BairesDev Case
US$15m and 300% BV revenue increase for tech unicorn
Overview
I was part of the turnaround of Bairesdevs’ Growth Product division as their first UX Researcher.
I was hired as the first UX Researcher for Bairesdev's newly established Growth Product division. The department was responsible for creating products like landing pages, blogs, websites, and lead funnels.
Since the products were underperforming in every aspect (ROI, performance, lead attraction), a complete redesign of the tech stack, branding, and UX/UI was the goal. The ultimate objective was to achieve a 100% increase in Business Value (BV). Huge project that took about 1.5 years.
Project numbers
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~ 1 million website and blog visitors every month
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500 active company clients, including Roll-Royce, Pinterest, Google, Motorola, Groupon
Team
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2 Project Managers
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1 Product Manager
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1 Engineering Manager
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6 engineers/developers
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1 UX/Product designer
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1 UI Designer
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1 UX Researcher
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1 Design intern
Previous website:
Research Overview
Establishing the website's UX and metrics and validating new designs
The release of any new website or web pages involves inherent risks. With the release of Homepage+, it was crucial to ensure that BairesDev's website metrics would perform better than before. This research project was undertaken to measure the website's performance before, during, and after the Homepage+ release. The goal was to gather insights to guide design and strategic decisions while controlling potential damage.
Main Goals
To achieve this, we conducted both quantitative and qualitative research to establish the current website experience and metrics, which would serve as a baseline for post-release data. Our primary goal was to ensure that the new metrics performed better than the current ones, thus guiding strategic design and product decisions and mitigating risks during the release.
Research Approach
The research was divided into three phases:
Phase 1: Before Release
Objective:
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Establish the current website experience as a reference point.
Questions Addressed:
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How is the current site performing?
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What is the user experience like?
Phase 2: During Release
Objective:
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Mitigate risks and control potential damage through metric monitoring.
Questions Addressed:
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How is the data changing compared to the baseline (Phase 1)?
Phase 3: After Release
Objective:
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Analyze data changes post-release once the new pages stabilized and outline improvement plans for underperforming elements.
Questions Addressed:
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How did the data change after the new pages stabilized?
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Which elements did not perform satisfactorily compared to the baseline data?
Methods and Target Audience
Phase 1: Before Release
Methods:
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Moderated Usability Test: Conducted with 5-7 participants based in the US.
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Participants were from technology-related companies and held managing or directing positions.
Tools:
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UserInterviews: Used for recruiting participants.
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Loom: Utilized for screen recording sessions.
Additional Tasks:
Created budget approval documents and communicated with management to secure the necessary resources.
Phase 2: During Release
Methods:
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Hotjar Heatmaps and Recording Analysis: Analyzed user behavior and experience changes by comparing new recordings and heatmaps with those from Phase 1.
Tools:
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Google Analytics: Used for web analytics.
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Website Monitoring: Employed to track performance and identify potential issues.
Phase 3: After Release
Phase 3 was divided into three main research activities:
#1 Moderated Usability Testing
Objective:
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Gain a comprehensive understanding of the user experience provided by Website 2.0. Observe participants' interactions and ask follow-up questions when necessary.
Target Audience:
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5-7 participants based in the US, from technology-related companies, holding managing or directing positions.
Tools:
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UserInterviews (Recruiting), Loom (Screen Recording).
#2 Unmoderated Usability Testing
Objective:
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Gain insights into the user experience of Website 2.0 using an unmoderated approach. Gather feedback from a larger user pool quickly.
Target Audience:
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100 participants from the US and Canada, from technology-related companies.
Tools:
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UserInterviews (Recruiting)
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Maze (Testing platform).
#3 Hotjar Heatmaps and Recording Analysis
Objective:
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Identify interesting user behaviors not previously mapped and find obstacles on Homepage+ not identified in previous research.
Tools:
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Hotjar
Research results
The Homepage+ release for BairesDev brought significant improvements to the website’s user experience and perception.
Here are the key takeaways:
Positive Impact:
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Enhanced First Impressions: Users found Web 2.0 to be more trustworthy, clean, and easy to use compared to Web 1.0.
Understanding of Services:
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Achieved 100% comprehension of BairesDev’s services with Web 2.0, compared to only 21% with Web 1.0.
Design Decisions:
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Feedback Integration: The insights gathered from the research guided critical design decisions for the new website, ensuring that changes addressed user needs and preferences effectively.
Areas for Improvement:
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Content: Streamline information to reduce overload and clarify call-to-action elements.
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Credibility and Expertise: Highlight case studies, client testimonials, and team information.
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Attentiveness: Provide direct contact details and showcase the availability of project or product managers.
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Technology Silos: Clearly present technology-specific pages and link to expert profiles and case studies.
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Contact Options: Add a direct phone number to facilitate client communication.
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Chatbot Behavior: Reduce pop-up frequency and respect user preferences regarding chatbot interaction.
This research underscores the value of ongoing user feedback and iterative enhancements in sustaining a competitive digital presence, with insights directly shaping the new website's design to better meet user expectations.
Project outcome
We launched the new products all at once, and the results were beyond great.
In the first month alone, BV increased by 300%, revenue increased US$15m on the first weeks alone, and the understanding of the company’s services increased by 79%.
Part of this success was due to the improved usability and performance of the products (twice as fast as before). We can tell because users were scrolling about 40% more, the exit rate dropped significant and users were clicking on CTAs 3x more.
BV up by 300%, revenue increased US$15m, understanding of the company’s services increased by 79% and click on CTAs tripled