The results: A significant rise in conversion
The challenge: business transformation
Over 18 years SACO had become one of the travel industry’s leading serviced apartment providers, with an enviable portfolio of over 33,000 apartments worldwide.
But if they were to continue to succeed, they knew they needed to put digital at the heart of their business. Why? Because this would continue the process of repositioning their brand as a consumer proposition, improve customer satisfaction, shift revenue online, and ultimately future-proof their operating model.
The project carried significant risk, and it couldn’t afford to fail.
The solution: A customer-first redefined brand
The stakes were high. The changes we were attempting would fundamentally affect the look and experience of the brand. We had to get to know the business inside out; and quickly. That meant starting with understanding the customer; and identifying the commercial, political, and business realities of service delivery at SACO.
We moved rapidly to an iterative design approach: developing concepts, testing with customers, and then refining. The value of the iterative approach was evident throughout the project.
For example, we discovered that the photography being used to represent business customers was unengaging. Details like this undermine trust in the booking process. If the experience was to resonate in the human, authentic manner needed, we had to come up with new guidelines and material that also fitted with their brand. So we introduced a suite of warm, engaging photography which became a key part of the identity. User testing showed it worked.
These kinds of insights and approaches allowed us to diffuse the risks inherent in such a major, transformational project. We knew our designs would work before they went live. The solution delivered was a user-focused, repositioned brand, brought to customers via a new digital platform (in the form of a website) that was a key component in a new way of doing business and driving sales.
Do you have a business challenge
you’d like to chat through?
Contact Daniel Harris, Experience Strategy Director: