Under Communications Chat
Designing a unified customer messaging platform for business teams
Role
Lead Product Designer
Team
2 designers, 5 engineers, 1 PM
Duration
5 months
Tools
TL;DR
Designed a customer messaging platform that unified conversations, tickets, and customer profiles into a single interface, reducing average response time by 45% and increasing customer satisfaction scores by 32%.
The Business Problem
Business teams were juggling between 4 different tools to manage customer communications: email, chat widget, SMS, and a separate CRM for customer data. Agents were spending 40% of their time context-switching between tools rather than helping customers. Response times averaged 4.2 hours, and customers frequently had to repeat information when transferred between channels.
- 4 disconnected tools for customer communication
- 40% of agent time spent on context-switching between systems
- 4.2 hour average first response time (industry benchmark: 1 hour)
Constraints & Trade-offs
The platform needed to integrate with existing CRM systems without requiring data migration. We had to support real-time messaging at scale while maintaining message delivery reliability. The interface had to work for agents handling 20+ concurrent conversations without cognitive overload.
- Must integrate with existing CRMs (Salesforce, HubSpot) via API
- Real-time messaging with 99.9% delivery reliability requirement
- Support for agents managing 20+ concurrent conversations
- 5-month timeline to launch before key competitor feature release
Process & Approach
I shadowed customer support teams at 4 different companies over 3 weeks to understand their workflows and pain points. I mapped the information architecture of what agents needed at each stage of a conversation and identified that customer context was the #1 missing piece. Iterative prototyping with Maze helped validate the three-panel layout that became the core of the solution.
- 3 weeks embedded with support teams at 4 companies
- Information architecture mapping of agent decision points
- 6 rounds of iterative prototyping tested with 24 support agents
- Competitive analysis of 8 customer messaging platforms
The Solution
A three-panel interface with conversations list, active chat, and customer profile visible simultaneously. Smart routing automatically assigns conversations based on agent availability and expertise. The customer profile panel pulls data from connected CRMs in real-time, eliminating the need to switch tabs. Quick actions and keyboard shortcuts enable power users to handle conversations 3x faster.
- Three-panel layout: conversations, chat, and customer context
- Smart routing based on agent skills and availability
- Real-time CRM integration showing customer history inline
- Keyboard-first design with shortcuts for common actions
Outcomes & Impact
After rolling out to 200+ business teams, average first response time dropped from 4.2 hours to 2.3 hours (45% improvement). Customer satisfaction scores increased 32% as agents could provide more personalized, context-aware support. Agent productivity tripled with the unified interface eliminating tool-switching overhead.
- First response time: 4.2 hours to 2.3 hours (45% faster)
- CSAT scores increased 32% in first quarter post-launch
- Agent productivity increased 3x (conversations handled per hour)
- Tool consolidation saved teams avg $2,400/month in software costs