THE CO-OP
Strategy & Service Discovery
Title: E-store discovery
Role: Service Designer
Title: E-store discovery
Role: Service Designer
The Co-op electrical is part of the Co-op Group. It sells electrical products, from kitchenware and white goods to home entertainment. In 2017 we visualised the customer journey end-to-end and collaborated with the client to validate it.
We revealed tangible opportunities in the service. Seven points in particular were identified and the team and I set off to dig deeper.
In summary, we gave The Co-op electrical a holistic view of the business & a product roadmap with which to plan strategic projects and drive change.
We revealed tangible opportunities in the service. Seven points in particular were identified and the team and I set off to dig deeper.
In summary, we gave The Co-op electrical a holistic view of the business & a product roadmap with which to plan strategic projects and drive change.
PROCESS
Over eight weeks we dived deep into needs and customer behaviour to co-design a map and blueprint of the Co-op electrical service with the intention of identifying pain points and opportunities. The team and I visualised and synthesised insights from eight customer interviews, 17 Co-op member interviews, five lab sessions and shadowing numerous staff at the customer service centre.
User research revealed that the website had plenty of opportunity to be simplified, show more relevant content and have an easier to understand basket. We worked as a team with internal Co-op staff who were doing research and website optimisation in parallel. We exchanged insight and information on a daily basis and worked in the same space as much as possible.
Over eight weeks we dived deep into needs and customer behaviour to co-design a map and blueprint of the Co-op electrical service with the intention of identifying pain points and opportunities. The team and I visualised and synthesised insights from eight customer interviews, 17 Co-op member interviews, five lab sessions and shadowing numerous staff at the customer service centre.
User research revealed that the website had plenty of opportunity to be simplified, show more relevant content and have an easier to understand basket. We worked as a team with internal Co-op staff who were doing research and website optimisation in parallel. We exchanged insight and information on a daily basis and worked in the same space as much as possible.
OUTCOME
The new site evolved during the project and a roadmap was devised for it's overall re-design. We proposed branching a new service from the main e-store to increase efficiency and improve customer experience, gave specific recommendations on site optimisation and recommended digital customer communication channels.
This was the first time the service was mapped and discussed in a holistic way and it gave way to better informed conversation and strategic decision making across the board. This was also an important project for the Co-op team who showed colleagues how to work in an agile way, in the open and with time constraints.
The new site evolved during the project and a roadmap was devised for it's overall re-design. We proposed branching a new service from the main e-store to increase efficiency and improve customer experience, gave specific recommendations on site optimisation and recommended digital customer communication channels.
This was the first time the service was mapped and discussed in a holistic way and it gave way to better informed conversation and strategic decision making across the board. This was also an important project for the Co-op team who showed colleagues how to work in an agile way, in the open and with time constraints.
LEARNINGS
Immersing myself in different businesses always teaches me something new. In this project I discovered the importance of taking time to absorb the subtleties of the working culture I'm invited to join. To understand what the business is going through, is going after and is excited about.
Also, visualising what felt like a 'complex' service was very useful. Not only for me to understand as a service designer where the opportunities where, but also for staff, who now had a tangible way to push for the changes they wanted to make.
Immersing myself in different businesses always teaches me something new. In this project I discovered the importance of taking time to absorb the subtleties of the working culture I'm invited to join. To understand what the business is going through, is going after and is excited about.
Also, visualising what felt like a 'complex' service was very useful. Not only for me to understand as a service designer where the opportunities where, but also for staff, who now had a tangible way to push for the changes they wanted to make.
