Discovering user needs for a new CRM to improve customer experience
Client: Ringtons Ltd
Employer: Qrious
CONTEXT
Ringtons is an iconic North East family business, founded in Newcastle Upon Tyne in 1907.
It has a strong reputation for its friendly doorstep delivery service and highest-quality teas.
As part of a multi-year digital transformation programme, Ringtons asked Qrious to conduct research to identify user needs and requirements for a new CRM solution to manage customer accounts more effectively and efficiently.
The BRIEF
A 6-week discovery project, to form the first phase of a multi-year project to design and build a new CRM solution. To surface the challenges facing staff across the company, including in new customer acquisition, managing customer accounts, providing a service that meets customer expectations, management reporting, and communications.
APPROACH
Stakeholder workshop
Launching with a stakeholder workshop, to discuss and agree the draft project plan, objectives, scope, and deliverables.
Contextual inquiry and interviews
On-site interviews and observations at Ringtons Head Office with key users, including staff from Customer Care, e-Commerce, and Marketing. Remote interviews with management staff in Sales Offices.
Exploring current systems
Conducting walkthroughs of the current CRM system and e-commerce platform (as the intention was to combine customer records from two separate systems).
Mapping processes and systems
Visualising and mapping current processes and systems using process flows, service blueprints, and an ecosystem map, to identify pain points and areas for improvement.
Creating user types
Producing a set of four user types to capture the motivations, challenges, behaviours, and needs of different users.
Creating service blueprints
Producing service blueprints to visualise different services connected with customer records.
Cataloguing use cases
Cataloguing and mapping use cases, and feeding these into a user story map for the next phase of design and build.
Initial report to staff
Whole team meeting with Ringtons’ Customer Care team – the primary users of the CRM – to present findings and confirm the factual accuracy of the research report and design artefacts.
Playback to company executives
Delivering a research playback and report to executive directors at Ringtons, using storytelling techniques to highlight the most important findings in a compelling and memorable way.
OUTCOMES
By taking a user-centered approach to identify technical requirements and user requirements, we provided direction to help the client select a suitable CRM platform, built a strong foundation for designing a solution to meet user needs, and gained buy-in from staff by listening to, and advocating for, employees at the coalface.
Our research provided essential information to enable Ringtons to select an appropriate platform for the CRM. We provided a solid foundation to design a solution that would improve customer engagement, reduce the manual workload of staff, help to prevent errors, and facilitate management reporting to identify opportunities for business growth.
ELENA GORMAN, PHD 