Background
My assignment was to decide on a target website and make notes regarding the kinds of improvements you could propose to the owner of the site through a site review, competitive site analyses, Business Goals and Hypothesis Statements.
Initial Observations:
1. The site did not have “clear Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of what it does.”
2. The home button was not clear on every page.
3. Iconography was not present and was not consistent.
4. The site could not be personalized for frequent use.
5. The video and audio did not include transcripts.
BUSINESS GOALS:
1. Increase social media following for Hawaii Coffee Company by 15% in six months.
2. Increase subscription services by 10% in the next year.
3. Increase site traffic by 10% by the end of FY23.
HYPOTHESIS STATEMENTS:
I BELIEVE THAT putting an emphasis on social media WILL RESULT in consumers being informed about our products including benefits and ingredients, and I KNOW I WILL HAVE SUCCEEDED WHEN WE SEE locals choosing to buy Hawaii Coffee Company to support local farmers over the competition and the “following rate” has increased by 15%.
I BELIEVE THAT subscription service WILL RESULT IN more coffee being purchased more often FOR customers on the subscription service, and I KNOW I WILL HAVE SUCCEEDED WHEN WE SEE overall revenues of the business improve and subscribers have increased by 10% in the next year.
I BELIEVE THAT providing an easy –to-use site with relevant information WILL RESULT IN many more customers navigating the site and buying our products, and I KNOW I WILL HAVE SUCCEEDED WHEN WE SEE revenues improve and site traffic increase by 10% by the end of FY23.
Barriers to Success
1. Execution from the company to promote and encourage customers to enter the site
2. We believe that we have created a site that shows information the user wants to see.
3. We have created a site that makes it easy to learn about the products and place orders.
4, If the company does not take action to motivate customers to enter the site, the business goals may be compromised.
Competition
1. Company has little control over the competition entry into the market and pricing
2. If others enter the market, the business goals may be compromised
Current Site Evaluation
PROS
Links and tools work as expected
Page titles match link labels
Buttons, menus, and links match standard conventions
CONS
Accelerators do not exist
Contact forms or site contact email is not available
Target Audiences
Heads of Households:
Heads of Households is my number one target audience because this is the person who will be doing the grocery shopping and signing up for convenient subscription services.
One of the goals is to increase subscription services and it will be necessary to target the principal shopper in the household. Targeting the primary consumer in the household will result in an increase in revenues and subscriptions which is desirable.
Men and Women Professionals Between 22-50 years of age:
Dunkin Donuts* performed a survey and found that professions such as scientists, technicians, and researchers drink the most coffee. They work long hours and rely on coffee to pick them up in the morning and help them stay awake at work.
Keep in mind men drink more coffee than women and men choose the brand due to cost and women chose the brand due to taste. Employers rely on coffee to keep their employees working hard so this leads to my third audience: employers.
Employers of Professionals Like Law Firms, Accounting Firms, and Science-Based Companies:
Employees who come into the office want a cup of coffee first thing and during the day to keep energy high. Offering tasty coffee at affordable prices increases distribution of the product. The number one country for coffee drinkers are the Scandinavian countries and NYC in the United States. There are opportunities to target companies in geographical areas as well.
Storyboard
Storyboard is clear and concise and mimics target audience activity.
Storyboard reflects an authentic real-life example and is cohesive.
The ability to find Kona Coffee site fast is essential. Target audience is busy and will not take the time to search for hard to find sites.
Storyboard reflects an example of a user that liked the taste of Kona Coffee when tried in Hawaii and wants to try and access the brand away from Hawaii as well.
Taste of Kona Coffee is introduced, appreciated and user motivated to find coffee online.
User Research Interview
In this sketch I am trying to have the user go from the homepage to the about page in three-panels. I picked this action because it was a pain point during my interview.
In this sketch I am trying to have the user go from the homepage to the about page in three-panels.
ANALYSIS & KEY CHANGES
1. During the interview, the user wanted to see the option to BUY coffee more prominently.2,
2. Also, the user wanted to see the subscription service option more prominently.
3. The design of the screen were simple, uncluttered and easy to use as explained by the user.
4. The use of color was appealing as was the vertical design of the screens.
Usability Testing
ANALYSIS & FINDINGS
Facilitation:
I learned how to sound more natural with the opening and how to maintain eye contact, even online. My innontations should be natural sounding, like having a conversation.
I should have read the script out loud ahead of time a couple of times. Eventually, I will memorize it.
I need to let the user get all of her thoughts out and even ask questions based on thoughts that were not anticipated such as, “What do you mean by that comment?”
After listening to my interview, I could see opportunities for pause to allow more reflection on my part and the user.
Design:
My user would like the subscription service to be more prominent on the home page.
The user mentioned that she appreciated the vertical design of the screen and the simple use of color.
Also, the user mentioned that the screen was balanced and easy to see options clearly.
