ASHLEY HOMESTORE

ON-SITE EXPERIENCE & CONVERSATIONAL DESIGN

FULL TIME ON-SITE ROLE

 
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TOOLS USED

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My Role: Digital Product Designer

Introduction

Ashely Furniture, a national furniture, brand approached Headliner Labs with the intent of building and delivering an on-site experience that assists it’s users in finding the products they want, while allowing the brand to later retarget these users to increase LTV and conversions.

 
 

PHASE 1: Kickoff, Brand Discovery, & Exploration

In this phase, various forms of research were used to identify the business’s goals, understand user’s goals, and define what success for this project looks like for both.

GOALS

  • Review brand’s style/branding guides in place.

  • Define projects goals & KPI’s

  • Understand what success looks like for this project.

  • Interview and understand a user’s goals on-site.

  • Interview key stakeholder’s to better understand expectations.

TOOLS USED

  • Screeners & stakeholder/user interviews

  • Feature Analysis

  • Competitive analysis

  • Affinity Mapping

  • On-site audit of current experience (time restricted)

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS - Users

  • Users want convenience when shopping for furniture.

  • Users choose to shop by room instead of by piece.

  • Users care about the quality and want to impress their friends with their home.

  • Most users won’t shop for furniture without a discount.

KEY TAKEAWAYS - Stakeholders

  • The marketing team wants to increase a users LTV by keeping users engaged.

  • Marketing is concerned about low opt-ins from their email capture.

  • Conversions, AOV, code redemptions, and LTV will be the most utilized KPI’s for this test.


Phase 2: Translate Research Into Design

In this phase, the synthesized goals from both users and stakeholders are then integrated into the current on-site experience in a rough format. This is done through hand sketches and wireframes.

GOALS

  • Research and audit current on-site experience.

  • Design/prototype digital assets.

  • Design on-site prototype experience.

TOOLS USED

  • Sketching/Rapid Prototyping

  • Define and create user journeys.

  • Affinity Mapping

  • Wireframes and Mid-Fi mockups

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Getting users to opt-in with a footer would not cause an interruption.

  • Opting users in through FB would allow the brand to re-market later on.

  • Users, after opting-in, could then take a quiz on-site to find the perfect items.

  • An offer can be used within the footer as part of the design.


Phase 3: Conversational Design

In this phase, the goal is to build a chatbot experience that engages users and guides them to their desired goals. Upon completion a fully prototyped chatbot will be able to be presented and tested with stakeholders.

GOALS

  • Use a conversational flow to bring users to their goals on-site.

  • Develop a messaging cadence that does not interrupt the onsite user experience but allows the brand to retarget and market to users.

  • Create a chatbot experience that engages users.

  • Develop out a working prototype.

TOOLS USED

  • User Flows

  • Competitive Analysis

  • Stakeholder presentations & Crits

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Suggesting products via a 3 question on-site quiz is convenient for users.

  • Narrowing products for users helps move them down the funnel.

  • Users are more likely to opt-in with the help of an offer and product recommendation.

  • Product recommendations help users achieve their goals on-site faster.


Phase 4: Present, Ship, & Deliver

In this phase, the goal is to present a finalized experience on-site to stakeholders and ship the necessary assets to development to be built. Once done, the client is provided with the necessary script to place on site for the full product delivery.

GOALS

  • Hold final stakeholder presentation for approval.

  • Package script for client delivery.

  • Conduct final on-site audit once payload is deployed.

TOOLS USED

  • Stakeholder presentations

  • Prepare style guide and place all digital assets into Zeplin.

  • Slack

  • Zeplin

  • Email

  • Google Tag Manager

 

Challenges...

Users are not keen to opt-in if they know their information is going to be given out. Moreover, designing an opt-in that is not a popup and non-intrusive to the user journey on-site is a test of its own.

What I learned...

Users are willing to opt-in when they see real value behind it. Consumers are no longer looking to simply buy a product, but also, they want to communicate with the brand. They want real guidance and feedback on their purchases and beyond the conversion.

If they know you are there to assist them they not only will opt-in, but they are more likely to listen to what you have to say. Also, when they feel a brand is on their side and offering value, they tend to show more loyalty to the brand.