Highlights
- Developed Smart Energy’s first Design System.
- Created templates and guidelines for print and digital use.
- Established new partnerships with vendors such as print-houses, copywriters and engineers to reduce costs.
- Conducted research to inform product strategy, and improve understanding of users and the business.
- Supported a successful pitch for a partnership with a national retailer.
Methodology
Discover and Define
Design and Iterate
Context: What, how and why
Smart Energy provides renewable energy solutions (solar panels, batteries) to residential and commercial consumers. The business had ambitious growth goals, and an objective to increase the number, and quality of leads, whilst reducing costs.
I helped Smart Energy utilise design and research to establish an efficient design function enabling faster turnaround for website updates and marketing materials with reduced production costs, increased lead generation, and build their brand and reputation to improve trust with users.
Problems
From the discovery phase, research indicated signals that were further unpacked, synthesised and themed. This informed the key areas of focus.
1
Inconsistent brand application creating trust issues.
2
Long lead time and high cost for marketing material production, inhibiting growth.
3
Low trust of the value of solar products and retailers.
4
Lack of knowledge and technical details causing sales abandonment.
Solutions
To resolve and minimise the negative impact of the identified problems; multiple solutions were developed, tested and implemented.
1
Design system, guidelines and templates developed.
2
Systemised design processes and relationships with third-party vendors established.
3
Ongoing marketing strategy including a new blog functionality to inform and educate users.
4
Development of additional materials to be added in to the sales journey.
Understanding our users experience
I conducted generative research with users and stakeholders to better understand needs, pain points, objectives and overall journey experience.
Interviews
In-person and online with existing customers, and potential customers.
Surveys
5 existing customers and 5 potential customers recruited through our customer database and social media.
Observational research
Contextual observation during multiple phases of the sales process.
Translating findings into actionable insights
Findings from generative research were collated and synthesised into actionable insights, ensuring all design decisions are human-centered and based on real quantitative/qualitative user data and scenarios.
Had moderate skepticism of the solar industry
“I have read about door salesmen ripping off elderly people with ridiculous pricing and shoddy work”
Weren't comfortable with their understanding of value
“I listened to what the salesman had to say, and read through some of the material but I didn’t really understand the numbers”
Were driven to solar purely by economic factors
“I knew from a friend that solar was going to be good for me and my family long-term”
Persona development
Fictional personas were built using data gathered from user research interviews. Their goals and characteristics represent the needs of a larger group of users. This helped me build empathy, identify patterns of behaviour, stress-test designs and humanise user groups.
User journey map
I created a journey map to analyse the touchpoints between the user and the product. This helped me empathise with the user, highlight frustrations and improvement opportunities. It also helped me anticipate user needs at each step as they interact with my product.
Understanding the business workings...
Analysing the current state of the business to identify areas of opportunity, pain points, and rate the severity in order to prioritise the roadmap of work.
Stakeholder Interviews and Workshops
Gathering perspectives from all functions of the business.
Data Analysis
Using Google Analytics and Hotjar to pinpoint friction.
System and Service Mapping
Visualisation of the sales funnel; process, people and systems.
Audit of Vendors and Assets
A heatlh check to map out the tools, templates and resources we access.
...To find opportunities
Findings from the research were collated and synthesised into actionable insights. Ongoing conversations helped unpack signals, and priotritise the value to the business based on established key metrics.
Inefficient production processes
Resulting in off-brand materials being put into the market, and insufficient information being provided to users.
Capabilities restricting output
The business is restricted by the capabilities, without video, copywriting and engineers in-house, our output is limited.
Friction in the sales funnel
Abandonment during the sales process at multiple phases was observed.
Information Architecture
I organised all of the existing content into a sitemap, and structured it around the user flows.
Overhaul of the website experience
Once we better understood our users, we were able to tailor the website experience to ensure better discoverability of information and easy access to common tasks. The information architecture was redesigned to highlight key calls-to-action, separate utilities from informational pages, and optimise for user journeys.
Creating a clear and consistent design system
The new system includes templates for digital and print use, responsive components, as well as detailed guidance and examples to support internal and external teams build brand consistency across all channels.
Improved help and support for new and existing customers
A redesigned help centre ensured information was organised and expanded according to user needs. The lead generation form also captured additional information that helped teams screen and assess potential customers.
Both changes enabled a better experience for users and internal teams.
Building Smart Energy’s voice in the market
It was vital to ensure Smart Energy could strengthen their voice in the market. A blog functionality was built as a space to share industry insights, thought leadership and news and developments — all of which can be utilised for digital marketing.
The blog – Smart Insights – provided the business with a platform to build trust by sharing expertise and tips for new and existing users.
Reduced cost and production time
Establishing partnerships with various vendors enabled Smart Energy to reduce print costs by ~20% and turnaround time by ~25%. This was achieved by utilising a printer’s portal that was able to support the volume, and distribute directly to Smart Energy locations across Australia.
Improved brand consistency across all channels
Detailed documentation and templates allowed Smart Energy to produce a wider array of marketing assets — such as social media posts, ads and print collateral — more quickly and aligned with the Smart Energy brand.
Connecting people with the business strategy
Building user personas and journey maps required input across the Smart Energy organisation — from the sales team, through to the feasibility assessment team.
By championing involvement and transparency throughout the process, I built stronger understanding of responsibilities, and alignment with business strategy throughout the business.
Other work
Feedback mechanism
CMS Dashboard design
