Loyalty App
Selling the Vision: How a Prototype Secured Buy-In
Context
Worklocker is one of largest workwear retailers in Australia. As they are pivoting to franchise model, Worklocker needs to convince their external store owners to adopt their new system.
This mobile app is a part of their about-to-launch Loyalty Program. The initial concept was minimal, with little consideration for the user experience.
Chuck, Michael and I faced tight deadlines, needing to create a convincing prototype for upcoming conferences where store owners would be pitched the new system.
Result
- Instead of the targeted 35 external store owners, over 60 enthusiastically committed to joining Worklocker’s new system.
- This overwhelming response impressed the board so much that they increased the development budget to AUD$500,000 for the entire ecosystem.
Team
- Chuck G. – Head of Marketing
- Micheal L. – CTO
- Joey Tr. ( me ) – Designer
Initial
Doubts
The strategy involved launching a campaign to encourage customers to download the app, with the download numbers serving as leverage for the store owners.
The core functionality proposed was allowing customers to download invoices – a feature likely used only a few times a year, replacing a manual email request process.
This is the 2-day draft, based solely on the functional requirement brief that I received from Michael and Chuck.
The goal for this draft was to visualise the vision and get the budget approved. Apparently, the three of us got that.
But something’s unsettling to me: the app can’t solely focus on business interests.
Selling
The Vision
Chuck and Michael later shared a more ambitious plan.
The app wasn’t just about onboarding; it was envisioned as a crucial touchpoint in the entire customer experience journey. From initial awareness of Worklocker to repeat purchases, the app was intended to play a significant role.
As a part of the Loyalty program, this app needs to keep customers maintaining their memberships. Moreover, we expect this app to become Worklocker’s main marketing channel, driving revenue growth.
The goal was to sell this vision to the external store owners at upcoming conferences.
We knew that static visuals wasn’t enough.
We had to have an interactive prototype to demo.
Visualising
The Vision
Visual is worth more than a million words. So I made a few changes:
The Roadmap Shift
After I read insights from Marketing team, understood their user personas, and customer experience map, I noticed they would run promotional campaigns frequently on different channels. Ultimately, they wanted to push revenue through this app.
That’s why I suggested new milestone in the roadmap:
Enhancing features to maximise values
Banners & Articles
Initially, banners & articles were not required in the brief. As this app will soon be a key channel for in-market retention, these features are inevitable. And, it’s worth communicating to store owners during the conference.
Smart Store Finding
The store finding feature is quite important to Worklocker’s customers. Initially, this feature was expected to work as a list of store locations.
However, we learned that customers use a map not because they want to go to a specific store, but because they want to go to the nearest store.
That’s why I suggested having this feature auto-suggest the nearest stores based on the user’s location. This enhancement directly addressed a common customer need and made the app more user-friendly.
Aesthetic does matter. A lot.
Aesthetics is an age-old principle that revolves around the nature of beauty and the fact that people prefer pretty things. (Source: IxDF)
The intention here of leveraging aesthetics was to build a positive initial impression that fosters trust and credibility.
It’s worth to put extra effort into creating product images, article thumbnails, and adding micro animation to this prototype during the interaction.
Sold
The Vision
The buzz after the conference was palpable.
Chuck and Michael had aimed to convince 35 external store owners to onboard their new system, but they secured commitments from over
60 store owners.
The board was thrilled, “When will this app be ready?” they asked.
Michael responded, “I need to get the internal system done first.” The overwhelming positive response led to a significant increase in the development budget for the entire system, reaching half a million dollars.
Key Takeaways
- Collaborating is critical. I wouldn’t have come up with these ideas if there weren’t stories and insights from Chuck and Michael.
- Show, don’t tell. Showing stakeholders the high-fidelity version makes it close to realistic.
- Aesthetics gives us huge advantages in getting attention and starting the discussion with a strong, good impression from listeners.
- As a designer, we must figure out ways that bring value and benefits for both business and users.
She is solid.
Still Curious?
👉 Reach out to discuss this case study in detail and explore potential opportunities: tranbaoy90@gmail.com