakefield’s new value story from beginning to end.
The design incorporates and unites the broker’s themes in a new customer dashboard: My People, My Space, My Rate, My Market
