We created a toolkit for Samsung that included 5 templates and a master library of 50 components and variations.
The purpose of the toolkit was to assemble a master library of components and provide guidelines around the different variations. The end goal being that along with the BRD, PSDs and Style Guides the toolkit will allow stakeholders to choose key components and personalize their templates while maintaining brand, visual, and UX consistency across the site.
When asked how we could help arm shoppers with the information they need to make confident decisions throughout their journey, we immediately thought about a user's ability to compare products. We jumped into competitive research, performed in-person/in-home interviews with Samsung customers, and created a detailed audit of the shopping journey.
Key insights included:
- comparison occurs whenever consumers need to make a decision; comparison moments allow consumers to take a step back so they can move forward
- the term "compare" sets a certain expectation, it represents detailed and structured information.
- comparison lives across the shopping journey; opportunities for surfacing comparison appear as soon as consumers express interest in a category or product.
- comparison is not just a tool, but also a mindset; it is part of the hunt in which consumers understand how products will impact their lives, and not a tool used in a vacuum.
We noticed that during testing of the previous site design, subjects would often skip products without certain attributes listed, or (even worse) believe the product didn’t have a particular feature (simply because it wasn’t listed).
Our solution was guided by the idea that easy product comparison was essential. The goal of our design was to facilitate comparison by providing consistent, reliable, clear information so users could quickly and easily see the differences between products. Through research we realized that it was also imperative to include product attributes consistently across products in the selected comparison list. When information is included or presented inconsistently across list items, users have a difficult time comparing or evaluating them and may miss out on highly relevant products.
In addition to listing all the same specs for all products in the list, we needed to also ensure that those attributes were presented consistently to increase. In our design it was key that the information adopt the same structure, labelling and unit of measure (to increase comparability), and that the specs be listed in a consistent sequence (to increase scannability).
We broke the process of comparison into two stages, primary (static pre-populated snap shot) and compare (dynamic user-selected).
Through research we discovered on their "day of purchase," 70% of consumers purchase nothing. It's not that people are walking out, it's WHY they're walking out: they arrive with unmanaged expectations; there are no sales reps available to help them find the right device and plan; purchase experience in store takes too long; their credit score simply isn’t good enough for the phone and plan they expected.
It became clear that the real problem is consumers feel like they need to settle for a device they don’t want and a plan they don’t need. Our task was to make them feel like leaving with their second choice is their first choice.
Sprint + Samsung Concierge is a personalized service that matches consumers with the phone and plan that’s right for them. Concierge is an umbrella for what it means to shop with Samsung and Sprint from beginning-to-end of the purchase journey.
This solved our problem by: offering valuable information during the research phase, de-selecting devices and setting expectations based on credit, pairing consumers with the appropriate device for their usage and financial means, minimizing wait times in-store (even before consumers arrive), connecting consumers with sales associates across the purchase journey, encouraging post-purchase confidence in a way that inspires loyalty and affinity for Sprint.
This also created a unified brand experience throughout the entire purchase journey, highlighted a competitively differentiated service in broader marketing efforts, can gather data around consumers to help make their experience with the brand more personalized.
- Pre-Store: Introducing Concierge (communicate the benefits of Concierge on Sprint.com); Personalized Product Recommender (answer a few quick questions to find the phone and plan that’s perfect for you); Narrow by Credit (find your credit score and narrow your options to a shortlist); Key Differentiators (an overview of Samsung exclusives drives home the advantages of owning a Galaxy); Schedule an Appointment (seamlessly integrates with retail to avoid long waits in-store); Meet Your Sprint Associate (personalized email that reminds you of your appointment)
- In-Store: Concierge Display (All information from the online experience is seamlessly accessed by the associate, saving even more time); Interactive Display (Walk-ins can narrow their choices with an interactive display that mimics the online experience)
- Post-Store: Test Drive (Let’s give users a one month to test drive their new device, to prove they have the perfect device for them); Diagnostic Dashboard (after the one-month test drive, we’ll show users a snapshot of their usage - based on this, we will recommend the perfect plan for their lifestyle and budget); Product Upsell (With a month’s experience behind them, this gives us another chance to promote the Samsung ecosystem of accessories and devices)
Introducing Concierge: communicate the benefits of Concierge on Sprint.com
Personalized Product Recommender: answer a few quick questions to find the phone and plan that’s perfect for you
Narrow by Credit: find your credit score and narrow your options to a shortlist
Key Differentiators: an overview of Samsung exclusives drives home the advantages of owning a Galaxy
Schedule an Appointment: seamlessly integrates with retail to avoid long waits in-store
We assisted TD Bank in becoming more customer focused throughout their process of acquiring a Robo Advisor service. We combined storytelling and visualization to help executive management understand and address customer needs. In order to convey information in a way that was memorable and concise, and to create a shared vision we developed customer journey narratives and a detailed journey map. These deliverables included:
– Detailed user journeys to illustrate how the customer would experience the sales process and identify customer needs and painpoints
– Mapping to illustrate the customer experience through account onboarding to account management (omnichannel: online, mobile, phone, Store)
– Mapping to convey the customer experience in each channel related to product integration (i.e. online banking experience of seeing investment and banking accounts in one place)
– Mapping to identify touchpoints and provide a holistic view of entities that are performing each stage & process flow
– Mapping and user journeys to provide an overview of what the Customer will receive: accounts, products, pricing, functionality
One of the largest media companies in the world, Time Inc. runs a total of 24 magazine titles as individual properties on the web. These sites are overseen by a multitude of editorial staff and, over the years, the editorial UI became a cumbersome amalgamation of custom integrations between Vignette, Wordpress and their homegrown TIPS CMS. Over a span of 18 months Time Inc. made a tremendous investment in Drupal to be the core of their DCMS (Digital Content Management System). This meant developing a large infrastructure around managing editorial Drupal sites and integrating Drupal into their legacy systems.
I worked with a team of developers and vendors to design the new DCMS editorial UI. This involved: leading one-on-one and group interviews; developing conceptual wireframes; organizing and running several iterations of workshops, as well as card sorting and paper prototyping sessions; coordinating and running demos and training forums.
