An Easier Start

Getting started with your new audio interface can be daunting or frustrating. I set out to make it enjoyable instead.

My Role

Focusrite launched the Easy Start journey for Scarlett 3^rd Gen in 2019. Since then, Easy Start has helped 2.2M Scarlett customers get started . Customers were making music quicker, sending fewer support requests, and registering more readily. But that’s not to say that improvements can’t be made….

I came into the project at the beginning of 2023 with the goal to build out the journey for the new Scarlett 4^th Gen Audio interfaces. Our customer goal was to deliver the most streamlined but useful service possible. Our business goals were to increase NPS rates and Device registrations and reduce support requests.

Two Needs

From reviewing customer feedback, support requests, and observing anonymous HotJar recordings, I identified two key customer types: The Willing Beginner and The Busy Veteran.

These two customer types represented the extremes of people that interact with Easy Start. They both must interact with it to register their device, access essential and bonus software, and install drivers.

The Willing Beginner is less familiar with music technology and software. Not only do they require more detailed guidance, but they are also actively seeking more information on how to achieve their goals.

The Busy Veteran knows what it means to set up and use an audio interface. They require the bare minimum of support and are looking for the essentials to get their device set up.

Taking Stock

I led a review of the current Scarlett 3^rd Gen journey in which we learned a fundamental truth: After initial setup with essential software, things get a little labyrinthian. Through altruistic and logical intent, Focusrite had created multiple potential journeys for our users which, if you zoomed out, look like the many dividing branches of a tree.

There were issues with this. Users were required to answer a series of questions to navigate themselves to the relevant tutorial content or download included software. Secondly, all the potential routes were becoming increasingly demanding to manage internally. The team was on the brink of tying not only themselves in knots, but our users too. In fact, we were already seeing some users get stuck in a perpetual loop on the journey and not actually reaching an end point in their journey.

To resolve this. I proposed an approach of guided freedom. We would need to create a journey that supported users as much as they needed but allowed them to direct where they wanted to go.

A Path to a Heart

Of course, to encourage users to interact with our journey we had to start it in the right way. My goal here was to develop a clear and understandable page. I focused on easy to interpret, succinct copy for headers, body, and CTAs to ensure users knew what was happening at each step.

Once users completed the essential steps for their device set up and we could move into our guided freedom mindset. They had arrived at The Easy Start Hub.

Easy Start Hub

The idea with the hub was fairly simple. I wanted to offer guidance in a self-service manner. Discussions with our customers showed that they all had unique paths they wanted to take. To this end we created a landing page from which any user could choose their next steps.

Those looking to download software could enter the Software Hub and find relevant links to access software. While log in and device registration is not required to access the hub, it is required for those users that wish to access their included software.

Willing Beginners may wish to learn more about their device and how to go about creating their first recordings. But, if we were choosing to remove questions and steps, how could we still deliver relevant content in a structured way? Of course, there was plenty of iteration in design here.

Ultimately, the answer was to take inspiration from elsewhere, primarily LinkedIn Learning. This approach allowed videos to be easily grouped contextually. Giving users autonomy over their playlist without having to jump through hoops. As an added bonus, it made managing the content a lot easier on the backend!

More than an Audio Interface

I ensured our visual and design and branding worked as closely as possible with our other sites, but also focused on conveying the joy of making music. That’s where the idea for our Easy Start illustrations came from. We wanted to show the products in use, but to do it in a fun and engaging way. A way that represents the diversity of our users and the playfulness of creation. The credit for the artwork (and for the overall branding and visual design) goes to a wonderful colleague, Emma Davies.

Impact and The Future

Early indications show that the new Easy Start journey has increased registration rates by ~10%! This is great news and the team and I will continue monitoring the journey to find ways to improve it even further.

My vision for Easy Start is that the Hub becomes the standard for all products made by Focusrite Group that use the Easy Start flow.