Implementing a new service booking flow to strengthen customer relations and boost conversion rates for a local business.
Truong Kim, founder of Berry Brand, built his acai bowl shop on transparency and customer-centricity. His physical store was thriving with loyal customers who appreciated the quality and care that went into every bowl, but the online shop wasn't capturing the same success. Frustrated by this disconnect, Truong reached out to me for a solution – specifically, one for the catering page that was attracting many visitors, yet few of them converting into bookings.
The first thing I noticed when analyzing the catering page was its simplicity, consisting of only a contact form. This lack of information extended across the site, with no details on menu options, pricing, or services. At this point, I had a general idea of what was going on:
Berry Brand's current catering page
Without menu options, pricing, and examples, potential customers don't have enough details to make informed decisions.
The reason above can lead to frustrated visitors, who opt for other catering options.
Customers use the catering inquiry form for general questions rather than booking, creating more administrative work for the business (and disappointment).
To address Truong's problem, I realized that optimizing the catering page alone wouldn't be sufficient. If Berry Brand's first impression wasn't impactful, visitors were unlikely to book a service for an important event. Therefore, it was necessary to also redesign the landing page to create a more compelling brand identity.
I began with a heuristics-based analysis to gain a holistic view of the site's content and user experience, ensuring a comprehensive approach for the redesign. This revealed numerous usability and content deficiencies.
Since the heuristics-based analysis focused on site design, I conducted interviews with catering customers to gain insights into their priorities, needed information, and ideal booking process to design the catering flow.
Among these considerations, a prominent theme emerged: conclusiveness. This meant more than securing a booking on-the-spot; it reflected customers' primary need for reassurance and confidence in their decision-making processes. Berry Brand's site lacked necessary details to provide this, which was likely causing its missed business opportunities.
I created user personas based on my interviewees: experienced event planners familiar with service booking processes, and first-timers or casual caterers.
Clarity
Credibility
Simplicity
The user flows below tackle uncertainty and extensive email exchanges by offering a comprehensive catering booking process upfront.
I created high-fidelity versions of the wireframes for usability testing. Participants were asked to navigate through 2 tasks:
- Book a catering service for pickup/delivery
- Book an on-premise catering service
Participants provided positive feedback for the revamped interface, attributing the user-friendly nature to its resemblance of other widely-used ordering platforms. The on-premise catering flow, however, posed some challenges.
"I'd like to book an on-premise catering service but the options only allow me to 'select' items and preview the price. I don't know how to proceed after this."
The initial design allowed users to select their menu items and access the inquiry form by scrolling down to the bottom of the page. However, due to the form being positioned below the visible portion of the page, users had difficulty locating it and moving onto the next step.
SOLUTIONS
- Familiarity: Rather than "selecting" menu items to preview costs, customers can add them to their carts as they would with any other online purchases
- Easy Cart Access: Introducing a sidebar for the cart page not only displays selected items and their pricing, it prompts customers to navigate to the cart as the next step in the process
- Seamless Form Integration: The transition from menu selection to inquiry submission is streamlined; rather than finalizing their purchase at the cart stage, users are guided to proceed to an inquiry form
*Video hosting and upload properties have caused some color discrepancies from the actual design.
The final design showcases the evolution of Berry Brand's catering page from a mere form to a comprehensive, customer-centric section on the site.
This project marked my first time collaborating with a client/stakeholder. My mission was to strike a balance between business goals and user needs, which meant digging into pain points on both sides and incorporating them into my design decisions. This experience sharpened my problem-solving skills and underlined the importance of syncing user-centered design with business objectives.Even so, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Working within the constraints of existing site limitations, as well as Berry Brand’s identity, meant I didn’t have complete freedom to design as I pleased. However, through it all, I found that success in design means staying flexible and being able to grasp both user and stakeholder perspectives.
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