UX Research case study

Web redesign - flower delivery

Role: UX Researcher | Team of 3

Skills coverage: UX Research, Visual Design

Duration: 4 weeks

The challenge

Identifying the user needs and habits regarding flower delivery services to redefine and redesign the client's web digital experience. This project consists on two separate stages:

1. An extensive User centered research and global service experience design, explained below.

2. Web redesign.

Overall goals

● To detect opportunities the brand’s value proposition and how it can differentiate from its competitors

● To define how the brand’s perception to consumers can be elevated

● To achieve a higher conversion rate and to increase the average shopping cart

● To gain trust and recurrence from costumers

● To reach a younger audience while maintaining the current users

● To maximize both up selling and cross selling

PHASE 1. Analyzing the context and territory of opportunity

This first context analysis will focus on conducting a preliminary investigation that allows us to make a diagnosis and define the current market situation, the brand’s current health and how their products operate within the industry.

1.1 Mistery shopper

Research starts by a mystery shopper session to analyze the current shopping experience on all their channels. This helps us analyze and define the context: market, potential customer, current target, present values, etc.

1.2 Active listening

● To know the customer’s opinion regarding the brand.

● To detect opportunities for conversation and improvement of the customer service.

● To extract a yet to be validated insight about the market and the brand’s health through active listening on social media (what the brand think they are vs what they project in the consumer's mind).

1.3 Benchmarking

Market research to detect potential opportunities within the value proposition, the customer segment, all their channels and customer relationships in comparison to their direct and indirect main competitors.

The research was focused on 4 competitors and their business canvas to try to identify market opportunities or niches, as well as understanding the positioning of the brand (posible barriers and new players).

The benchmarking was subdivided in the following categories: Customer segment / Value propositions / Channels / Customer relationships / Revenue streams.

PHASE 2. Analyzing of the client's current state

This analysis requires of a discussion between the company and the research team to combine both their perspectives taking as a starting point current available data in order to start formulating hypotheses that can be contrasted with the team. This research focus on the vision, the mission, positioning, business strategy, global situation of the company, innovation processes to be implemented, target markets and target users vs real users.

2.1 In depth interviews

● To the company's team.

In-depth interviews with 3 of the company's strategic team managers. Work on their point of view, the business strategy, internal methodologies that can be updated. It is estimated that 15 interviews will be conducted, 5 for each of the following groups.

Goals: deepening into direct competition perceived, products and services portfolio, future internally and in the market, internal values ​​and in the market.

● To clients

Two categories: young adults (ages 18 to 35) and adults (ages 36 to 60) who had used the company's service in the last six months.

Goals: deepening into perception and loyalty, conversion and average purchase, recurrence, cross selling and upselling.

● To non-clients

3 users for each of the 4 companies studied on previous research. Two categories: young adults (ages 18 to 35) and adults (ages 36 to 60) who had used any flower delivery service in the last six months.

Goals: deepening into perception, unsatisfied needs, average purchase, desired services portfolio.

2.2 Workshop

Business, product, technology, marketing and communication workshops to fully understand the business. It consists on 2 to 3 work sessions with the company's teams lasting approximately 4 hours each.

PHASE 3. Analyzing and defining the typology of current and potential clients

The goal is to seek a future perspective through the analysis of business objectives and the needs of users in order to find the point of union and, therefore, create an interactive service that meets both needs.

The main goal pursued is to converge the user specific needs in a web in order to translate it into the new IA, as well as defining every touchpoint between the brand and the client.

3.1 Questionnaire

Preparing and launching an online questionnaire to clients to validate hypotheses or refute the conclusions previously drawn in interviews about: sample, purchasing habits, loyalty, cross selling and special services. Questionnaire sent to the customer database and consisted of 200 valid responses.

3.2 User personas

Definition of different archetypes identified through assumptions validated through previous research.

PHASE 4. Analyzing the touchpoints and interactions between the brand and its client

The main goal pursued is to detect opportunities for the global improvement of the service offered and contextualize its differential value. When defining these deliverables, every possible pain that may occur in each process is considered. We divided these pains in possible risk points and possible improvement points, thus forcing constant iteration.

4.1 Customer journey

Definition of the customer journey of each user persona previously defined, identifying again risk points in yellow (e.g. user leaves the cart, has troubles completing the purchase, etc) and improvement points in red, highlighting what processes need to be changed and how it can be reflected in the web design.

