Task
Tell potential partners about the authorisation programme.
partners.epson.ru

Epson is a Japanese manufacturer of equipment and a world leader in projection equipment and printing technology. For the company’s Moscow representative office, the client’s team and I made a website with a story about the partner programme.

About the process

Any design starts with understanding the problem. To understand the problem and possible solution, I ask clients questions about their business. So the process of working on Epson’s affiliate website started with a conversation with a manager where I learnt a lot.

Usually, machinery manufacturers either trade directly through their affiliates and online shops or through partner networks. Epson works according to the second scheme.

The company created an Affiliate Zone for partners — a closed site with special programmes and media materials. The problem was that there was no information about the partner programme on Epson’s sites. Interested companies had to first look for contact information and then write to managers. The managers, in turn, had to tell everyone in detail about the authorisation procedure.

Thus, my manager and I formed the mission of the project: “to help potential partners learn about the Epson authorisation programme and decide whether to join”. For this purpose, we decided to make a one-page website with a step-by-step story.

Getting into the details

Studying presentations and documentation to understand the process:

Studying presentations, tables and documents on the Epson authorisation programme.

There is a lot of information, but I have an advantage: since I have not encountered the terms of the affiliate programme before, this allowed me to look at it through a beginner’s eyes.

Structuring

Structuring everything learnt into a coherent narrative:

1. Authorisation program — what it is
2. Why authorisation is needed
3. Benefits of partners
4. How to become a partner
5. Who to contact

Getting to work

Assembling the first “floor”. I show the authorisation categories for which companies become partners visually in the form of photos of devices in this category. Here I also decide to add social proof in the form of a factoid: 500 companies have already become Epson partners.

The first “floor” of the site tells about the programme and the authorisation categories

Next, I answer the question “Why authorisation is needed” and talk about the benefits of being a partner.

At first, I thought to illustrate each point with icons like fashionable landings, but then I realised that becoming a partner should be a balanced decision based on facts, not emotions. So let’s write honestly and without tinsel.

Advantages of a partner: everything is just business

Next is the most important part: how to become a partner. Here is the key useful action, so I highlight this block with a coloured background.

How to become a partner and selection criteria

Next is the contact information of regional managers. Usually in presentations and on company websites, this information is shown in a long list or table.

Studying, seeing what can be improved:

The usual way of presenting contact information used on websites and in presentations

The name, position and region of the manager will be called a contact card. I notice that there is a lot of verbal repetition in the cards:

“Sokolov Vasily (Partner Relations Manager) — working with dealers, corporate partners and customers of St. Petersburg, as well as Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Vologda and Novgorod regions, and the Republic of Karelia.”

“Petrov Ivan (Partner Relations Manager) — working with dealers, corporate partners and customers of the Central Federal District – Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Orel, Ryazan, Tambov and Tula regions.”

First, I removed the posts because the word “manager” is in the title, and the fact that they work with partners is clear from the context.

↓

“Sokolov Vasily — working with dealers, corporate partners and customers of St. Petersburg, as well as Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Vologda and Novgorod regions, and the Republic of Karelia.”

“Petrov Ivan — working with dealers, corporate partners and customers of the Central Federal District — Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Orel, Ryazan, Tambov and Tula regions.”

Then I remove the repeated phrase “working with dealers, corporate partners and customers” because it is an obvious entity. At the same time, I change the first and last names, because in Russian it is customary to address people by their first name.

↓

“Vasily Sokolov — St. Petersburg, Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Vologda and Novgorod regions, Republic of Karelia.”

“Ivan Petrov — Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Orel, Ryazan, Tambov and Tula regions.”

It became twice as compact and informative.

From further communication with the company representative, I learnt that the Epson partner network has been so successful thanks in large part to regional managers — they promptly and expertly help partners in any situation and together think of ways to develop their business.

Based on this knowledge, I decided to make contact information of all managers with photos — to show the company’s face, literally.

It is easier for current partners to navigate through the list with photos because they know their managers by sight, and for potential partners, it is a way to increase trust.

Regional managers. When you move the cursor over the photos, they become coloured

Preparing a presentation and showing everything to the client. The client accepted the work.

We layout the site, adapt it for all screen resolutions, and test and launch it. Done!

Result of work

Project members