User Needs
- Advance notice of new features and updates
- Clear, visual explanations of changes
- Step-by-step guidance for new workflows
- Accessible content directly within POS and back office apps
Product Marketing | Lightspeed
The Challenge
The restaurant business is extremely fast-paced. Lightspeed had an extensive communications process for its major POS device features, smaller features and updates to their POS device UI and back-office administration app often went unannounced. Users would log onto POS devices at the start of their shift, to find changes to screens and workflows. This caused frustration and ultimately impacted table turn around time as servers struggled to catch up with the system.
The solution involved creating a website and in-app articles to communicate smaller features and changes. The content needed to be clear, concise and informative.
I published over 30 new feature release articles. Below is the strategy for the articles, as well as a selection of articles written.
CONTENT STRATEGY
Purpose & Goals
- Reduce friction by proactively communicating feature updates before they appear on devices
- Improve adoption of new features
- Reduce frustration from unannounced changes
- Increase customer trust and satisfaction with Lightspeed
- Minimize support tickets and downtime during service hours
Audience
Primary: Restaurant owners and managers responsible for operations and staff training
Secondary: Servers and front-of-house staff who use POS devices daily
Pain Points
- No time to relearn workflows on the spot in a fast-paced environment
- Surprise UI changes disrupt service and table turnover
- Limited access to training resources during shifts
Client Needs
- Smooth rollout of features without disruption
- Higher adoption rates of new features
- Positive brand perception as a partner to restaurants
Messaging & Brand Voice
- Tone: Helpful, concise, professional
- Voice: Plain language, benefit-driven, empathetic
- Lead with value: “Faster table-side payments starting tomorrow.”
- Acknowledge context: “We know shifts move quickly…”
Content Types & Formats
- Articles: Pre-release announcements on web and in-app
- Release Notes: Archive of features and fixes
- How-To Guides: Step-by-step workflows with visuals
- In-App Messaging: Banners and tooltips
- Email Campaigns: Targeted updates for managers
- Training Materials: PDFs and short videos for staff
SEO
- Internal: Centralized help hub with tags for search (POS UI, Payments, etc.).
- External: Optimize for long-tail keywords like “Lightspeed POS update” or “restaurant POS new feature.”
Content Pillars
- Feature Awareness What’s new and why it matters
- Practical Training How to use new features
- Operational Impact How changes affect workflows
- Continuous Improvement Reinforcing responsiveness to customer needs
Content Calendar
- 3–5 Days Before Release: Publish article and send email announcement
- Release Day: Add in-app banners/tooltips and update help page
- 1 Week Post-Release: Publish follow-up with FAQs and feedback
- Monthly: Newsletter recap of updates
Measurement
- Track article views and engagement
- Measure adoption rates of features
- Monitor reduction in support tickets related to updates
- Collect in-app feedback and customer support insights
