Giving Consumers the Control
Perfect Placement Feature for the Veho Mobile App
Problem & Goal
Based on my previous research on user behavior and shipping/delivery sentiment, “misdeliveries” surfaced as one of the biggest pain points for consumers.
At any given time, between 20% and 30% of undelivered Veho packages are misdelivered. This means that consumers don’t get those packages and Veho often must pay restitution to clients for the lost goods. By providing consumers with a way to more granularly specify their delivery drop-off location, we have the potential to reduce misdeliveries, as well as improve Customer Satisfaction (CSAT).
By asking, “how might we make our consumers’ delivery experiences perfect, always?” I was allowing myself to get closer to finding an innovative solution that puts consumers in control of their delivery, and more importantly, their post-purchase experience. Our team called this initiative “Perfect Placement.”
Process
The team, managed by John Farley, started with two hypotheses for feature enhancements to address this:
By adding the ability for consumers to set a geo-pin of where they want their packages delivered via the Veho Mobile App, we will reduce misdeliveries and improve CSAT for consumers who use the feature.
By adding the ability for consumers to take a photo of where they want their packages delivered, we will reduce misdeliveries and improve CSAT for customers who use the feature.
As the lead designer for this feature, my priority will always be with the users, serving as their representative and creating features and tools that serve their best interests. We landed on the following user stories that operated as our guiding principles:
As a consumer, I want the ability to tell Veho precisely where I want my package delivered.
As a consumer, I want the ability to easily correct an inaccurate address by choosing my preferred delivery location on a map.
As a consumer, I have become accustomed to being able to adjust location (for rideshare pickup, etc.) by adjusting a pin on a map.
As a Veho driver, I want to know precisely where a consumer needs their package delivered/picked up so that I can successfully deliver upon their expectations.
As a client, I want Veho to deliver/pickup package(s) for my customers on time and in the correct location so that my customers have a good purchase experience.
Luckily, due to prior high-concept design work and research conducted by Sean Andersohn, I was able to contain the scope of this work to not include augmented reality, due to high effort and low prospective user adoption. Other out-of-scope enhancements included a method of using machine automation to compare previous successful proof-of-delivery photos to inform this feature enhancement.
(Above) Figjam board I created for brainstorming both a Geo-Pin-focused feature and a Photo-focused feature.
Solution
After rapid prototyping, continued research, and testing, I decided to focus on a clear, winning idea that hit the sweet spot of low-effort and high-impact, which was to allow consumers the ability to upload images of their preferred delivery location, automatically informing their Veho driver on how to ensure the perfect delivery experience. The added bonus of this feature also incorporates solutions discovered during the research for the Geo-Pin-focused path.
As detailed in the official blog, the Perfect Placement feature allows consumers to gain more control over the delivery of their packages by offering a simple yet effective solution:
Customers photograph their preferred spot: Consumers can take a photo of their desired delivery location, whether it’s a safe spot on the front porch, a well shaded spot outside of the sun’s reach, or any other accessible area that ensures the package's safety. Consumers can add this directly in the mobile app, or by texting their preferred placement with Veho’s Support team.
Share with Driver Partners via the Veho app: The photo, along with any additional delivery instructions, is shared with the driver partner through the Veho driver app. This eliminates guesswork and ensures driver partners know exactly where to leave the package.
Exact location is recorded: For all photos supplied by customers, whether added directly in the mobile app or provided via text with a Veho Support member, Veho extracts the geolocation (latitude & longitude) of the photo.
Real-time updates and confirmations: Once the package is placed in the specified location, customers receive a confirmation, complete with a photo of the placed package, ensuring peace of mind.
In short, consumers are able to take control of all of their deliveries and expect a perfect post-purchase experience, each and every time.
(above) Progression that shows one path of sharing a “Perfect Placement” photo, on the order summary page, with the user taking the photo in real time.
Post-Launch
As the official press release for “Perfect Placement” aptly captures, this is an “industry first” feature. Rightly so, Veho launched a cross-platform campaign to debut this innovative enhancement.
(above) Blog post announcing feature release.
(above) Organic social advertisement debuting the “Perfect Placement” feature.
(above) Official press release: “Veho Puts Customers in Control by Launching Industry First Perfect Placement Photo Feature”
For more context on how this works, below is a high-level overview of this feature: