Partner finder - Hadass Sternberg

Hubject Charging — 2023
B2B partner finder and profile page

Partners who used the new B2B Partner finder showed a 35% higher charging transaction rate than those who didn't. B2B clients can now find B2B sellers and view all their business data in the Hubject Hubject's product offers the largest EV-charging network, helping B2B players: CPOs (charging point operators) and EMPs (electric mobility providers) build lasting connections for a smooth charging experience for EV drivers. portal.

My role: Product designer (my first project at Hubject, joined as an intern), end-to-end UX and UI with a second designer
Project duration: 3 Months
Team: 2 Product designers, 1 Product owner, 2 FE developers, 2 BE developers
Credits: Hubject GmbH

All copy and content on this project are fictional and used solely for display purposes

TL;DR

🚩 Problem

EMPs left the platform to research charging partners on Google and LinkedIn before subscribing to contracts.

🔎 My role

Interviews with 6 EMPs, design sprint, prototyping and concept tests with 5 users, MVP UI.

⚖️ Key decision

Reframe the portal from a contract list into a partner connector: search, profile, then contact.

📈 Outcome

Partners using the finder showed a 35% higher charging transaction rate than those who didn't.

Display of the new B2B seller finder

KPIs after the B2B partner finder feature launch show strong user engagement and increased partner contact initiation.

🚙 The eRoaming product

With the Hubject charging portal, B2B clients can technically connect to B2B sellers' charging station networks by subscribing to their contracts on the Hubject charging platform.
B2B clients can connect by accessing the list of available contracts on the platform, and subscribing to relevant offers.

🔌 Charging network marketplace

The "Available Contracts" section is the key marketplace feature, allowing users to explore, subscribe to, and track public and direct contracts from B2B sellers.

The "Available contracts" page on Hubject portal

B2B Client's key problem using the product

🎯 Business goal

The business goal: increase the number of charging transactions conducted through the platform.
In order to kick-off the topic, we began with a collaborative session using the UX Research Canvas to define objectives and the problem.

🚩 The problem and hypothesis

We defined the following problem statement:
What challenges prevent B2B clients from expanding their charging network with the B2B Sellers, and how can our product help?

Our hypothesis was that increasing the number of contracts partners made to expand their charging network, will eventually increase the number of charging transactions.

Project kick-off using the UX research canvas

🔎 Research and findings

We interviewed 6 different EMP partners. Our research revealed key challenges in B2B client users' discovery and decision-making.

Interviewed EMPs emphasized the need to find important B2B sellers data that contributes to their strategic goals within the platform. This insight was crucial, as efficient partner discovery directly impacts network expansion and business growth.

💡 Key insight

When expanding their network, EMP partners seek tools that help them research B2B sellers and assess network quality.

We found that users use external tools such as Google search, LinkedIn and other eRoaming platforms to discover more about CPOs they discover on our product.

Key user quotes from the user interviews

User interviews data clarifying user's needs and pain points

⚖️ Key decision: from contract list to partner connector

We held a 2-day design workshop to iterate on solutions, eventually forming a strong concept - in-platform search for B2B sellers with profile pages, leading to a contact CTA
This helped us clarify our product's holistic role is to be a connector between partners forming charging relationships.

I prototyped the screens and we tested them with 5 users, validating our assumption that users need connection with partners and not only subscribe to contracts.

The day 1 of design sprint ended with defining through dot-voting the decision to implement a search engine with a detailed partner view

Preparing for a concept test to assess the user flow from filtering B2B sellers to viewing detailed profiles and initiating contact

🏗️ Collaboration with developers

When discussing feasibility with development, I shared the research summary, concept, user insights and wireframe designs.
To ensure timely delivery, we reduced the solution to a MVP version with essential functionalities that could be implemented within a quarter, aligning with other priorities.

🚀 The solution

The new partner finder and profile page accelerate B2B client's network expansion task by bringing research tools directly into the platform.

The flow starts with a list of all B2B sellers. Clicking on a partner item leads to a detailed profile with network data, contracts, and contact info.

The new MVP B2B partner finder and profile page solution

1️⃣ First level: Search by B2B sellers

The first key solution is a new data table that simplifies B2B sellers comparison by key metrics like charging points, country coverage, and network quality.

Key improvements:
• Filter by criteria: narrow down the partners list to relevant partners only.
• Partner name autofill: search for B2B seller's names, with the system suggesting matching results based on their input.
• Prioritized data columns: popular data like subscription status, charging points, and country coverage.

These updates improve partner discovery and align with user priorities.

Flow of a B2B client user filtering through the list of B2B sellers based on their strategic needs to identify the most suitable new partners

The multi-selection filter was chosen for country coverage, enabling users to find B2B sellers that meet their specific country combination needs

The min-max filter was chosen for the number of charging points to accommodate the quantitative nature of the criteria, allowing users to filter based on their specific network size requirements.

2️⃣ Second level: Partner profile page

The B2B seller profile page offers detailed, organized information to support decision-making:

Key improvements:
• Partner logo: clear company identification
• Charging network breakdown: Highlight network information for better insights.
• Access contracts: Easy access to ongoing, available, and past contracts.
• Quality Scores: Display of quality ratings for informed decision-making.

These improvements ensure a more efficient evaluation and research process with B2B sellers.

The new B2B sellers detailed view presents all relevant and publicly available data, offering a comprehensive overview of each partner's business.

Spot on the B2B seller profile features

3️⃣ Third level: Initiate contact

To simplify communication, we improved the process of initiating contact with CPO partners:

Key improvements:
• Contact Card: positioned at the top for easy access to key contact information.
• Find new contracts: Easy access to new contracts from the B2B seller.
• Department & Channel: Contact persons listed by department to ease on findability.
• Clear send-email CTA: Prominent call-to-action for quick email sending.

These updates make it faster and easier for EMPs to streamline communication for initiating a charging contract, and faster solving errors by enabling reach to the right contact department.

The B2B seller's available contracts list enables quick discovery of relevant contracts

The main CTA is "Send email" which directs users to easily initiate communication with the B2B seller

🎨 UI Improvements

In terms of UI improvements, we focused on enhancing usability and visual clarity:

Key improvements:
• Status prioritization: Leading with statuses in the CPO partner list for quick context on availability.
• Contact card component: a redesigned contact card based on the existing Card component.
• Logo Integration: Enabling companies to upload their business logos for improved branding and recognition.

These changes focus on enhancing user experience, providing clarity, and streamlining navigation.

To align with the design system and speed up front-end development, I created a new contact card using the existing dialog component

📈 The outcome

After launch, partners who used the finder showed a 35% higher charging transaction rate than partners who didn't, and 51 users interacted with the feature in its first 15 days. 13 partners subscribed to the platform within the first 6 months of launch.

With the new solution, B2B client users can make faster and more informed business decisions, leading to more efficient network expansion. By providing a research tool within the product, users engaged more with the portal, enhancing their overall experience and reducing the need to switch between multiple tools.

🌱 Key learning

As a product designer, I learned to balance user needs with technical constraints by collaborating closely with developers. We explored and validated user insights to prioritize key features, ultimately delivering a practical solution with a simplified scope that could be implemented within a short time frame.

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