Context
Appear Here is a marketplace where brands can rent space from landlords. The platform accompanies a concierge team that matches brands with suitable spaces. Bookings under a certain value solely use the platform, without the concierge service.
As the sole product designer in a squad with two engineers, I collaborated with the service, sales, and supply teams, and the CEO. I was responsible for the project's direction and outcomes.
When a brand signs up, they create an idea profile on the Appear Here platform, describing their idea with accompanying imagery, which is then sent to the landlord along with the requested rental period. If the landlord approves, they proceed with the booking.
The concierge team rates ideas, and these ratings are visible to landlords. This also helps prioritise the concierge team's workflow.
Problems
Business problems
Around 30% of ideas were rejected monthly for being unsuitable, but discussions with the concierge team revealed that many of these ideas actually aligned well with the space and landlords' preferences once more information was uncovered.
Data analysis highlighted several issues:
28% of all ideas did not have adequate information for concierge to send to landlords, often not including imagery and insufficient descriptions.
The conversion rate for automated bookings was a low 19%, frustrating as these were brands that had pre-paid, deep in the sales funnel.
Idea profiles had an average rating of 2.88 ✭ (of 5), lower than what we expected for the brands that were speaking to concierge team.
Customer problems
Landlord acceptance rate was lower than we desired, the main reason were found to be:
Incomplete brand profiles: brands frequently failed to complete their profiles, leading the concierge team to request additional information via automated responses.
Skipped image section: many brands skipped the 'add images' section due to a lack of understanding of its importance, resulting in uninspiring idea profiles.
Lack of clarity of how the space would be used: landlords struggled to understand what brands planned to do in the space, as the current idea creation process lacked clarity.
Negative impact on automated booking: poor idea profiles specifically negatively impacted the automated booking process, as these profiles were the sole means for brands to 'sell' themselves to landlords without concierge intervention.
Additionally, regular feedback from landlords highlighted further usability issues:
Unclear next steps: landlords were often unclear about the next steps in the process and the actions triggered by certain buttons, such as 'Accept offer,' which only started the process without finalising details.
Solution
A series of updates to the idea creation process, the landlord view of the idea, and improvements to the workflow in the admin platform
Better guide brands through the idea creation
Encourage brands to describe and present their idea with thought and intent to maximise their chances of being accepted by landlords.
A visual face-lift for the idea profile
Better present the brands idea to the landlord, handling all types of image dimensions in the carousel, and improve the visual hierarchy. the challenge here was to ensure ideas with limited information, were still presented well.
Nudge messaging
Use nudge messaging throughout the idea creation process to educate brands about the benefits of complete idea profiles. I decided to use nudge messaging as opposed to making fields mandatory, as brands are at different maturity levels.
Allow brands to describe how the space will look
Provide a dedicated place during the idea creation flow for brands to describe the space decoration and modifications, with accompanying imagery.
More direct way to contact your concierge
Give an convenient way for landlords to communicate directly with their concierge and add a face to the name too — Landlord engagement and response rate is a key focus for business.
Designing for 25 technical states
Although the is a redesign of one page, there are 25 different states of an ‘idea’. For each step in the flow, it needed to be clear for landlords what the action would do, and prepare them for the next step.
Pricing broken down with more clarity
Working with the service team, I designed a new way to display pricing that was accurate and clear, as previous feedback had prevented bookings closing due to price discrepancies — Mainly due to clarity on VAT.
Improved calendar view for the request
An improved way for landlords to view the availability of their space, displaying bookings and requests that may interfere with the current idea’s requested days.