PHASE 5. Outcomes and following steps

Delivering a general report with the overall conclusions and outcomes as well as an action plan proposal that will establish new priorities aligned with the company's current strategy. The conceptualization of the new design will prioritize a future perspective that will take into consideration both the business objectives and the users' needs.

This extensive research brought up many crucial outcomes:

● The company has to modernize its overall image to appeal and reach its users.

● It must communicate the value proposition on every touchpoint and communication channel.

● It is recommended to stand out from the competition through its core value proposition and differential values ​​as well as increasing the user perception of the brand through actions and improvements.

● The social media presence of the brand should be made a priority in order to reach to a younger audience.

● Loyalty through discounts is a logical step to take. The company should let the user recommend the service and reward that sale.

● There is evidence for an opportunity in the market to create a second brand for a younger audience with the company's current values.

Disclaimer

More concrete research finds and specific details regarding the following conceptualization and UX strategy are strictly confidential.

Defining the following steps

After analyzing the business goals and user needs and defining the business journey, the research above will land on a new design that will cover those requirements and improve the overall service experience. The following steps established are:

5.1 Current web redesign

● Conceptualization: ideation process

● Key pages prototypes and iteration

● IA

5.2 UX development

● Functional, interaction and processes definition

● Visual design

● UX and graphic communication strategies

PHASE 2. Main outcomes

● The fundamental values ​​of the brand perceived and projected by the company differ from the ones perceived by both young and adult users.

● Young competing users are not familiar with the brand.

● Employees confirmed the factors for customers to choose this service.

● Both clients and non-clients verbalized the importance of the presentation of the product. The interviewees think that the visualization of the product should improve.

● The company wants to improve in how they transmit their values ​​to up sell and renew its image to reach a different audience.

● Customers are attracted to a subscription idea proposed.

● Adult interviewees are attracted to the ideas of cross selling proposed. Young adults perceive it as a gift.

● Non-clients emphasize that this ideas are something they would like about the competition.

PHASE 1. Main outcomes

● There is room for improve the customer experience.

● There is an opportunity to approach customers through other channels.

● Potential customers can be captured through various actions.

● Other brands generate a conversation with the community.

● Need for a new customer service channel.

● Room for improvement in crisis management. No defined strategy or crisis management manual.

● The company is used as a generic. It is directly associated with sending flowers.

● Two-way communication improves the user's perception of brands.

● Taking advantage of third-party content gives credibility.

● Users expect an omnichannel strategy from brands.

● Active listening should be part of the company's strategy to detect these opportunities.

PHASE 3. Some outcomes

● The company's web is the main channel used to acquire the service in more than half the occasions.

● When choosing the service, the main variables that users take into account the most are, in order of importance, the delivery availability, the quality of the product and the price.

● One of four interviewees has bought from a competitor.

● Regarding the complementary products offered, only 15% stated that they would prefer a broader product catalog.

● Half of the users are interested in a mobile app.

● The company's users have a medium Internet profile.

● The average frequency of buying flowers is once a year, which confirms that the market is seasonal.

Customer perception of different parameters of the service to be measured.

Web new features

As well as conforming the company's more defined and refined new targets and identifying possible overlooked pains, needs and drivers, the detailed user personas helped us contextualize some web features discovered, such as:

● Discounts and offers

● Product care after purchase mailing

● A more exhaustive order tracking

● A greater visualization of complementary and valuable products added

● Bouquet configurator depending on the tastes or personality of the product receiver

● Shopping advice

● Product filter new parameters, such as allergies, type of maintenance, same day delivery, etc.

PHASE 4. Some outcomes

● By not seeing add-on products earlier in the purchase, many users are unaware of the possibility.

● Users miss a complete tracking of the order.

● Few users are willing to call a customer service number.

● The filtering product system on the website does not fully respond to the user needs.
● New users tend to read product reviews.

● Possibility of incorporating a CRM to keep a better track of the orders in order to improve the service.

● Loss of product control in certain stages of the delivery process.

1 of 7 customer journeys defined with every risk point and improvement point tracked and solved.

1 of 3 blueprints defined with every risk point and improvement point tracked and solved.

My role

I was responsible for analyzing and defining the research finds for the subsequent strategy and design of the new web. I produced all major research deliverables, helping present these to the client. I worked alongside an UX Designer and the Research Head.

4.2 Blueprint

Definition of the user's blueprint in each of the brand touchpoints: online, physical point and call center. Both this activities assured that every possible interaction with the brand's service is covered and analyzed. The following stage will focus on every pain discovered.