Strategizing a business approach for a licensing consultant

There are many organizations in the state of Minnesota that render services to support people with disabilities and those over the age of 65. In order to legally provide those services, those organizations—or “providers”—must hold an active 245D license through the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS).

The problem

Applying for and maintaining a 245D license from the Minnesota Department of Human Services is a complicated process. The stakes are high—confusion can result in errors that can jeopardize a provider’s license, which could spell the end of their business. A shortage of consultants is leaving a significant gap to be met for providers.

The client is an early-stage consulting business that is looking to help fill this gap by providing support to 245D applicants and license holders.

Streamline and demystify the application and licensing process for providers serving people with disabilities by leveraging design and digital capabilities for her business to help providers make applying for or maintaining a 245D license approachable, accessible and clear.

The client goal

Methodology

  • Client interview

  • Deep dive research

  • User Experience mapping

  • Low- and mid-fidelity prototyping

  • Strategizing a multi-touchpoint user experience and ideation of key service features, digital tools and tone of service

  • Presentation of strategy recommendations

Tools & resources

  • Adobe Illustrator

    • Adobe Photoshop

    • Client-supplied resources

    • Lo-fidelity sketches using pencil/paper and Procreate on an iPad Pro

    • Figma/Figjam

    • Google Docs

    • Google Slides

    • Quicktime

    • Storyboarding

    • Zoom video interface

    • Web searches via Google & Safari

Low-fi sketch examples

Figma collaborative workspace

Annotated wireframes deck

After meeting with stakeholders and learning more about their goals, a strategy statement was developed:

Guiding strategy statement

All user experience touchpoints will help small providers who are early in the process of getting a license or passing their first audit and want to feel peace of mind and personally supported, so that they are able to focus on providing good care to clients without worrying about regulatory problems. This will be achieved by focusing on 245D Consulting’s experience, knowledge, and commitment to high-touch care for providers navigating the system.

A persona named Alice was created, along with a step-by-step experience along a 5-stage user journey:

My role at this point of the project included:

Strategizing to determine touchpoints and tools in the user experience so the consultant can position themselves to be discovered by potential users, convince users to hire them, provide services to them and maintain their services through loyalty and word-of-mouth. My team and I then each took on a touchpoint stage to focus on.

My focus: Stage 1–Awareness

I went on to develop a strategy to help reel in prospective users by laying out a groundwork of:

  • Website presence

  • Social media engagement

  • In-person and remote speaking opportunities

  • Cold-calling users who are already on a non-compliance list

  • Using the power of word-of-mouth in the adult care provider community

My area of focus; Awareness

My prototypes

Blog page prototype

AI example as a writing tool to assist with creating content

TikTok post prototype

Instagram post prototype

Facebook post prototype

View the strategy presentation by clicking the preview image below.

Conclusion

Having this opportunity to strategize this client’s user touchpoint approach really resonated with my passion for finding smart, effective ways to make people’s experiences (and lives) better. It felt good to help craft this client’s startup, as the services they provide help adult care provider’s needs and, in turn, the disabled and elderly adults they serve.