Changing the Adoption Game - Part 1: The Research program that changed our vision for adoption
2023 - 2024
Note: Research and design artifacts are not shown here due to confidentiality. Please contact me to see them.
Background
In the past, we were reluctant to buy expensive items like air conditioners and TVs online. The steel industry is currently facing similar skepticism. As leaders in this field, we find it challenging to promote online purchasing, even as AI-driven e-commerce grows globally. Our research indicates that steel purchases online are unlikely to increase soon, despite our website being ready. This case study explores the insights we've gained about our customers' needs and behaviors.
In part 2, I will explain how we addressed customer reluctance and the challenges we faced in moving them online. I'll also showcase the design features we implemented that enhanced the customer experience and encouraged them to use our website for post-purchase interactions.
Goal
Interview MSME customers to identify their challenges and promote technological solutions. Encourage them to adopt websites and familiarize themselves with online platforms.
My impact
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Planning and executing research
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Getting the team together to educate them about the research methodology
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Getting them to follow the methodology
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Research analysis and actionable insights
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Converting insights into features/product ideas
Happy realisation
We worked with the business team to research the steel industry in India, focusing on the challenges and opportunities of online steel purchases. Over several months, we examined customer buying behavior, market trends, and strategies to promote e-commerce in this sector.
Lifecycle of an MSME buyer (Offline and Online comparision)
Breaking down the customer journey for progressive adoption
It's challenging to execute seamless e-commerce transactions, and as first movers, we lack a clear strategy. Transitioning offline buyers of manufacturing materials to online platforms is tough, especially when their current experience is already problematic. Despite this, we aimed to take the risk. Buyers are unlikely to purchase online anytime soon, so we began brainstorming ways to encourage platform adoption without them directly browsing products online.​
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Converting offline manufacturing material buyers to online is a challenging task, especially when the offline experience is already fraught with problems. Nevertheless, we wanted to take the risk. The buyers are not going purchase the material online despite the site being ready to do so, not in near future. We started brainstorming about how to make the buyers adopt our platform without them discovering the products online.
We started our customer research.
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So, the Game, changer!​​
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We decided to fix their offline pain points with tech. Breaking down a straight-through e-commerce transaction and after-sales Customer Experience into different entry points for adoption, the features that make their life simple and can't solve otherwise!
The customer research
We developed a research program to align our adoption model with the customer's business practices, address their offline issues with technology, and ensure a delightful experience.​​
Objective
We aimed to understand how customers interact with JSW Steel and identify their challenges.
​​We met 20 customers across 4 regions to identify the same. We created a research document and generated insights for us to create the design strategy. The entire research was carried out by the Design team. Here are some major findings:​​
Business insights
Information on what customers purchase (3 SKUs), dimensions, and specifications.
Identifying major buyers, such as resellers or manufacturers/OEMs.
Understanding how they place orders and any difficulties encountered during the process.
Questions about delivery, shipments, order documentation, and tracking.
Obstacles to adopting our services.
The Questionnaire
These are themes on which exact questions were formed
Action items
Action items for Product and Tech
Action items for Business
Demographics
Company name and type, business, contact person (name and position), system usage, and workplace details.
Other insights & inferences
Analysis and actionable insights that led us to discover important features
We analyzed the raw responses and presented the report to the Product and Business teams.
Some very important actionable insights:
Documents
Obtaining
It's challenging to keep track of documents like Lorry receipts and others.
Managing and sorting
It’s challenging to manage these documents because they are hard copies. Scanning, preserving, and organizing them is a time-consuming task.
Retriving
Having these documents ready is essential for filing taxes and during audits.
Reordering
Discovery
It’s almost impossible to find the preferred material.
Re-ordering behaviour
We always order from 2-3 SKUs. Why do you want me to search for my material every time?
Know my intent
When I land on the website, I should be directly able to re-order without getting lost
Discovery of features to maximise the adoption
Order documents
Shipment tracking
Material discovery
Re-ordering
Price and availability
Next steps
The Design team under my leadership always takes responsibility for the impact of the experiences we create. Here's the process we follow for every research project:
