Overview
While representing our smallest customer segment with under 1,000 licenses, Tier 4 customers required disproportionate support from our Tech Touch Sales Team. This team, supporting both Sales and Customer Success functions, struggled to manage the volume of licensing requests and inquiries.
Project Objectives We set out to create a self-service licensing system with two core goals:
Customer Empowerment Develop an intuitive interface enabling customers to:
Monitor total license usage
Purchase additional licenses
Expand existing license counts
Process agreement renewals
Operational Efficiency Transform internal processes by:
Shifting license management to customers
Enabling self-service product trials
Automating renewal workflows
Reducing manual Tech Touch team involvement
Process
Discovery Phase
Partnering with Product Management and UX, we conducted extensive research and whiteboarding sessions to identify core challenges. Our analysis revealed three key focus areas:
License Visibility
Tier 4 customers needed immediate access to their license usage across the entire GoGuardian product suite.
Self-Service Capabilities
Enable customers to independently trial, purchase, and renew licenses without requiring GoGuardian staff support.
Operational Efficiency
Reduce Tech Touch Team involvement in routine licensing tasks, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives.
Research Findings
Through targeted interviews with IT Administrators and our Tech Touch team, we identified three critical pain points impacting both customers and internal operations:
Research Findings
Through targeted interviews with IT Administrators and our Tech Touch team, we identified three critical pain points impacting both customers and internal operations:
License Management Friction
Customers struggled to access and manage basic license information efficiently.
Limited Self-Service Options
The lack of autonomous trial, purchase, and renewal capabilities created unnecessary dependencies on GoGuardian staff.
Diagnostic Test
Early Wireframes
Discovery testing revealed a critical insight: customers struggled to identify appropriate GoGuardian products due to a disconnect between purchasers and end-users. With most users accessing the licensing page only 1-4 times annually, we couldn't expect deep product knowledge.
Solution Development Working with Product Management and UX, we conceived a diagnostic approach to product selection. The proposed workflow would:
Guide users through a needs assessment questionnaire
Generate tailored product recommendations based on responses
This self-service solution aimed to reduce Tech Touch Team dependencies while improving purchase confidence. While usability testing validated the concept's effectiveness, resource constraints and business priorities necessitated deferring implementation to a future release.
Beta Release
We launched a controlled beta with seven select customers, creating a focused environment for gathering feedback and implementing iterative improvements.
Version 2: Rapid Iteration Phase
Post-beta feedback from six customer onboarding sessions revealed that our initial release wasn't meeting core user needs or operational goals. When our UX Designer departed, I was brought back to lead the design iteration.
Strategic Pivot
Working closely with our cross-functional team—PM, PMO Delivery Manager, engineering, and QA—we identified critical overengineering in the landing page that obscured essential functionality.
We stripped the experience back to its core elements: license visibility, purchasing, and renewal.
Quick-Turn Success
Within one week, we developed and validated a streamlined design with seven customers.
The simplified approach proved successful, and the deployed solution now automatically processes all SMB licensing requests.
Outcome
The streamlined solution delivered dual benefits: Tier 4 customers gained complete license management autonomy, including product trial capabilities, while the Tech Touch Team reclaimed 10 hours weekly from routine licensing tasks.