SPS Commerce
Designing a friendly, self-service process for cancellation
About the project
The company
SPS Commerce is a Minneapolis-based technology company that makes supply chain software.
The assignment
SPS customers experience frequent changes to their business models and business partners. As a result, they regularly need to adjust their service level with SPS, often removing a connection or integration that is no longer needed. By providing a friendly, self-service process, we provided a better experience for customers while also saving the company money by reducing support resources.
My role
UX Writer
Timeline
Dec
2022
Approach and learnings
This was a fairly straight-forward request. I started with some discovery, mapping, the user flow, and then mocked up the steps. I wrote in a friendly and clear tone, speaking directly to the user. I used wireframes to show how the copy should be displayed. Using wireframes allowed me to move quickly, and I shared early drafts with stakeholders. Share early and often! This uncovered insights that were valuable during early iterations.
Clearly indicate there are multiple steps
The "why" matters
Once in the process, the customer sees two buttons: One to advance through the process and one to go back. The “next step” button is intentionally emphasized to encourage the customer to continue through the process.
Make it easy by auto filling information
Since a customer accesses the cancellation wizard from the product dashboard, they are already authenticated. Therefore we have their information and can automatically pull it from our database.
For this screen, we change from radio button to check boxes because the customer may want to select more than one option.
Verify information
Although I wanted to automate as much of the process as possible, our billing department required an extra verification step. We automatically pull this information from our records, and we make that clear so the customer is not alarmed.
We remind the customer of their step in the process and encourage them to complete the process.
Confirmation
The last step in the process is a confirmation screen that explains what happens next: The customer will receive an email confirmation.
What would I do differently?
It’s been a few years since I worked on this project. Looking back, here are a few things I would do differently.
Change the order
I would move the “why are you canceling” question to the end. When this question is presented first, the customer may feel uneasy and unsure if they are able to cancel.
Review before submit
It would be useful for the customer to review their request before they finish the process.
Even more clarity on what happens next
It would create a better experience if we answered common questions that the customer may have. For ex: Is the cancellation immediate, or will the service be canceled at the end of the current billing cycle?