SMBmarket

Project Overview

Problem

Across our research, usability testing, and competitive analysis, we found that SMBmarket’s primary challenge was information overload paired with unclear navigation.

Key issues identified:

• Unclear user flow: First-time users couldn’t understand where to start or what the platform offered.

• Heavy jargon: Acronyms, technical terms, and industry vocabulary discouraged beginners.

• Cluttered UI: Pages lacked hierarchy, making it difficult to scan important metrics.

• No retention mechanisms: Users had no history, saved searches, or deal-tracking features.

• Broken interactions: Misleading clickable areas, inconsistent UI patterns, and slow load times created friction.

• Landing page mismatch: Potential users couldn’t understand the value proposition due to poor hero content and an inactive search bar.

For a platform where trust, confidence, and clarity determine whether someone buys a business, these issues created significant drop-off points.

Our Goal

We defined success around delivering a platform where:

• Users can discover, compare, and evaluate business deals effortlessly.

• Information is accessible, intuitive, and explained clearly.

• First-time buyers feel confident navigating complex financial data.

• Returning users have reasons to come back—saving, tracking, and managing deals long-term.

Success metrics included:

• Shorter onboarding time during usability tests

• Increased active user sessions
  Clearer navigation and interaction patterns

• Higher engagement with key features

Research Process

1. User Interviews

We interviewed prospective buyers and new search funders across varying experience levels.
Key insights:

• “I just want a TRUE assessment of the financials.”

• “Buying an existing business feels faster and more certain, but I don’t know where to start.”

• “The terminology is overwhelming.”

User motivations centered on:

• Financial freedom

• Career transition

• Seeking meaningful, self-directed work

User fears centered on:

• Hidden financial risks

• Misinterpreting deal metrics

• Making an uninformed decision

2. Competitive Analysis

We audited major competitors such as Kumo, BizScout, SMH, and LoopNet.

Themes discovered:

What competitors do well

• Clean UI

• Analytics dashboards

• “Favorites,” “Notes,” and “History” features

• Onboarding guidance

• Map views

• Clear card layouts

What competitors fail at

• Overly complex filters

• Crowded, text-heavy pages

• Confusing technical jargon

• Inconsistent UI patterns

• Lack of personalization

We used these insights to identify whitespace:

👉 A platform that is powerful like existing competitors, but far more beginner-friendly, intuitive, and structured.

3. Synthesis & Prioritization

We narrowed our opportunities to the themes that would create the biggest impact on retention:

1. Navigation clarity: A restructuring of menus, dashboards, and flows.

2. New-user onboarding: Explain key terms, surface guidance, and reduce decision paralysis.

3. Saving & tracking mechanisms: Saved listings, saved criteria, saved alerts — all unified into a single system.

4. Deal workflow guidance: A pipeline where users could move deals through “interest → analysis → negotiation."

5. Feature differentiation: Features that would make SMBmarket stand out, such as a built-in deal calculator and personalized feed.

Our Solution

We proposed a holistic redesign across key pages and features to transform SMBmarket into a one-stop shop for business acquisition.

Feature 1: Landing Page Redesign

Problem: The landing page lacked a strong value proposition and confused logged-out vs logged-in users.

Solution:

• Introduced a clear hero section communicating SMBmarket’s purpose

• Removed unnecessary imagery and replaced with listing previews

• Distinct experiences for:

  • New visitors: Clear explanation of what the platform offers

  • Returning users: Personalized dashboard-style feed

Feature 2: Improved Marketplace Navigation

Problems:

• Cluttered listings

• Hard-to-use filters

• No personalized recommendations

Solution:

• Clean, scannable card layouts

• Quick-access filters modeled after high-quality e-commerce UIs

• Optional table view for power users

Personalized sections (“Recently Viewed,” “New for You,” “Top Categories”)

Feature 3: Business Listing Page Overhaul

Problems:

• Users couldn’t find key metrics at a glance

• mportant financials buried under unclear labels

Solution:

• Clearly defined “Essential Metrics” section

• Cleaner hierarchy with bolded labels

• Descriptions, competition, and financials grouped under expandable sections

• Tooltips added for all jargon-heavy terms

Feature 4: Saved Listings + Saved Searches

We created a unified hub where users can:

• Save listings

• Save search filters

• Enable alerts for new matches

• Leave notes and revisit them later

This feature directly addressed all retention challenges.

Feature 5: Deal Calculator

One of the most differentiating features.

Purpose: Help users understand whether a business is financially viable without needing a spreadsheet.

Capabilities added:

• Calculates SDE, DSCR, financing breakdown

• Analyzes loan terms

• Shows monthly & yearly projections

• Auto-updates based on price & equity structure

This empowers new buyers to see why a deal is strong or weak.

Feature 6: Deal Pipeline

A structured workflow where users can track:

• Listing interest

• Negotiation stages

• Notes, dates, and key financials

• Side-by-side comparisons

This feature helps SMBmarket become a long-term tool, not a one-time browse-and-leave website.

UX Engineering:

• Worked with the SMB team and implemented the front end of the landing page to reflect the new design

Final Impact

Following our redesign proposals and feature improvements, SMBmarket saw a clear and immediate positive response from its user base. Since our team’s involvement, the platform has grown to over 1,600 subscribers, with at least 1,000 new users added during the period our recommendations and advisories were implemented.

Most importantly, the client reported that:

“Users love the site and the ease of use.”

This feedback validates our core goal: to create an intuitive, confidence-building experience for first-time and returning business buyers. The redesigned flows, simplified navigation, and new deal-support features have made SMBmarket feel more approachable and actionable — ultimately strengthening user retention and trust across the platform.