Communication Reinforcement with the Help of Social Proof in Treebo app
48hrs of Product Design Challenge
Hello Readers, Prathmesh Pawar an aspiring ux designer this side. I recently took part in a product design challenge. My mentor, Anudeep Ayyagari, organized this challenge. This case study explains what I built in 48 hours.
My mentor Anudeep Ayyagari introduced us with a product design challenge on Friday, January 6, 2023. We had a 48-hour challenge where we had to design an app feature. He went into detail about how we needed to work as a team on the same app but with different problem statements because it was an individual project.
So let’s go from ambiguity to clarity because that is what we do as ux designers.
About the product Treebo
Treebo Hotels is a leading Indian budget hotel chain that operates on a franchising model. The company was founded in 2015 with an aim to provide affordable yet high-quality accommodation options to travelers across India. Treebo derives its name from “Bo Tree”, the fig tree under which Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment.
In addition to its franchising model, Treebo Hotels also uses technology to its advantage. The company has a mobile app and website that allows customers to book rooms directly.
Using AI
The development of AI has the potential to completely alter how we do our jobs. We can increase productivity and simplify our work by using AI tools. So, using ChatGPT, I have created a problem statement to investigate the potential advantages of AI in our industry.
Problem statement
Reinforcement communication using social proof in Treebo app.
Core idea
The core idea of this feature is to use social proof as a way to reinforce communication with the user and increase their confidence in the platform. Social proof refers to the idea that people are more likely to do something if they see others doing it as well.
Assumptions
- Customers will find value in seeing reviews and ratings from other customers. Current rating and review system is not helping to take decision for booking.
- Displaying the number of bookings a hotel has received will help to increase customer confidence.
- The social proof feature will have a positive impact on business metrics.
- Customers will trust the opinions of other customers and can get idea about the place they are booking on the basis of reviews.
- Reviews by other customer should easy to understand and they can see some pictures or videos posted by users in reviews along with the text review.
How will it help our users
- Increase trust: By providing social proof in the form of testimonials, statistics or endorsements from other customers, the Treebo app can help increase trust in the brand and make it easier for users to make a booking.
- Increase customer loyalty: By providing social proof and reinforcing the value of the product, the Treebo app can help increase customer loyalty, as users are more likely to book with the brand again.
Business Impact
- Increase conversion rate: By providing social proof, the Treebo app can help increase the conversion rate, as users are more likely to book a hotel if they see that other customers have had positive experiences.
- Increase revenue: By increasing the conversion rate, the Treebo app can help increase revenue for the business.
- Improve customer satisfaction: By gathering customer feedback, the Treebo app can help improve customer satisfaction, which can lead to positive word-of-mouth and increased customer acquisition.
- Increase brand awareness: By providing social proof, the Treebo app can help increase brand awareness and make it easier for potential customers to find and book with the brand.
But let’s see what exactly I built
1. Since the original screen lacked social proofing, I improved a banner to grab users’ attention and provide crucial details.
2. By including photos of users who have rated products, it will increase user trust by letting them see other people having fun and doing things for themselves, which will encourage them to do the same.
3. Users will be able to analyze and trust the product with the information added here. This will help users take decision to use product.
4. The information provides further insight into the amount of reviews and ratings given to the product, providing a clear picture of how the product was being used.
5. Reviews that are displayed in the first fold assist users make better decisions by letting them know what other users think of the product.
6. The card shows individual ratings for the various features that the product offers and which help in user understanding.
7. Influencer reviews will increase users’ trust in the product. They’ll get a clearer idea of the product from the testimonial video.
8. Reviews of other user will be useful to to gain additional insight into the product.
9. Users can view product images posted by other users, which will provide reliable details about the products.
WHY I worked on social proofing
Social proofing is crucial for any businesses since it provides actual feedback from customers on the products or services. Seeing other customers who are happy with the product or service increases user confidence in the product and encourages business to acquire new customers.
Competitive analysis
I did a competitive analysis as secondary research, looking at other apps that were similar to mine in order to learn how they used social proofing in their own products. I gained ideas on how to integrate social proofing into the Treebo app through this process.
Ideation
In Ideation I tried to ideate about how can I implement the social proofing. For that I got 3 ideas
- Adding social proof to the hotel page itself: Incorporating verified ratings and reviews from other users and influencers can help to facilitate quicker decision-making, as people tend to trust the experiences of others.
- Displaying social proof notifications at key points in the booking journey: User will get notifications while their booking journey.
- Personalizing the social proof notifications based on the user’s preferences: According to user’s previous history while booking journey user will get notified.
I made the decision to work on including social proof on the hotel page itself for two reasons:
1. It will increase new users’ trust in the brand.
2. An excess of notifications throughout the booking process can be annoying and cause the user to lose trust.
User flow within the app
Wireframe
I draw the wireframes on paper to gain a better understanding of how I can implement the information on the screen.
User Testing
I conducted user testing with 3 users to gather feedback on the product I designed. By showing the screens to users, I tested the design to find out what the users understand from the screen.
By all the feedback I received I decided to do iteration in the design.
Iterations
Here I iterated the design on the basis of feedback I gained
1. In the banner, I added more clear language to reduce confusion and increase clarity because the information was confusing to all users.
2. I made the scrollable dots more visible and clear because users found it difficult to tell which image they belong on.
3. Due to the confusing and unclear structure of the earlier information, I have now chosen a more appropriate method of communication.
4. Similar to previous screen I made the scrollable dots more visible and clear because users found it difficult to tell which image they belong on.
5. I added appropriate background to the text because the original was poorly executed and a little difficult to read.
6. I included detailed section ratings for the various amenities because the user needed additional information.
Prototype
Here is the prototype of the feature. Try and experience it.
Future scope
If given more time, I would have improved social proofing in more two ways
- Adding social proofing notifications will help users stay confident in the product during the checkout process.
- Adding notifications for social proofing based on previous purchases made by users so they can benefit from it.
Learnings
- Time Management: Prioritizing tasks is necessary when working in constrained for time to provide the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) within the allotted time.
- Team work: It’s essential to collaborate throughout the process while working in a team on the same product but different problem statements in order to get quality results.
- Using AI: Using tools like AI to enhance our work was beneficial rather than having fear of it.
This is what 48 hours of Product design challenge helped me gain more knowledge and implement that for future work.
I appreciate you continuing to read. I would appreciate your claps and feedback on this case study.
Thank You!
You can contact me via mail prathmeshgpawar@gmail.com
We can connect on LinkedIn
