Getting Started
A local and national business
Before we begin, I have omitted confidential information from this case study. All information is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of Mariana Assad.
At the kickoff meeting, the client reported that the business was not performing as expected, as the target audience was from classes B and C, who were sensitive to the costs of consulting. Mariana Assad Image Consulting's services are for adult women from class A + , who feel the need for a professional opinion and who are willing to hire an image and style consultant, directly from their smartphone or computer. They can set goals for the image consultancy, schedule appointments, negotiate the terms and stipulate which services will be contracted. In 2022, the consultancy carried out more than 100 consultations between Curitiba, Londrina, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Context
+125k class A+ users
The website serves as a channel for accessing the image, lifestyle and social behavior consultancy that Mariana offers, and is a point of contact in the middle of the user's journey. This brings a specific group of personas to the website . The user wants an elaborate and exclusive experience to read, enjoy the content and have the knowledge to hire Mariana's services. The right way to talk about UX is to combine it with UI. It is the user's experience using the interface to achieve their goal in a pleasant flow and with easy recognition of navigation patterns.
However, in a world full of websites and apps competing for users’ attention, it’s become increasingly difficult to find a sweet spot in your daily routine. To illustrate this, a recently published study from the Technical University of Denmark showed that the collective global attention span is decreasing due to the amount of information presented to users.
It showed that people now have more things to focus on – but they usually focus on things for shorter periods of time. This means that the time users spend understanding a specific screen or product has been significantly reduced. Therefore, knowing how users feel when they need our product the most will yield better results (attentional bias).
Taking it a step further and understanding more about how and why A+ class women (target audience) buy image and style consulting services, I learned about interest patterns and the social and behavioral aspects of users to understand the patterns of this market and whether these interests are aligned with Mariana's business. I recently surveyed hundreds of social media users of Mariana's competitors, grouping their comments by similar interests, in addition to online qualitative/quantitative research with 25 users from her closest circle who experience the same lifestyle.
And we learned a lot.
We discovered that users would like an opinion or support from an image consultant in their daily lives and that they would make the decision to hire some of the consultant's services within 1 week, at most. Almost 50% of users chose a negative phrase — such as 'afraid of making a mistake' and 'insecure about getting dressed' — to describe their feelings about their image. We also discovered that of the 10 services offered by Mariana, three stand out among users as being the most prioritized: outfit creation, color analysis and body geometry . Although money may not be an issue, many said they did not think the service was necessary or a priority, so these are the main objections to be resolved.
The research also found that users seek recommendations from friends and Instagram profiles about fashion and style rather than from a professional in the field.
A Pesquisa
Entendendo suas motivações,
pain points e objeções
O objetivo principal do projeto foi resolver o problema da mudança de público alvo e passar a vender o serviço para mulheres da classe A+ que estão dispostas a transformar seu estilo e imagem pessoal e entender como e por que essas usuárias contratam serviços de Consultoria de Imagem, pois o público alvo anterior B e C são sensíveis a custos, principalmente.
Temos aqui um grande insight, pois sabemos agora onde está o problema (produto, usuária ou negócio), e soubemos que o problema está na usuária (sensível aos custos da consultoria) e isso afeta o negócio e que o novo produto precisa se alinhar ao novo público e suas prioridades.
Na primeira reunião com a cliente, ela me forneceu as seguintes informações sobre seu novo público:
Definição do problema das usuárias A+
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Qual é o problema principal?
Usuárias tem dificuldade em se vestir de forma adequada e alinhadas aos seus objetivos sociais e profissionais.
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Como esse problema surge?
Ao se dar conta de que não conhecem as técnicas de como comunicar a mensagem que desejam por meio da sua imagem, apesar de acharem que conhecem.
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Para quem é um problema?
Para aquelas usuárias que não se sentem capacitadas, seja por não terem conhecimento ou não terem tempo para cuidar da sua imagem.
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Qual a hipótese da Mariana para resolver esse problema?
A Mariana tem uma metodologia que combina tanto seu conhecimento técnico como sua sensibilidade e escuta para trazer a solução para as dores e frustrações das suas clientes.
How was the problem addressed?
Desk research
I researched existing research to investigate and discover relevant insights into the style and fashion market.
Netnographic observation
I looked at the comments made on Mariana's competitors' Instagram profiles to select topics of common interest.
Survey
I wrote a questionnaire applied to A+ users of the services that Mariana sells, such as freelance professionals and businesswomen, who have already used the service or are thinking of using it.
Four personas emerged from this research and I was able to draw up a detailed user journey map for each persona, with a well-defined scenario, expectations, opportunities and solutions. From there, we could list the Product Backlog and then create the Sprint Backlog in Design Sprints.
