Customer testing in Edmonton
Digital FINANCIAL SERVICES for small businesses and entrepreneurs
8 weeks, Project Lead in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
A Canadian bank with a commitment to supporting small businesses wanted to differentiate its products to match its reputation and build a digital service for small businesses and startups aimed at alleviating their pain points and frustrations with banks.
With a team of 6 I led an 8-week engagement to uncover these unmet needs through interviews in 4 cities across the province, design a service to address these needs, and then test and iterate a prototype with more customers. The result was a branded prototype centered on cash flow management and immediate access to small loans.
Shifting customer perceptions & promoting energy efficiency WITH CUSTOMERS AND SMALL BUSINESSES FOR PUBLIC UTILITY
10 weeks, Project Lead in New York City.
A New York energy utility wanted to build their reputation as a trusted energy advisor for New Yorkers while leveraging their market reach to design services that promote energy efficiency.
With a team of 3, we conducted ethnographic research with 3 customer segments in order to identify unique unmet needs and opportunities for promoting energy efficient behaviors in their daily lives. The unmet needs inspired ideation and concept development. At the end of this Discovery phase, we landed on 2 concepts to move forward into a detailed design and testing phase.
We delivered tested prototypes, sample promotional material (brochures, videos), financial models and a capability analysis for 2 concepts. The first is a connected home solution that allows customers to both control their smart appliances from any smart device as well as monitor their energy usage and modify their behavior to minimize their usage and their energy costs. The second is a rewards-based loyalty program that drives traffic to small business who engage in energy efficiency initiatives. In addition, we conducted trainings for a core client team with organization-wide representation who were committed to learning the methodology.
Customer journey workshop for 1 concept
Customer prototype testing
The original plant from above
Visiting farmers in the Cauca region
Growth and strategy consulting (ASSESSMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION) for mid-size B CORP manufacturer
14 months, Independent Consultant in Bogota, Colombia.
My client was a high-growth exporter of organic tropical fruits. Initially, I conducted a diagnostic assessment based on in-depth personal interviews and data analysis. Then, designed and implemented a series of projects to both address these issues and create new processes moving forward.
Through my projects, we have instituted strategic planning at the organizational and department level, standardized HR processes, and improved communication between sourcing and processing divisions of the operations, resulting in up to 10% less lost stock upon arrival in the plant.
Other results include reallocating costs to determine more accurate product margins, SKU analysis of year-old national brand resulting in shifted sales strategy, standardizing operational processes and reporting mechanisms, mapping internal information and communication flows in order to determine ERP requirements, analysis of moving the plant out of Bogota, and managing communications strategy.
I also learned how to lead with influence and balance many stakeholders, using a combination of tactical interventions along with probing conversations to drive towards both individual and systemic behavior change.
Sample other projects include:
Market entry and concept development for small business commercial insurance (US market)
Designing inflight sales program for major airline credit card
Designing HR-facing platform for managing employee retirement-readiness
Omnichannel integration strategy of key product categories in over-the-counter healthcare businesses