TARA BUTLER

For a brand like Porsche, the onsite dealership car buying experience has always been integral to the success of the company. Porsche has to find ways to manage the transformation process without losing today’s customer base.

Empathy and a deep understanding of users’ needs are the fundamental principles of user-centered design. UX research is a pivotal step in user-centered design- it reduces uncertainty in terms of what users want and need and achieves a balance between business and users’ goals. By approaching the research phase with both user and business objectives in focus, we take into account various aspects of user experience such as utility, usability, desirability, and brand experience. 

Research will be done in phased approach— Research Design, Research Execution, and Research Analysis. An 8-week timeline is expected to complete Phases 1, 2, and 3 pending adequate participation from targeted user roles and personas.

Research Design phase- focuses on aligning the team and stakeholders around research goals, objectives, hypotheses, and methods. And collaborating with cross-functional teams to validate current user roles and personas and recruit appropriate candidates for activities and schedule sessions.

Research Execution phase- consists of conducting research activities with a subset of participants from each user role or persona being targeting. This also includes making any necessary adjustments to interview scripts, surveys, or any other tools being utilized for the research activities. 

Research Analysis phase- involves reviewing findings, validating/invalidating hypotheses against findings, and mapping user goals and needs to potential directions for the online car buying experience.

Predictions

• Expectations and experience for car enthusiasts of luxury brands will be different from the traditional car shopper.
• There will be a difference in how someone of an older generation interacts with an online experience versus someone of a younger generation.
• Video marketing and virtual reality will play a large role in the online car buying experience like re-imaging the test drive and how shoppers search for cars.

Participant recruiting

The following participant profiles were selected so there would be a mix of current and desired customers and a diverse perspective on the online car shopping experience to uncover a difference in needs for the experience for premium brands vs standard brands.

• Current Porsche customers considered to be car/Porsche enthusiasts
• Shoppers (brand-agnostic) who have completed or almost completed the online car buying experience
• Shoppers of luxury/premium brands who have or have not completed the online car buying experience

Research Methods

• Competitive analysis
• What: Assess competitor sites to see how they design for their users
• Why: To get market context that other companies are building for and what users will expect in an ideal online car buying experience if they’ve used similar solutions before. 
• Benefit: Ensure we build a solution that has differentiating factors and can compete with other brands
• Timeline: 1 week 
• Social listening 
• What: Monitoring social media channels and customer watering holes for feedback of the Porsche brand or discussions around specific keywords, topics, competitors, etc.
• Why: Affordable tactic to uncover what people are saying about the Porsche brand and topics around online car shopping.
• Benefit: Validate personas and ensure the solution is designed for the right people and their needs. Learn what messaging resonates for marketing efforts.
• Timeline: 1 week
• Remote user interviews: 
• What: One-on-one discussions with users dig deep into a particular topic.
• Why: To get detailed information about a user’s attitudes, desires, experiences, and pain points with online car buying.
• Benefit: Ensure those factors are addressed when designing a solution and how we communicate the value of the solution. 
• Timeline: 1 week
• Remote shadowing/ethnographic studies
• What: Observing the users in their environment to see how they interact with an experience
• Why: To observe behavior rather than opinions and understand existing behaviors so that you can adapt your designs to those behaviors.
• Benefit: Understand a users workflow, the factors that affect it, and any less obvious pain points in the experience to solve for when designing the solution. 
• Timeline: 1 week
• Survey
• What: Lists of questions for shoppers of luxury/premium brands who have or have not completed the online car buying experience (x30).
• Why: To gather measurable data on attitudinal behavior
• Benefit: Quickly gather diverse data and ensure the designed solution is truly what users want  
• Timeline: 2 weeks

References

White, A. (2020, April 15). Coronavirus May Finally Bring Online Car Shopping into Mainstream.

Retrieved from Car and Driver website:

https://www.caranddriver.com/

Evox Images (2020, May 5). Top 3 Automotive Marketing Trends In 2020.

Retrieved from Evox Images website:

https://www.evoximages.com/