The Challenge
Sophisticatedly simple
That said, following influencers and fashion personalities may not bring the answers users want. One user said in an Instagram comment: "But... it doesn't seem like I would look good in those clothes, they don't seem to fit my style." Since the other person's style doesn't speak to how that style would fit the user's style, I saw another comment that said this: "I bought the clothes I saw, I thought they were beautiful, but I usually change my clothes 3,4,5 times, and when I leave the house, I realize that it still doesn't look good...😢 it's frustrating."
Homepage information should be relevant to the user and should be presented quickly, easy to scan, and easy to understand.
That's why, when I talk about bringing to the home screen of Mariana's website the services of greatest interest that I learned through the survey and netnographic observation, I'm talking about two high-level objectives:
Provide an easy, simple and actionable overview of services, in descending order based on user surveys;
Present a description of services and critical information to enhance the resolution of queries, reduce customer objections and, consequently, make a decision to contact them.
My role
Confirm the certainties
(or not) and discover opportunities
When I joined Mariana Assad's design project, I defined the website design workflow from March to August 2022. The talented Mariana Assad and I formed a cross-functional team.
We defined a plan to classify and solve problems from the perspective of users and the business , mapping conflicting moments in the user journey, analyzing comments on the profiles of Mariana’s competitors to understand why people search for tips so frequently and to learn about the difficulties and motivations of users. I went back to previous research to find existing insights, patterns of interest and similar services. In this case study, I will show some of these steps and examine the insights that guided us from discovery to delivery, confirming or not Mariana’s certainties about the business.
The Business
A business perspective
Instagram profiles are one of the biggest points of contact between users and fashion and image consultants in Brazil. When they want references or tips on how to create their style or dress, the first thing that comes to mind for users is to ask their friends for recommendations or leave comments, questions or react with emojis and compliments on Instagram posts. The exchange of messages begins with the comments.
The time spent by users looking for an accessible and actionable recommendation can easily take days and trigger anxiety, frustration, and the idea of superficiality or that the service is limited to tips. On the other hand, from a business perspective, each comment or question represents the interest someone has in solving a problem of theirs, and consequently, they can become a customer. That is why the first step was to analyze the comments and map them by similarity.
The idea behind this analysis was to gain insights into what types of questions and comments express users’ pain points, frustrations or expectations related to the business and to match them with the services offered. Of course, it is essential that three points are met: user needs, business objectives and technical feasibility. In the future, these insights will be used to prioritize information and features to mitigate the number of calls without real interest. A summary of the main issues is here:
Problem #2 - Difficulty dressing appropriately
The current target audience B and C is mainly cost-sensitive and does not understand exactly what the service is about, seeing it as a luxury, superfluous and not a priority.
Users realize that they do not know the right techniques to communicate the message they want through their image, in the professional and social setting.
Problem #3 - Little time available and indecision
They want security, they don't know their personal image very well but they have some idea about the services they would like; they saw that Instagram profiles are generic.
Problem #4 - Frustration with your body
Users love fashion and have decided to start practicing image and style, but they do not have much knowledge about the services. They need support and professional advice about their body geometry.
Competitors
Comparisons
We tend to underestimate the importance of truly listening to users to reduce their objections and understand their pain points when they first interact, assuming responses and behaviors based on mistaken personal bias. So creating familiarity and safety can be helpful in preparing users when they first experience your product. Knowing where to find key actions, using familiar patterns, and structuring content in a way that is familiar to them gives them a sense of control and security to navigate with confidence.
Attentional Bias: We pay attention to things that are already on our minds. Knowing how users feel when they need our product the most will create better interactions. (Insight for User Journey).
A similar experience is when we shop at the same supermarket. We know where the products are placed, how to ask for help, where to pay and where the exit is. On the other hand, when we visit a store for the first time, it is quite common to feel disoriented until we understand how the system works. It is a good analogy. That is why the next step was to take a look at direct and indirect competitors to understand the patterns already used by them.
I compared direct and indirect competitors, such as Thassi Melo, Nathalia Faccio, Fer Stall, Luciana Gadotti, Luciana Nikipa, Juliana Bacellar among other image consulting websites and similar services, to understand how they layer information and structure their home page.
As shown in the chart below, I measured how often the information provided was presented and how prominently that information was displayed. The relationship between frequency and prominence revealed that the About Me and Social Proof items were somewhat prominent in the UI.
Insight #2
Furthermore, however, I was able to identify that any information responsible for providing users with more details about the services or one of the services specifically – that is, outfit assembly, body geometry, color palette, smart suitcase, etc. – was left aside, with little or no emphasis. The expectation was that main calls with their CTA would guide users to the desired service, fulfilling a simple level 1 happy path , compatible with the attention bias.
