Msc’s Email Notifications

Introduction

MSC is a prominent e-commerce platform specializing in B2B transactions and serving as one of the largest industrial equipment distributors in the United States. MSC caters to a diverse range of user types, including:

Individual Self-register Users: These are individual users who register themselves on the platform.
Business Users: MSC serves businesses of varying sizes, categorized as follows:
- Small Businesses: Companies with annual revenues ranging from $50,000 to $200,000.
- Medium Businesses: Companies with annual revenues ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million.
- Large Businesses: Companies with annual revenues exceeding $5 million.
Government Users: MSC also provides its services to various government entities

Revised Overview:

To enhance their customer engagement, MSC regularly sends various notifications to users as they navigate through the website.

However, it is worth noting that these notifications currently lack a standardized or structured content format.

Goals:

The primary objective of this project is to establish a consistent and formalized structure for all customer communications throughout their website journeys, with a particular focus on email correspondence. Initially, the project team will concentrate on two specific user flows:

Order-to-Case Flow
Account Flow

Furthermore, the project will identify key junctures in the user journey where text (TXT) messages should be deployed. This strategic use of TXT messages aims to enhance user flexibility and convey a sense of urgency, particularly for time-sensitive communications.

Expected Outcomes:

Identification of critical communication touchpoints within current user journeys.
Implementation of standardized communication structures that can be universally utilized by product and marketing teams for their messaging needs.
Identification of specific moments in the user journey where TXT messages should be deployed to achieve faster response times.

Research Goals:

Examine User Journeys: Thoroughly investigate user journeys and compile a comprehensive record of all communications currently dispatched to users.
Identify Common Elements: Analyze these communications, identifying commonalities and disparities through a comparative approach.
Segmentation for Reusability: Categorize the communications into reusable sections or templates for improved efficiency and consistency.
Identify TXT Communication Opportunities: Determine specific points in the user journey where the integration of TXT messages can enhance user experience or convey critical information effectively.
Best Practices Exploration: Research industry best practices regarding user communications and notifications.
Competitive Analysis: Conduct a competitive analysis within the industry, evaluating both internal and external practices to identify potential areas of improvement.
Recommendations: Based on the research findings, provide actionable recommendations for enhancing and optimizing existing notifications to align with industry best practices and improve user engagement.

Key Questions for Effective Communication

Communication Effectiveness: How can we enhance the effectiveness of our communications, ensuring they are easy to understand and prompt action?
User Engagement: What makes our communication compelling for the user, and why would they be interested in it?
User Intent: What are users seeking at this stage of their journey, and do we address their needs appropriately?
Next Steps: Do users clearly see the next steps they should take, and how critical is their action to facilitate the progression of their journey?
User Action: Is user action imperative in this communication, and if so, how can we encourage and enable them to take the necessary steps?
User Accessibility: Can users easily take the required action, or are there any barriers we need to remove?
Communication Gaps: Are there any missing communications in our strategy that we should address?
Usability and Actionability: How can we improve the usability and actionability of our communications, making them easy to scan and act upon?
Header Strategy: What should be our approach to crafting effective headers for our communications?
Call-to-Action (CTA) Strategy: How can we optimize our CTAs to drive user engagement and action?
Future Utilization: How can we leverage these communications to shape the future of our product or service?
Performance Metrics: What metrics should we track, including delivery rates, open rates, and click-through rates, to assess the effectiveness of our communications?
Tools and Methods: What tools and methodologies should we employ to execute our communication strategy effectively?
Current State Analysis: What is the current state of our communication efforts, and how can we refine them?
Industry Benchmarking: What industry best practices should we consider when refining our communication strategy?
Competitive Analysis: How can we learn from our competitors and incorporate successful communication strategies into our own approach?

Email notifications for Split Shipments / Packing Slips

At MSC, we want to ensure that you are well-informed and have a smooth experience with your orders, especially when they involve split shipments and packing slips. Here's what you need to know:

Split Shipments Overview: Your orders with MSC may sometimes be divided into multiple shipments for various reasons, including:

From MSC FC (Fulfillment Center): Initially, your order may start at our MSC Fulfillment Center but could change to a drop-ship arrangement as needed.
Drop Ship: Some items may be sent directly from the manufacturer to expedite delivery.
Back Ordered: If an item is temporarily out of stock, it will be included in a later shipment once it becomes available.

We are also excited to share that we have an upcoming initiative that will provide you access to vendor delivery information. This program is designed to enhance your MSC user experience by offering real-time insights into vendor delivery details.

Packing Slip Notifications: For your convenience, you will receive email notifications for each packing slip associated with your order. This is particularly helpful when dealing with split shipments. Here's what you can expect:

Split Shipments: If your order is divided into multiple shipments, you will receive separate notifications for each of them.
Reasons for Split Shipments: Split shipments can occur for various reasons, including:
- Direct Ship: Certain items may be shipped directly from the source for efficiency.
- Out of Stock: This is similar to being backordered; it means the item is temporarily unavailable but will be shipped as soon as it's back in stock.
- Fulfillment Center (FC): Your order may initially be processed at our MSC Fulfillment Center, and if necessary, it may be changed to a direct ship method for quicker delivery.

Aim and Goals: Our aim is to identify industry standards for notifying users about split shipments and ensure that you have a seamless experience. Our goals include:

Notifying you about your shipments and providing tracking information.
Offering all necessary information in the notification to make tracking your products and shipments easier.

Research Questions: To achieve these goals, we are exploring the following research questions:

How does split shipments impact your user experience?
What are your thoughts when an order is split?
What information is most crucial for you to know in the case of split shipments?
Did you expect your order to be split when you placed it, or is this new information for you?
Are there any actions you need to take as a result of the split shipment?

Possible Tools & Methods: We will conduct desk research and perform competitive analysis to gather insights and best practices in order to enhance your experience further.

Our extensive research, comprising large-scale qualitative usability testing and quantitative studies of Accounts & Self-Service features on e-commerce sites, has revealed that users visit "Orders Overview" pages with a diverse range of intentions and mindsets. While tracking an ongoing open order is a prevalent reason (constituting 62% of users' intent), it's important to note that there are several other key motivations, including:

Initiating an Order Return (31%): A significant portion of users accesses the "Orders Overview" page to begin the process of returning an item they previously purchased.
Reviewing Order History (31%): Many users use this page to look back at their order history, perhaps to check past purchases, view details, or confirm deliveries.
Editing an Ongoing Order (18%): A notable portion of users wants to make changes or adjustments to an order that is currently in progress.
Downloading an Invoice/Receipt (14%): Users often visit this page to access and download invoices or receipts for their previous purchases, which may be required for record-keeping or reimbursement purposes.
Canceling an Order (18%): Some users come to the "Orders Overview" page with the intention of canceling an order they've placed, possibly due to changing circumstances or preferences.

Enhancing the User Experience with Seamless Order Tracking

To ensure a smoother and more user-friendly order-tracking experience, it is essential for e-commerce websites to offer comprehensive tracking details directly on their own order-tracking pages. This approach has been validated through testing and has been found to significantly mitigate the usability issues identified earlier. Here's why providing full order tracking within the e-commerce site is beneficial:

1. Streamlined Order-Tracking Experience: By furnishing all necessary tracking information, including delivery dates, courier names, and shipment subevents, on the website's own order-tracking page, users enjoy a unified and seamless order-tracking experience. This eliminates the need for users to navigate to third-party sites, resulting in a more efficient and user-friendly process.

2. Elimination of "Unavailable States": Providing comprehensive order-tracking information within the e-commerce site reduces instances where users encounter "unavailable states" or dead ends in their tracking journey. This means users won't face confusion or uncertainty about where to find specific order or shipment details.

3. Centralized Information Hub: Combining all order-related information on a single order page is highly advantageous. Users can access not only tracking details but also other essential information such as shipping specifics, ordered products, payment summaries, and even access to customer support. This consolidation simplifies the user experience and ensures that everything a user needs is readily accessible in one place.

Recommendations for Enhanced Order Tracking:

Avoid Navigating Users Away: To improve the order-tracking experience, refrain from redirecting users to external tracking websites or vendor sites. Keep users within your e-commerce platform to maintain a seamless and consistent experience.
Integrate External Information: Pull tracking information from external sources, such as shipping carriers or vendors, and seamlessly integrate it into your website. This integration ensures that users can access all the information they need without leaving your platform.
Comprehensive and Clear Tracking Details: Provide users with a clear and well-organized display of tracking information. Ensure that the information is presented chronologically, making it easy for users to follow the progress of their orders. Include essential details such as delivery dates, courier names, shipment sub-events, and any relevant order updates.
Visual Enhancements: Incorporate visuals, such as progress bars, maps, or interactive tracking elements, to enhance the visual appeal of the tracking page. Visual representations can make it easier for users to grasp the status of their orders at a glance and improve overall comprehension.

Comparing with our Competitors

Competitive Research

Design Exercise

I began this design exercise by categorizing the content in existing emails and adding suggestions for improvement. Now, let's take a look at a few post-transaction email notifications:

Here are the few Account Management email notifications:

Final Visual Design

Msc’s Email Notifications

Introduction

MSC is a prominent e-commerce platform specializing in B2B transactions and serving as one of the largest industrial equipment distributors in the United States. MSC caters to a diverse range of user types, including:

Individual Self-register Users: These are individual users who register themselves on the platform.

Business Users: MSC serves businesses of varying sizes, categorized as follows:

Small Businesses: Companies with annual revenues ranging from $50,000 to $200,000.

Medium Businesses: Companies with annual revenues ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million.

Large Businesses: Companies with annual revenues exceeding $5 million.

Government Users: MSC also provides its services to various government entities

Revised Overview:

To enhance their customer engagement, MSC regularly sends various notifications to users as they navigate through the website.

However, it is worth noting that these notifications currently lack a standardized or structured content format.

Goals:

The primary objective of this project is to establish a consistent and formalized structure for all customer communications throughout their website journeys, with a particular focus on email correspondence. Initially, the project team will concentrate on two specific user flows:

Order-to-Case Flow

Account Flow

Furthermore, the project will identify key junctures in the user journey where text (TXT) messages should be deployed. This strategic use of TXT messages aims to enhance user flexibility and convey a sense of urgency, particularly for time-sensitive communications.

Expected Outcomes:

Identification of critical communication touchpoints within current user journeys.

Implementation of standardized communication structures that can be universally utilized by product and marketing teams for their messaging needs.

Identification of specific moments in the user journey where TXT messages should be deployed to achieve faster response times.

Research Goals:

Examine User Journeys: Thoroughly investigate user journeys and compile a comprehensive record of all communications currently dispatched to users.

Identify Common Elements: Analyze these communications, identifying commonalities and disparities through a comparative approach.

Segmentation for Reusability: Categorize the communications into reusable sections or templates for improved efficiency and consistency.

Identify TXT Communication Opportunities: Determine specific points in the user journey where the integration of TXT messages can enhance user experience or convey critical information effectively.

Best Practices Exploration: Research industry best practices regarding user communications and notifications.

Competitive Analysis: Conduct a competitive analysis within the industry, evaluating both internal and external practices to identify potential areas of improvement.

Recommendations: Based on the research findings, provide actionable recommendations for enhancing and optimizing existing notifications to align with industry best practices and improve user engagement.

Key Questions for Effective Communication

Communication Effectiveness: How can we enhance the effectiveness of our communications, ensuring they are easy to understand and prompt action?

User Engagement: What makes our communication compelling for the user, and why would they be interested in it?

User Intent: What are users seeking at this stage of their journey, and do we address their needs appropriately?

Next Steps: Do users clearly see the next steps they should take, and how critical is their action to facilitate the progression of their journey?

User Action: Is user action imperative in this communication, and if so, how can we encourage and enable them to take the necessary steps?

User Accessibility: Can users easily take the required action, or are there any barriers we need to remove?

Communication Gaps: Are there any missing communications in our strategy that we should address?

Usability and Actionability: How can we improve the usability and actionability of our communications, making them easy to scan and act upon?

Header Strategy: What should be our approach to crafting effective headers for our communications?

Call-to-Action (CTA) Strategy: How can we optimize our CTAs to drive user engagement and action?

Future Utilization: How can we leverage these communications to shape the future of our product or service?

Performance Metrics: What metrics should we track, including delivery rates, open rates, and click-through rates, to assess the effectiveness of our communications?

Tools and Methods: What tools and methodologies should we employ to execute our communication strategy effectively?

Current State Analysis: What is the current state of our communication efforts, and how can we refine them?

Industry Benchmarking: What industry best practices should we consider when refining our communication strategy?

Competitive Analysis: How can we learn from our competitors and incorporate successful communication strategies into our own approach?

Email notifications for Split Shipments / Packing Slips

At MSC, we want to ensure that you are well-informed and have a smooth experience with your orders, especially when they involve split shipments and packing slips. Here's what you need to know:

Split Shipments Overview: Your orders with MSC may sometimes be divided into multiple shipments for various reasons, including:

From MSC FC (Fulfillment Center): Initially, your order may start at our MSC Fulfillment Center but could change to a drop-ship arrangement as needed.

Drop Ship: Some items may be sent directly from the manufacturer to expedite delivery.

Back Ordered: If an item is temporarily out of stock, it will be included in a later shipment once it becomes available.

We are also excited to share that we have an upcoming initiative that will provide you access to vendor delivery information. This program is designed to enhance your MSC user experience by offering real-time insights into vendor delivery details.

Packing Slip Notifications: For your convenience, you will receive email notifications for each packing slip associated with your order. This is particularly helpful when dealing with split shipments. Here's what you can expect:

Split Shipments: If your order is divided into multiple shipments, you will receive separate notifications for each of them.

Reasons for Split Shipments: Split shipments can occur for various reasons, including:

Direct Ship: Certain items may be shipped directly from the source for efficiency.

Out of Stock: This is similar to being backordered; it means the item is temporarily unavailable but will be shipped as soon as it's back in stock.

Fulfillment Center (FC): Your order may initially be processed at our MSC Fulfillment Center, and if necessary, it may be changed to a direct ship method for quicker delivery.

Aim and Goals: Our aim is to identify industry standards for notifying users about split shipments and ensure that you have a seamless experience. Our goals include:

Notifying you about your shipments and providing tracking information.

Offering all necessary information in the notification to make tracking your products and shipments easier.

Research Questions: To achieve these goals, we are exploring the following research questions:

How does split shipments impact your user experience?

What are your thoughts when an order is split?

What information is most crucial for you to know in the case of split shipments?

Did you expect your order to be split when you placed it, or is this new information for you?

Are there any actions you need to take as a result of the split shipment?

Possible Tools & Methods: We will conduct desk research and perform competitive analysis to gather insights and best practices in order to enhance your experience further.

Initiating an Order Return (31%): A significant portion of users accesses the "Orders Overview" page to begin the process of returning an item they previously purchased.

Reviewing Order History (31%): Many users use this page to look back at their order history, perhaps to check past purchases, view details, or confirm deliveries.

Editing an Ongoing Order (18%): A notable portion of users wants to make changes or adjustments to an order that is currently in progress.

Downloading an Invoice/Receipt (14%): Users often visit this page to access and download invoices or receipts for their previous purchases, which may be required for record-keeping or reimbursement purposes.

Canceling an Order (18%): Some users come to the "Orders Overview" page with the intention of canceling an order they've placed, possibly due to changing circumstances or preferences.

Enhancing the User Experience with Seamless Order Tracking

Recommendations for Enhanced Order Tracking:

Avoid Navigating Users Away: To improve the order-tracking experience, refrain from redirecting users to external tracking websites or vendor sites. Keep users within your e-commerce platform to maintain a seamless and consistent experience.

Integrate External Information: Pull tracking information from external sources, such as shipping carriers or vendors, and seamlessly integrate it into your website. This integration ensures that users can access all the information they need without leaving your platform.

Visual Enhancements: Incorporate visuals, such as progress bars, maps, or interactive tracking elements, to enhance the visual appeal of the tracking page. Visual representations can make it easier for users to grasp the status of their orders at a glance and improve overall comprehension.

Comparing with our Competitors