Note : This case study is based on a real project. However, due to NDA’s, the company names and project deliverables have been edited in order to avoid breaching the agreement.

Project Overview

MY ROLE
Co-facilitate Stakeholder Workshop
Conduct User & Staff Interviews
Synthesise Research (Affinity Mapping)
Design Customer Experience Map Layout

TIMELINE
4 weeks (June 2021 -July 2021)

TOOLS
Miro, Dovetail, Otter.ai, Google Slides, Figma

BACKGROUND

The Pet Care Company has a wide network of pet retail stores and vet clinics across Australia. The company’s business offerings consist of Digital(e-commerce and mobile)platforms, Retail Store( products & services), Vet Care (product& services) as well as membership programs.

THE PROBLEM

With multiple offerings and initiatives, the company is finding it hard to establish a single unified vision across the business that drives customer engagement. It is difficult to set up an integrated ecosystem of products and services without understanding the end-to-end customer journey.

How might we help the business deliver a connected customer experience that unlocks the power of the network?

GOAL

  • To help the business identify cross-network opportunities.

  • To create a clear basis for prioritizing internal business programs of work.

THE FINAL OUTCOME

Our research generated a holistic customer experience map that helped inform and priortise cross-network business strategies.

Project Phases

Stakeholder Workshop

Some of the key findings and hypotheses that emerged from the synthesis are mentioned below :

The in-person stakeholder workshop involved 21 participants from diverse parts of the business network and aimed at keeping the customers(pet parents) at the centre of decision-making. I was involved in team facilitation and steering conversations to capture relevant information.

Using the lens of pet health and wellness (Nutrition, Health, Training, Play and Comfort), the teams mapped the journey of a pet parent during the life stages of dogs and cats for common scenarios and concerns at each stage. They also identified pain points, current offerings and potential future state opportunities for each life stage.

An example of the scenarios and thought starters for the puppy life stage presented to the teams to initiate the journey mapping activity.

People often don’t realise how much a pet will affect their life until they have one.

The landscape of information during research is broad and
often disjointed.

Without going to a vet regularly, it’s difficult to recognise when a pet is at risk of getting unhealthy.

Hypothesis to test :
People underestimate the enormity of the task of caring for an animal. They would be happy to be guided through the process of adjustment.

Hypothesis to test :
Customers are looking for a one stop shop which helps them understand their obligations and provide the best products and services.

Hypothesis to test:
People rely on word of mouth and online searches to predict changes in their pet’s health.

People make a choice of vet based on location and reputation.

It’s difficult to anticipate and understand the triggers for change in pets as they get older.

Hypothesis to test :
People may be willing to switch to the local vet clinic run by the Pet Care company based on staff recommendations from the company’s retail store or knowing about the affiliation of the company’s retail and vet clinic business.

Hypothesis to test :
People would happily sign up to a service which provides lifelong care and advice along with their regular purchases.

Interviews

To ensure the final strategy that emerges from this experience mapping exercise is viable, feasible and desirable to end customers(pet parents), it was essential to validate the hypothesis by talking to front-line staff across retail stores and vet clinics and pet parents to collect their thoughts.

I conducted interviews with 8 pet parents, 4 retail staff and 2 vet staff after preparing a high-level learning agenda to further explore the above hypotheses.

What we found?

How do customers know what to expect with a pet?

Pet parents rely on a mix of intuition, trusted advice, and observation to get them through the early years and provide a level of consistency to care as their pet gets older. People do not know what to expect when they get a new pet, especially behavioural changes. Even if they've previously had pets, every pet and its needs are different.

“Many puppy and kitten customers come in not knowing anything, they are always scrambling and trying to figure it out.”
- Retail Staff Member

“I think we knew about most of the ways our lives would change. But in the earlier stages of his life, it was a bit of a shock to the system, I’d forgotten how much work puppies can be.” - Dog Parent

“Online-I think I trust advice from pet stores — a specific site with what I'm looking for, or the vet website. I tend to stay away from group forums and go more towards the official pet store and vet websites.”- Cat Parent

Which sources do people trust when it comes to research?