User interviews
Drawing mental models
for users
After conducting desk research and observing the patterns of user interests in the profiles of Mariana’s competitors, the need arose to understand the users’ perspectives on the opportunities that emerged as a result of our investigation. To this end, I, as a user researcher, created a hybrid quantitative/quali online survey on Survey Monkey with 22 users from Mariana’s new audience with a clearly defined objective, to collect insights through open-ended and multiple-choice questions related to image consulting services, such as A+ class behaviors, motivations for searching the internet, most common interests and what frustrations they have had so far. Then, an affinity mapping activity was performed to group preferences, to allow us to understand which topics generate the most interest and should be highlighted on the home screen and which should be prioritized for the second layer of information displayed by the design. The impediments were addressed using classic HMW to discover creative solutions to the users’ objections.
Prioritization
Evolving in a solid way
As a follow-up activity, we did three prioritization exercises , helping to create focus and create better experiences for users. It is not necessary to address all specific cases, but the priorities. The product will evolve in a solid way.
Moscow
Now / Next / Later
Clickable prototypes
Scenarios defined
A low-fidelity prototype was designed in Invision ( 1 ) and a high-fidelity prototype designed in Figma ( 2 ) and used in Maze, Lookback and Marvel was presented to the participants, containing the happy path , with three steps to the Contact buttons. The idea behind this was to make an exploratory evaluation of the main basic scenario to understand the user's behavior in this task and which information would need to stand out and which would be secondary.
At the end of the test, we spoke to five active users who know and/or have used the consultancy and their level of involvement varied from disinterested to fully aware of their objectives. The users live in Curitiba and are lawyers, businesswomen, dentists, attorneys, teachers, among others.
2
Insight #1 – Use of Key Message + CTA
Putting together looks was the subject of greatest interest in both the netnographic observation and the survey. Therefore, information bias is a decisive factor between users and the product. Users’ thoughts filter what they pay attention to. Knowing how users feel when they need the services most will yield better results. 50% of users feel that improving their image and having practicality in putting together looks would lead them to hire the service. “ Every year I spent a lot of money buying new clothes because I didn’t know how to dress, I always wore the same way, I got tired of them.” Participant 15, 40 years old, Curitiba.
Insight #2 - Clean up service pages
Insight #3 - Use three steps to hire
The Solution
Opportunities
Based on the insights gathered from the survey research, Instagram comments from Mariana’s competitors, and usability testing, four main opportunities emerged.
New details in the
service pages
By redesigning them from the beginning, we brought what is 1) relevant, 2) prioritized the services of greatest interest, 3) solved the problem of the user's lack of time with just three steps to contact and 4) generated value, all with little scrolling.
Most relevant services
Mariana's services must generate value for the user. Users must feel that they have their space here.
Direct actions
Only relevant actions were displayed in the page details.
Copy that generates value
Elaborate and exclusive experience to read, enjoy the content and have the knowledge to hire the service.
Three Steps to Contact
The main business objective is the final click on one of the Contact buttons
Clean and enriched actions
Replaces generic and random calls with clean and organized actions. This brings clarity and ease in reading the service list without having to look twice. Less cognitive load.
Other highlights
Availability
To keep the experience cohesive, Mariana is almost present on the page, talking to the user and being available for a video call.
Follow up
More services are now displayed with the main related service just below on the page.
Learnings
We learned a lot
#1 - Result may be the opposite of what was expected
Change in target audience, currently B+ and C. This audience is cost-sensitive and sees consulting as a non-priority investment. In this sense, I sought to find out which subjects spark the greatest interest in the new target audience (A+) and why. Even so, people are sensitive when their money is on the table, which is why expecting completely different results can be a challenge. Instead of reducing objections to hiring, the approach can easily lead to the opposite result. The objections would not be due to lack or limitation of financial resources but for other reasons, which we try to mitigate through the creative exercise of HMW. This is why working closely with the client, listening to them, plays an irreplaceable role in the success of the business.
#2 - Testing and iterating
Services are connected to each other in a logical sequence learned from user research. That's why one of the biggest lessons I learned comes from heatmaps, which have the ability to show user behavior so we can act quickly and replan if we hit a wall. Always avoiding bias and developing based on behavioral data is the business goal. Learning to analyze data systematically was also part of my growth trajectory in this project. First, because a new concept doesn't simply mean reorganizing the user interface, that's why WHY helps us more than WHAT. Knowing why something is relevant and prioritizing it for users in a specific context and defining sequences is the most important thing even before the user interface is designed.
#3 - Different paths
It is interesting to continue to see the motivations, how many different life contexts lead users to leave their opinions on Instagram profiles. In this sense, it was also interesting to realize that some people's journey does not even begin on the site, preferring tips from friends or profiles to check out trends, receive tips and say that everything is fine and ready, without even going to the site.
Acknowledgements
A lot of thanx
A huge thank you to everyone involved in this eight-month journey, from the beginning of the problem to the final delivery stage. In particular, I would like to thank Mariana Assad and her A+ friends, Elizandra (my wife), Denise, Paola, AJ and Diego Cabral from Design Circuit.
