top of page

Design Strategy for increasing sales of an MLM Distributor Portal

i

This case study provides a high-level overview of the project, approach, and key outcomes achieved. Due to a strict Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), specific details and proprietary information cannot be shared here. However, the project can be discussed in greater detail with specific insights during a one-on-one conversation. Please reach out for further discussions.

Domain

Multilevel Marketing (MLM)

Duration

4.5 months

Overview

​The platform is a purpose-built MLM and party plan back-office software designed specifically for distributors in the direct selling business.It provides tools to seamlessly sell, shop, and enrol customers and members, while offering outward-facing replicated websites and real-time tracking via dashboards.

 

The portal has two main areas:​​

  • Shop – A seamless shopping experience for distributors and customers, designed on the BigCommerce framework to enable easy integration.

  • Distributor Back-Office – A management system for tracking sales, enrolments, and performance analytics. This area features a distinct UI, designed independently from the Shop Space.

Role

Lead Designer, responsible for the overall design process while taking on additional responsibilities to ensure project success.

 

  • Project Management - Framed the brief, defined scope, and planned project timelines. Ensured on-time delivery and reviewed design outcomes and documentation.

  • Leadership Engagement - Presented design progress to executives, securing buy-in through demos and aligning expectations with stakeholders.

  • Design Direction & Vision - Defined the vision to enhance the platform interface, aligning with business goals while maintaining an uncompromised user experience. 

  • Design Execution & Validation - Led design specs, created prototypes, and validated designs with stakeholders and development teams, refining the product based on feedback. The updated interface emphasised the platform's capabilities, addressing user and business challenges.

  • Collaboration - Worked closely with a team of four designers and front-end developers to ensure technical feasibility and seamless execution.

  • Design Evangelism - Promoted design’s strategic value by positioning the team as a problem-solving unit and aligning design initiatives with business goals.

Challenge

The distributor-facing platform had an outdated interface with several UX issues. Furthermore, the platform's capabilities, particularly in the Shop Space, were not properly highlighted. This hindered the sales team’s ability to effectively showcase and sell the product to prospective clients.

Approach

Our approach focused on delivering an effective solution with minimal alterations to the existing development and UX framework, aiming to reduce development efforts, stay within budget, and meet timeline constraints. 

 

We began by identifying key areas of improvement to maximise impact.

  • Distributor Back-Office - The portal suffered from UX inconsistencies, lack of standards, low visibility of key functions, and confusing navigation due to poor information grouping and hierarchy. Outdated aesthetics further limited content prioritisation, leading to a fragmented user experience.​

  • Shop - Key features, such as category-based product showcases and multi-image support, were underrepresented. The product displays lacked cohesion, making them less relatable for modern customers.​

  • Additionally, distributors had limited access to timely updates on new products and benefits, impacting motivation and sales performance.

​

To address these gaps, we grouped the identified opportunities into three solution categories: Portal Refresh, Product Mock-ups, and Marketing Banners. This streamlined approach ensured efficient implementation and effective delivery.

Solution Highlights

To tackle the platform's core challenges, we implemented a series of strategic design enhancements aimed at boosting usability, visual appeal, and functionality. The following highlights touch upon key aspects of our solution to elevating the portal’s user experience and supporting sales initiatives.​​​​

Portal Refresh
  • Introduced intuitive data visualizations in the dashboard for accessible, actionable insights.

  • Enhanced usability with streamlined navigation, reducing complexity from three levels to two.

  • Restructured the information architecture, significantly improving usability of the platform by streamlining the navigation from three levels to just two levels to increase visibility of all the important sections in relevant pages.

Data visualisations for distributor Dashboard

Product Mock-ups 
  • ​Created versatile product mock-ups and rebranded assets to enhance the relatability and visual coherence of the shop site.​​

  • The mock-ups helped highlight previously unrepresented features like

    • Category-based product showcases with the ability to organise products into sub-categories.
    • Multi-image support on product pages for better visualisation.

    • Support for diverse product types and multiple variants such as colour and size options.

  • Tweaked the demo shop site for their fictitious brand, enabling the sales team to showcase the platform's flexibility and versatility in a compelling manner during client presentations.

Marketing Banners

Designed a scalable banner framework with a compact header and banners positioned across key areas.

This approach maximised visibility for promotions while retaining focus on the primary content and integrated seamlessly without disrupting the main interface.​​​

Impact
  • Boosted Sales Engagement – Achieved a significant increase in sales engagement within the first few weeks following the redesigned portal launch.

  • Strengthened Sales Pitch – The product mockups effectively showcased the Shop site’s features, greatly enhancing the sales team’s pitch to potential clients.

  • Enhanced Usability – Improved platform usability by restructuring the information architecture, making it more intuitive and accessible for users.

  • Increased Product Visibility – Enhanced the visibility of new products and offers by 200% through the introduction of dedicated spaces for marketing content within the interface.

Team

Anuja Thanawala (Lead Designer), Akash Anand (Interaction Designer), Gowtham Madeti (Product Designer)

Satya Siva Kanth Seethina (Product Designer), Dharmeshwar Brahma (Graphic Designer), 

Sourav Mukherjee (Lead Visual Designer), and Kadambari Sahu (SVP Design).

bottom of page