Case study - B2B and UX

The B2B case study analyzes the Adobe's Creative Cloud website. This is an excellent example of combining B2C and B2B users, which makes it more complicated as each user has a different set of needs that will motivate the decision-making process. Other than combining both B2C and B2B users, the product on offer is not just for individuals or companies, but both B2C and B2B can choose selected software applications within the collection of the Adobe Creative Cloud.

For example, a company is working on an in-house magazine project. They need 1x unlimited Adobe Photoshop licenses, 3x Adobe InDesign licenses for three months only, and 20x Adobe Acrobat licenses valid for six months. The combination of individuals, teams, timeframes and support can become very complicated, but Adobe has created an easy-to-understand layout to deal with the complexity.

They cleverly added four tabs at the top to allow the user to navigate to the section that would apply to their situation and needs:

• B2C : Individuals and Students and Teachers
• B2B : Business and Schools and Universities

For individuals (B2C) the products are listed in column format to give a clear comparison between the options available. The headings for each option are simple with one-word explanations of what needs will be addressed below each heading, for example, under Photography the user will know that the list will contain photography-related items. Within the dropdown underneath the price, the user can choose which package they would like to sign up for. The compact presentation of all the necessary information the user will need to make a decision is in one place. The user is not expected to go looking for any information elsewhere.

 

The plans for business (B2B) are a bit more complex than B2C as other than the option to choose a single product opposed to a combination of products, the B2C packages offer collaboration between team members, integration with third-party applications, management of licenses, and discounts for large volumes. This all depends on the company's available budget, and which applications will be necessary for which team members over different timeframes. It's clear that these types of purchases take time and an audit will have to be done in-house to establish what the exact needs are, and then for these needs to be signed off from the different team managers. To reduce the complexity of the decision making, Adobe skillfully adds a step indicator at the top to show how "easy" it is to purchase and adds contact details to assist with the decision making.

 

Students and Teachers and Schools and Universities fall into a unique B2C and B2C category as they are both related to the education industry and qualify for discounts. This is a manual process that needs to be driven by human interaction.