Rhino Construction
Summary: Time to Renovate
Position: UX Designer & Brand Consultant
Type of Company: Construction Company
Project: Customer Surveys, Interviews, Site Design, and Visual Refresh
Technologies: User Survey, User Interviews, Card Sorting, Sketch, Affinity Designers, Photoshop, Illustrator
As the Senior UX Designer & Brand Consultant at Rhino Construction, I had the privilege of collaborating with marketing, leadership, and the owner to craft a tailored user experience specifically designed for their target clients. Rhino Construction is renowned for delivering exceptional residential, commercial, and industrial projects across America, and it was my role to ensure that their online presence truly reflected their brand and engaged their desired audience.
Goal
Within a span of six months, my objective was to define a seamless user experience for both mobile and web platforms, specifically catering to premium construction clients. By conducting thorough user research, I aimed to establish a consistent user flow, visually appealing design elements, appropriate tone, and desired user behaviors.
I engaged existing and potential customers to gather valuable feedback, highlighting past projects in a compelling and shareable format, thereby positioning the company as a prominent leader within the online construction community.
Problem: "Fixer Upper"
The site was losing target customers due to outdated brand choices, legacy web standards, and broken mobile pages. It looked pretty straight forward. However, user testing would reveal how a key feature was missing from the beginning.
Collecting User Feedback
Not every project needs a survey, but every company needs feedback. To foster natural experiences and establish effective feedback loops, I took the initiative to design and conduct surveys. By carefully reviewing existing feedback, I crafted surveys that could be administered before, during, and after projects. During my collaboration with the front desk administrator, I identified the need to improve feedback documentation. The surveys played a vital role in informing my decisions and shaping future projects based on valuable insights. My goal was to:
Discover clear and actionable insights
Write clean, simple, and unbiased questions
Ask the right types of questions in the best order
Focus on completion time instead of the # of questions
Project Survey
5 sample Rhino questions:
Was the quality of the work what you expected?
Did the job start on time?
Were the workers on the job courteous and professional?
Was the job completed in a timely manner?
Would you refer our company to someone else?
Branding Survey
5 sample Rhino questions:
Share 3 words you'd use to describe Rhino Construction?
What do you think this company does?
Is this logo trustworthy?
Would you change any of the colors of this logo?
What comes to mind when you look at this logo?
Contractor Survey
5 sample Rhino questions:
How would you rate your experience with our contractor?
Were they able to answer your questions or concerns?
Would you like to work with this person again?
Overall, how would you rate their performance?
How could they improve the Rhino experience?
User Testing
5 sample Rhino questions:
Was the Rhino website easy to use?
What would you change about it?
How would you describe the Rhino site?
What are you hoping to accomplish by visiting our website?
How would you request a quote?
Survey Says!
Providing negative feedback can be a delicate task. To address this challenge, I took a proactive approach by delivering the findings in person. I prioritized the problems and presented a well-defined plan for addressing those issues. To ensure that the negative feedback was received constructively, I utilized best practice examples that helped to depersonalize the news. By employing the format of "Good, Better, Best," I presented the feedback as a range of improvement options rather than sounding inherently negative. Here are some key insights:
100% of mobile users said requesting a quote is their main priority
100% disliked the quoting system
16% could locate quote form in under a minute
84% would not hire them based on their site alone
The results for Rhino Construction informed the owner and marketing about their image and ease of use. Hearing feedback from outside the organization confirmed their hypothesis on several issues.
Let's Put Our Results to Work
3 Personas
Based on past client data, stakeholder interviews, and our first round of testing I was able to create 3 personas. One for residential, commercial, and industrial. Some shared aspects are:
High net-worth
35-55 years of age
Already owns buildings or lots
Interested in high-end and modern amenities
Attracted to crisp, clean styling with natural light
"Quote Button" in Navigation
After the first round of testing, I included a "Request a Quote" to my wireframes. Multiple versions were tested and placing the button above the main navigation bar proved to be best. We reduced the previous quote request system to name, phone, email, and description field. A question residential, commercial, and industrial was added to help filter results internally.
Designing a Floor Plan
Before you can jump into building a house, you need a logical floor plan. I used my UX Kits - Website Deck to help remind the clients of possible options and wrote down additional ideas with dry erase on the back of the cards.
Information Architecture: Sketch
I wanted to take both the clients' and users' needs into account, improving upon the site's current functionality. In Sketch App, I've constructed a sketch web-flow library. It helps speed up IA tremendously and is something I can maintain myself.
Wireframes
We approved these wireframes in two rounds, skipping a mid-fidelity mockup. Content creation was clean and quick. Our mantra was, "show don't tell." The copy was kept brief, allowing images and testimonials to shine.
Rhino Construction
Final Results: Quotes Up 84%
Rhino Construction's goal was reached, ahead of schedule and within budget. Before launching, the site received some minor updates to fix immediate problems. The "Request a Quote" feature proved to be a big win for Rhino as gave away to immediately funnel requests to the correct person. This feature came directly from user flow & testing.
Online quote submissions increased by 84% from last year
Visits to Rhino Construction increase 3x from mobile visits
Additional metadata improved Google results
Site load time is now 2 seconds compared to 14 seconds thanks to cleaner code
Quotes Up 84%
3x As Many Visits
Easier To Find
Site Speed Improved
What I Learned
I gained valuable insights on fostering a feedback culture, particularly in recognizing the strong emotional connection individuals may have with their work and the company they represent. Whether providing notes or constructive criticism, I approached these situations with a deep respect for the creators and their contributions, acknowledging the passion and dedication they poured into previous projects such as the logo or website. I always kept in mind the significant role these endeavors played in shaping Rhino Construction's journey to its current position. By maintaining this mindset, I aimed to cultivate an environment that honored and appreciated the efforts of all team members while still nurturing open and constructive feedback exchanges.