Insights to Innovation:
Revolutionizing Deal Closure at Datasite.
This case study outlines how a holistic, human-centered service design approach to improving internal processes led to the innovation of a new product that addressed critical customer needs and opened up new business opportunities.
tl;dr
Uncovered a roughly 600 million dollar market opportunity through ethnographic research
Successfully proposed and championed the Datasite Archive product concept, securing endorsement from Datasite's Global Chief Executive Officer
Built and launched the Archive product within one quarter, initially acquiring 79 new projects with zero marketing effort, signifying the success of [design] methodologies used
Integrated strategic analytics, enabling immediate measurement of product impact and empowering rapid, data-driven iterations, ensuring improvements remain focused on business goals
Key contributions:
Conducted ethnographic studies with customers and internal teams
Facilitated cross-departmental Design Sprint, garnering buy-in and support
Introduced Service Blueprint and Analytics Blueprint frameworks to facilitate a seamless delivery that’s set up for future data-driven decision-making
Executed UX/UI design using an internal design system, ensuring a cohesive product experience
Partnered closely with Product and Engineering team leads
Challenge
Datasite, a platform for Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), offered an archiving service for transaction records/deal documentation that relied on antiquated USB drives, creating a confusing customer experience and generating significant operational inefficiencies. With an average of 347 out of 400 deals marked as “closed” each month, the process was high-risk, costly, and required a 0% error rate. Not only did it signify the end of a deal between the buyer and seller, but it also marked the conclusion of the relationship with Datasite.
Discovering the Opportunity
Through ethnographic studies and face-to-face interviews, it became clear that the archiving process wasn't just an internal issue—it was a significant customer problem too. What began as an effort to improve internal efficiency soon unveiled a broader customer need that had gone unrecognized. The USB drives, while serving as legally defensible copies of documents exchanged during due diligence, offered a mismatched user experience compared to the familiar product experience customers were accustomed to. Customers had silently adapted to this cumbersome process, suggesting that it's “just the way things are done,” masking the true extent of the problem.
The research illuminated that deal documents held value beyond the immediate transaction, especially for frequent M&A customers. This insight revealed a potential $600 million market opportunity that aligned perfectly with Datasite's strategic goals: increasing subscription revenue, extending customer engagement, and accelerating product adoption.
Solution
We proposed a new product: Datasite Archive, a cloud-based solution to replace physical USB drives. This would allow immediate, secure access to deal documentation with a familiar user experience. We were well-positioned to streamline the archive service, extend customer relationships beyond deal closure, and position Datasite as a comprehensive platform for the entire M&A deal lifecycle. We needed to make sure our decision-makers understood how addressing these critical customer needs had a significant business impact.
Collaborating with cross-departmental experts to inform the business impact earned buy-in and support. With the endorsement of the VP of Product, the Archive product proposal went on to gain approval from the company’s global CEO.
Implementation
To orchestrate a smooth implementation, every touchpoint and system used had to be considered. By introducing the Service Blueprint framework, I provided a unifying tool to align and guide all internal teams throughout the process.
Complementing the Service Blueprint, an Analytics Blueprint was developed to allow for embedded, data-driven decision-making into the product's DNA.
Utilizing an internal design system ensured a consistent customer experience while simultaneously streamlining development.
Leveraging what the engineering team had built in collaboration with the Data Science team, a custom dashboard was built to track and report on key metrics from day one.
Impact and Results
The results were remarkable. We launched the Archive product's MVP beta within a single quarter, immediately acquiring 79 projects without marketing. Early data showed the product retained customers for an average of 50 additional days, expanding customer lifetime value and revealing further innovation opportunities. Our success was recognized internally, with the VP of Product praising our team's unprecedented efforts during a company all-hands.
In Conclusion
This effort demonstrated the power of service design thinking in transforming an internal efficiency challenge into a significant business opportunity. By closely examining the service ecosystem and actively listening to internal and customer needs, we developed a solution that improved operational efficiency, extended customer relationships, and opened up new revenue streams for Datasite.