Brief
Salesforce Maps Mobile app uses location intelligence to help customers be more productive and efficient while on the go. To utilize what the app has to offer, customers would have to enable their location and motion sensing technologies. However, with the rise of privacy laws and concerns, people often glance over the permissions. My goal was to change people’s minds and simplify the experience so that the permissions are handled just once.
THE TEAM AND MY ROLE
1 product manager
3 developers
1 UI writer
1 product designer (me)
Championed GDPR and app store compliance research, ensuring smooth product launch. Crafted a persuasive onboarding flow, educating customers on permission benefits while securing their trust. Collaborated with the writer to deliver clear, concise copy aligning with Salesforce's brand voice. Solved the key challenge of building trust for permission requests, driving successful adoption.
METHODOLOGIES
SWOT analysis > Heuristics > Comparative & Competitive Analysis > Jobs to be Done Framework > User Flows > Sketching > Live Prototyping > User Testing.
What does Salesforce Maps Mobile App do?
Salesforce Maps Mobile app is a powerful tool designed to help field teams, salespeople, and service representatives be more productive and efficient while on the go. It is powered by location-intelligence to get a map-centric view of Salesforce data.
It helps customers visualize their leads, accounts, opportunities, contacts, and other important data points on an interactive map. This allows them to see the spatial relationships between their data and make informed decisions.
The problem
Stricter privacy laws like GDPR raise user concerns about data usage, often leading to permission hesitancy (e.g., location). However, these permissions are crucial for our app to deliver accurate routes. We were committed to finding the best way to educate users on the value of location data and secure their trust for a mutually beneficial experience.
Deal Closer
"When I setup new tools, I want to deal with setup once so I can spend most of my time using the app to reach my business goals"
Traveling Technician
“When I’m traveling, I want to document my stops for my boss. I don’t want to be tracked outside of work hours”
The research and process
1. Requirements-gathering + understanding the problem space
Customer feedback helped me understand their concerns and frustrations with the current permission settings, letting me know what I had to fix.
Initially, I envisioned a simple "location" permission toggle. However, collaborating with my mobile developers revealed the nuances of different platform policies. Not only does location access vary between iOS and Android, but motion sensors also play a crucial role in optimizing routes. This realization broadened my understanding of the permission landscape and its impact on accurate routing.
Analysis
To understand best practices, I analyzed both direct competitors with similar permission needs and broader non-location apps. This multifaceted approach unearthed valuable insights. Competitors offered valuable lessons in language and techniques to encourage permission activation. Beyond location, successful non-location apps utilized engaging, concise onboarding screens to educate and persuade users about the benefits of data sharing.
Leveraging the Jobs To Be Done framework, I refined our approach to align seamlessly with customer goals and our core objective: permission activation. This ensured our messaging resonated with user needs while driving them towards enabling the features that empowered them.
2. Deep diving into Android — most to account for
Compared to iOS, the different Android versions all had different policies and mechanics to control the location permissions. We needed to be explicit in 3 areas:
Current Location
Background Location
Physical Activity
Each version of Android had a different set of dialogs that needed to be enabled for our app to accurately track and produce optimized routes.
Journey Map
Ensuring a seamless permission journey across platforms was key. To achieve this, I crafted a comprehensive journey map tracing every step of the permission flow, including dialogs and screens for each platform and version. This meticulous approach identified any potential "cracks" where users might get lost. For these scenarios, I devised a robust safety net, guiding users back on track or prompting them to directly enable permissions.
3. Working with Writing and Legal partners
Beyond delving into app store permissions and policies, I served as a content bridge, feeding valuable insights to our writer and legal team. This ensured the resulting content seamlessly flowed with our brand's voice & tone while adhering to strict legal compliance.
Crafting content
Leveraging my analysis and journey maps, I designed onboarding screens to seamlessly guide users through the permission process. Iterative testing with developers ensured compatibility with specific platform mechanics, like timely system dialogs on Android 9. Following these initial rounds, the UI writer and legal team polished the content for clarity and compliance.
Outcome
We achieved our goal of empowering customers to enable location! By clearly explaining how this data fuels accurate route suggestions, users understood the app's full potential hinged on this permission. Engaging and concise onboarding screens captured their attention, encouraging them to consider the benefits.
User impact
This resulted in 32,000 users maximizing their paid subscriptions at the peak! Our permission system unlocked the key feature of live tracking, often overlooked users. This win-win translated to significant value for both users and the business.