Google For Small Business | web, experiential | Creative Lead
WHAT
Spanning 10+ different legal, policy, product teams, Google for Small Business is a corporate branding initiative targeted at small business owners. To inaugurate the brand, we were tasked with bringing to life Google for Small Business in a web destination – the first externally-facing, expression of the brand – designed to showcase the breadth of business-related products, programs, and tools Google offers to small business owners.
Early stage Google For Small Business homepage “welcome” animatic
AUDIENCE & INSIGHTS
Small business owners (SBOs) – the backbone of American enterprise accounting for over 60%+ net new private sector jobs; through sheer force of will, they’ve built something of their own – a product, a service, a community – making their business an extension of who they are
Running a business is the least fun part about business – it’s things like sharing a passion or serving the local community that got SBOs into business– not marketing, not spreadsheets, not balancing the budgets
Google – an unnatural business partner – their familiarity with Google stems from consumer products (Search, Maps, Gmail), rather than business offerings (Ads, GSuite, Analytics)
Time is their least available, most valuable asset – having to wear multiple hats means they have little bandwidth to solve certain business tasks (ie., marketing, team productivity, etc)
Initial Discovery & User Research: Five distinct user phases were identified
CHALLENGE
When it comes to Google’s business offerings, at worst they’re unaware, at best they’re overwhelmed and unsure where to start with them
OPPORTUNITY
Demonstrate that Google is for small business – building mutually beneficial relationships with the future unicorns, fortune 500s, and moonshot enterprises of tomorrow
Five User Phases: Each represented a distinct set of user needs that Google’s set of SMB products could solve for
STRATEGIC IDEA
We Get You —> We Got YOU
Extend the accuracy, reliability and understanding that small business owners expect from Google when it comes to their consumer needs, to their business needs. Create a centralized destination showcasing the breadth of Google’s business offerings while at the same time recommending only the ones that will matter to them
Content Architecture: Structured our content into three product pillars – create, reach, thrive
Navigation/UX Exercise: Explored left-justified wayfinder, persistent nav, hover states, etc
SKILLSETS
Product Management – led product’s end-to-end strategy, design exploration, product development, internal alignment, stakeholder roadshowing, and legal/privacy/security processes
Creative Lead & Strategist – primary visioneer of overall experience, spearheaded design framework, structural architecture and go-to-market plan/campaign for launch
Project Lead – managed agency relationship, internal working group, and multiple directors/approvers
MILESTONES
A cohesive, multi-product narrative – a first for our marketing org to provide a truly consistent, multi-product, coordinated narrative around all of Google’s business-related offering
Integration of multiple product recommendation engines – Google for Small Business managed to corral and consolidate three separate internal systems to provide a proper, externally-facing, multi-product recommendation engine
Global scaling & Product Integration – initially an Americas region pilot, Google for Small Business is slated to expand to all English-speaking markets across APAC, EMEA, and LATAM