Dr Pharm

UX Writer

August 2022

Dr. Pharm is a (fictional) website that helps people find the lowest prices for prescription drugs.

CONTEXT

The task: Write a search prompt text for Dr. Pharm — a fictional website that finds low price drugs for people.that helps people find the lowest prices on prescription drugs. 25 characters max.

RESEARCH

I set out with brief research about what a search prompt is and its usability guidelines — to ensure that the outcome of my thoughts doesn’t give the customers a bad experience.Search prompt refers to the words inside a search box that tell customers what they can find on that page (in some cases, the entire website).

Task brief from Daily UX Writing.

I spent ample time thinking about the customer (that would be using this), the mood they are likely to be in, and their probable physical condition. I considered this to put the customers first (as always). I communicated this to the designer on the team (as it would be in a collaborative work setting), and she offered me help. She walked me through the customer persona. Below are some of the insights I derived.

Dr pharm customer persona

Dr. Pharm customer persona: James Doe is a male factory worker who has been prescribed over-the-counter drugs (drugs without strict regulation) for an ailment (sickness) by a physician. He is not in his top condition, he wouldn’t be too happy, and he will mostly not pay attention to the words on the screen of his device. He has only one thing on his mind, to recover from his ailment.

From this, I was able to understand the target audience better. I narrowed my copy considerations to a few words/sentences. I set out on a mission to connect with my target audience and help them solve their pain points with minimal effort (on their part).The brand (Dr. Pharm) did not have an existing personality, so I created one for them.

Context Research Solution
Conclusion

BRAND VOICE AND PERSONALITY.

We are a digital product (website) that helps customers find affordable prescription drugs. We put our customers first in every scenario. We are always ready to help them through their downtime. We are on a mission to make it easier for our customers to access affordable medications on a specialist’s prescription.

We are:
1. Communicative: We interact with our customers in a direct, friendly, and easy-to-understand manner.

2. Compassionate: We care about the well-being of our customers. We seek to build an emotional connection with our users.

3. Confidential: We respect the privacy of our customers. We treat their personal information with utmost regard and security.

MY SOLUTION

My final copy for the prompt is “Find low-cost drugs” I choose to give the prompt the same long-known characteristics. It contains a search icon (the hand lens) and an easy-to-understand copy. The final copy has 19 characters in total.

The final microcopy for the search prompt.

My explorations.
1. Search drugs: Not clear might not be understood quickly.
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2. Find drug prices: Informed the customers of the things they can search for but held back important detail, affordability of the drugs.
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3. Find the lowest prices: It didn’t inform the customers of what they will find. This copy is also wordy.

MY WORD CHOICE

I used ‘find’ instead of ‘search’ based on my research. I used Google trends to compare how often people come across both words and how often they look them up on search engines.

From the data obtained, it was clear that people are used to ‘find’ and are more likely to interpret it faster than search.I made the copy clear and short, allowing the user to get the information the prompt is passing in an instant.

Chart from Google Trends.

Context Research Solution
Conclusion

CONCLUSION

Honestly, I thought of creating the usual UX writing posts — the one with just the brief and a snapshot of the solution. Then a thought struck me, what if I told my story and walked my audience through my process, letting them understand that I did this for them? I realized that showing my process would make my solution useful, more understandable, and appreciated. It would also make it easy to receive feedback as the person leaving the feedback would already have an idea of my thoughts.I studied the customers, understood their needs, and proffered a solution for them. In the end, little details matter. They can change the entire experience.

Disclaimer: Dr pharm is a random name I gave to the personality of the product. Any similarity to a live product is a coincidence.

Context Research Solution
Conclusion