Case Study: SK-II NOW, a Customer Relationship Management Program
Role Lead UX
Deliverable CRM Experience across Website, Internal Tools, LINE and WeChat
Launched in Japan and China
Impact 10,000 sign-ups at launch and 110,000 sign-ups within 2 months
Overview of Product
SK-II NOW is a platform where SK-II’s consumers can opt-in to earn points (called Miracle Drops) and use them to redeem gifts or donate to a cause. Consumers can also keep track of their skin’s improvement and development, and SK-II uses data to support consumers in their journey to crystal-clear skin.
Visit the SK-II NOW Program Page here (this is the only public view.) The rest of the experience is in the logged-in view, but not to worry! I will walk you through it.
The Ask
A loyalty program that lives on a website. SK-II wanted to build a platform that rewards its consumers and the planet. Consumers can redeem products and gives with points they earn, but they are also encouraged to donate them to causes that SK-II has teamed up with. It is also another avenue for SK-II to interact with their consumers, offer skincare tips away from the counters, and foster a closer relationship.
The Goal
- New user acquisition
- Increase consumer interaction with the brand
- Increase brand presence outside of the physical store
- Better brand perception (as a sustainable brand)
How Might We Questions
How might we make an ecosystem that will allow consumers to stay part of the brand as long as possible?
How might we support consumers in their skin journey with SK-II?
CRM is a baseline for competitors, how might we go beyond?
How might we make them feel like they are part of our efforts in sustainability?
The Big Idea
SK-II NOW needs the basic needs of a loyalty program (earn Miracle Drops and redeem gifts). However, with SK-II’s pledge to the environment, we wanted to empower consumers to be that change, too. So consumers can choose to donate their Miracle Drops. At the same time, it is also a platform that supports the consumers’ skin journey.
Users and Audience
Female Young Executives in Japan between the ages of 25 and 35.
TLDR
A summary of processes done on this project:
- Stakeholder Interviews and Workshops
- Using these insights to ideate on features.
- Prioritizing features.
- Adding delight.
- Design.
- Prototype.
- Usability Tests.
- Iterate.
My Role and Responsibility
At the start of this project, there were designers working on this from Portugal, London, Japan, Brazil and Singapore. Being the UX Lead in Singapore, I had to ensure that each stream of work was consistent, including the narrative, copy, and design system we set up. I was also working on one of the streams myself.
Once the product was picking up pace, the team became smaller, and I was working mostly with the visual designer in Portugal.
SK-II NOW spans across 3 platforms: the LINE messaging app, the web, and SK-II’s Super-Powered Assistant app. From my knowledge of working on that app, I created a sign-up flow for the entire ecosystem of this project. The flow covers consumers who come into the store.
To make sure the journeys make sense cross-platforms, I also created a flow for each sprint from the requirements. This was used as a base when we started designing.
Every interaction on LINE encourages the user to respond and engage. Messages are curated to be personalised and also easy to respond to. The user doesn’t have to type anything, she taps on one of the answers, triggering another message. Each Day’s Messaging Journey ends with a clear CTA.
Program Page
One message lands them onto the Program Page where they can learn all about SK-II NOW. From this page, they can also join SK-II NOW via LINE.
Dashboard
Contextual Cards
I worked on the logic with the product manager on this project, making sure that the users only got relevant contextual cards. We created about 50 cards in total.
We tracked the use of these contextual cards post-launch and learned that it is one of the first things users tap on when they land on the Dashboard. This makes us positive that it is useful, and for the next phase, we will launch even more contextual cards to guide users.
Donation
Once the user has earned Miracle Drops, she can donate her Drops.
The idea behind this was to make donating an experience and not just a transaction. As you can see from the video, there’s a dial that users can drag to indicate the amount of Miracle Drops they want to donate.
Redeem Gifts
And we launched! 🚀
Timeline
4 months to soft launch, 6 months to fully launch.
Still iterating as we learn about the consumers, and new brand requirements a year later.
Key Learnings
This project taught me to lead designers and developers from a total of 7 different countries to work toward the same goal. Working on different timelines is tough, but I learned to delegate work and handing off at the right time and speed made it very efficient. For example, I can work throughout my day and catch up with a designer from Portugal at the end of my day and she can run with it till I take it at the start of my day.
The Results: At the soft launch, there were 10,000 sign-ups. During the first 2 months, there were 110,000 sign-ups.
Jubilation! We drank, danced, and sang…
For about 5 minutes, then we regrouped and started on SK-II NOW for China, and then rest of the world.
This has been a riot, thanks for getting this far.
If you still have questions, want to learn more, or simply want to grab a coffee ☕️, you can contact me at hello@missmasturah.com.
