Used Equipment Listings
One of our customers approached us about creating something to send out to their sales team and customers on a regular basis to inform them about what used equipment they have for sale. This case study is my response to this request.
The time frame for this project was one week to create a mockup of a potential solution. The process below prioritized finding a usable, effective solution in that time frame. Further testing, development, and analyses are tentatively planned for after the client approves the project moving ahead.
The process
2. Analyze the current solution
1. Analyze the problem
3. Create the problem statement
4. Determine the goals
5. Create
7. Modify
6. Quick informal testing
The Problem
A meeting with the stakeholders gave us these important insights:
They want their customers to know they have a constantly changing used equipment inventory.
They want their sales team to consider their used equipment inventory when talking to customers.
They want their sales team up to date on the current used equipment listings.
They want customers to engage with products on their website.
They want an end product that they can send customers multiple ways.
Their website has a continuously updated used equipment area, but few people use it.
They want to send the message to customers and their sales team that they are starting to take used equipment more seriously.
They want to encourage their sales team to take better images and write better descriptions of the used equipment.
The Before
The customer has a website (that we do not manage) that is currently used as their used equipment listings. It is formatted in a typical e-commerce format with filters and a grid of products, each including a preview of the image, the equipment name, price, and contact information. Customers will land on these pages through email and social media ads or an organic search, but people only check them occasionally, and pushing out more ads would annoy customers.
The customer also has a magazine featuring a used equipment page. They create the pages themselves and can be seen here:
These are sent out four times a year and are placed at the back of the magazine, making it so most people do not reach or look over the page, based on analytics.
The problem statement
The Goals
1. The final product encourages customers to click through to the website.
2. The final product can be sent to customers as a link or embedded.
3. The final product is easy for the sales team to look through, keep up with, and reference.
4. The final product is interesting to look through and interact with, encouraging people to reopen it when updates are sent out.
The Solution
We created an online interactive magazine to host the final product. The first page includes links to the website if the viewer is looking for something outside the used equipment listings. It is formatted to resemble a magazine someone can flip through but uses UX design elements to create buttons and encourage interaction. This decision seeks to strike a balance between making the issue and the used equipment seem significant yet easy to digest. Additionally, this format encourages viewers to continue onto the website to see more information while serving as a quick reference for the sales team.
A product page was added later to ensure consistency when a viewer clicks on a product. It includes extra information and more images, along with financing information. It encourages people to continue onto the website for more information and allows the viewer to preview the product without opening a new tab or redirecting to the website. The more cohesive and removed from other sales tactics the experience was, the more users reported that they were likely to return.
The final page is more magazine-like than the other pages, as it gives users a better understanding that they are at the end. To continue, users had to go back or click on something. In this case, the mental model of a magazine was used to signal that information successfully.
The product was formatted to be distinct from a print magazine, as during the testing process, it became clear that the mental models people have of standard magazine components do not lend themselves to interaction. Details resembling a magazine made usability testers see the page as an ad and something they would ignore. When the shapes were changed to resemble buttons, website selections, and options, users were much more likely to engage and enjoy the experience of clicking through. A more website-like appearance also made users describe the product as a reference or tool instead of an ad or sales tactic.
Brands and locations are listed inside the cover, and links to the company's social media and website are included on every spread. These components are formatted as interactive boxes or page footers resembling website footers. This format provides the information that people may seek out from the issue without taking up extra space or presenting it as magazine-like.
The next steps
A/B Testing can be done on versions of the used equipment to check usability and advocate for the involvement of UX.
The visits and clicks should be analyzed to see if and how people interact with the page and if the goals set earlier are being achieved. Any change in sales and used equipment inquiries should also be examined.
Testing different ways of sending out the link should be done to find where and how people are most receptive (embedded in an email, link in an email, social media).
Consider hosting the content on tablets or other screens at sales locations and events. Then, customers can easily look through the contents while waiting on salespeople.
The lessons
You need to advocate for UX.
What you want and what you need in a design might be two very different things.
The problem statement needs to be determined and communicated before designing has begun.