Though several sources can be consulted during the lifecycle of a pet, including online sources, the customers we spoke to only trust the experts when it comes to moments of critical health for their pet and some expressed disdain for the landscape of potential misinformation online.

“People get information from Facebook groups these days. They tell us ‘oh but the breed page I follow recommends this’ and I say yeah but your dog is not their dog.”
- Vet Staff

Do customers see value in a “one-stop shop”
connected ecosystem?

Customers are eager for consistency in advice and approach, particularly regarding nutrition, and highlighted occasional discrepancies in the information they received from vets and retail staff, which led to frustration.

“The more stores that have everything in one location is going to be the better.”- Retail staff

Do customers see value in a lifetime care proposition?

There are so many complications and unforeseen circumstances around having a pet, particularly as they grow through the different phases and have differing needs as they age.Customers definitely expressed a desire for having that support at each stage, through the various services available.

Do customers trust vet referrals?

“The biggest thing I’ve realised is - At the moment, I take my dog to the vet once a year for his vaccination and check-up. As they get older, they slow down, and little things begin to go wrong. You might have to go to the vet multiple times a year instead of once.” - Dog Parent

Customers broadly view vet referrals as an extension of the company’s expertise and expressed an openness to hearing referrals to vet clinics from retail store staff. This effect is amplified when the company’s retail store is co-located with a vet clinic and staff explained how often they will physically walk customers over to the vet and introduce them.

“If just an employee of the retail store recommended their vet clinic, we’d definitely consider it. They’re there to help and we trust they wouldn’t recommend something that would lead to harm.” - Pet Parent

Some interview questions we prepared for customers and staff

Final Outcome

The finalisation of the map involved consolidating end-to-end data, insights from workshops, and interviews and ideating key business opportunities that link back to the goal of this project. The business opportunities were mapped across the three network channels- retail store, vet clinic and digital with input from internal marketing and branding teams.

For the design, I created an initial wireframe using Miro and Figma and refined the content and design through multiple iterations and feedback from the team. Once approved, I collaborated with a visual designer who worked on the final CX Map printed wall poster with the client branding that was presented to the client.

Recommendation Highlights

  • Easy pet finding
    - Expanding breeder and adoption partnerships.
    - Interactive digital assistance through budgeting tools/calculators to gauge financial aspects of having a pet.

  • Educating new pet parents
    - Breed-specific pet guides.
    - Information nights hosted by vet nurses and pet experts.

Pet Consideration/Research Stage

Puppy/Kitten Lifestage

  • Connecting systems
    - Activate and connect pet profiles across the network allowing vets and retail staff to provide recognition, advice and cross referrals.

  • Expand puppy/kitten experience
    - Scheduling and reminder options for vaccination & grooming sessions
    - Online sessions for puppy/kitten school with trainers, an app to connect with community, parks, activities etc.

Senior Dog/Cat Lifestage

Adult Dog/Cat Lifestage

  • Better Conversations
    - Training the staff to have consistent advice on products, services across retail and vet clinics.

  • E-commerce Experience
    - Personalised recommendations,member exclusive offers, store and staff reviews, and customer testimonials to build credibility and trust.

  • Rewarding long-term relationships
    - Complementary health services, special in-store consultations, tenured perks, triage service, lifestage-based content and communications.

  • Support for Grieving parents
    - Counselling services, foster program recommendations etc.

The final deliverable created using Figma. Click to zoom

Reflection

Adapting Research Methods
Originally the interviews with retail and vet clinic staff were planned as ridealongs for us to observe them in their customer-facing scenarios and ask questions based on the context, however, due to the lockdown rules that had to be cancelled. It was good learning to have a plan B and shift quickly to conduct phone interviews instead. It required me to adapt the learning agenda and strategy for gathering information.

Involving the Visual Designer Early
The final deliverable was a printed wall-size poster. With the visual designer on board in the final week, it took multiple iterations and content updates to condense the research data into the final design in a way that was easy to read as well as effective from a brand perspective. With early collaboration and brainstorming layout ideas, this process could be smooth.

Involving Stakeholders at Every Step
The senior stakeholder was closely involved right from participating in the kickoff workshop to weekly check-ins and updates to track progress. This helped us align with her expectations, justify timelines and incorporate feedback.

What did I learn?

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