Transformation
made to measure.

A tale of drivers and decision makers.

When you first look at a brand website, you'll often find content that's “grown” over the years, but you'll might also discover marketing theories that might be worth questioning to see if they still apply. In the case of Mercedes-Benz Trucks, we found that they split their target audience into two groups. The supposed decision-makers (such as fleet managers) are addressed formally and politely, while drivers are addressed in casual marketing language and on a first-name basis. This dichotomy creates one thing above all else: inconsistency.

From organizational to customer centricity.

Our goal in strategically preparing for the relaunch was to develop a brand website dedicated to the real needs of our customers. That's why we took a close look at our existing structure and communication during the analysis phase.

When looking at the structure of the website, a familiar pattern quickly becomes apparent: the main navigation creates a comprehensible order, especially for the brand, by reflecting the organizational logic. This can be easily countered by addressing actual user needs and developing concrete journeys that enable users to reach their individual goals. In addition to creating significantly simplified navigation structures, we primarily developed teaser elements that enable more intuitive navigation and reduce the need for active navigation using the main menu.

During intensive engagement with different target groups and actual user interviews, something surprising quickly became apparent: drivers and business decision-makers are much closer to each other than expected, because drivers are actively involved in purchasing decisions even in large logistics companies, and fleet managers are often still truckers at heart themselves.

A new design for a new era of vehicles.

Of course, a relaunch also involves a redesign. Early on in the project, we tried out different approaches in a large-scale design exploration, developed new styles, and gave the brand, which had previously been characterized by a predominantly black website, a modern look with fresh, new elements and more white space. New interactive modules enable a novel approach to discovering products and product features, which is a significant advantage, particularly in relation to entering the e-era with the eActros 600.

Please do not change anything in the content, except everything.

When reorganizing the content, we were instructed at the start of the project to change as little as possible. The marketing team's goal was to retain as much content as possible and rewrite as little copy as possible. It's not something you like to say in a project context, but this part of the briefing failed spectacularly.

After we had convinced all of the group's stakeholders of the groundbreaking design, new customer journeys, interactive modules, and bold imagery, there was a quick desire to also move closer to the target group in terms of language.

In a brand language workshop, we discovered that Mercedes-Benz Trucks had previously communicated in a very marketing-heavy way, using lengthy texts that did not reflect the natural language of their target group and focused primarily on the company itself. Here, too, we initiated a change of perspective and focused on communicating the benefits to customers. And we adjusted another, not insignificant detail. The brand now addresses all customers informally on a first-name basis, giving it a much more relaxed and approachable image across the board. A real win, especially for our customers.

The Brand Hub as a living touchpoint.

In the two-year relaunch project, we not only gave the site a significant update, but also developed new processes together with the client, e.g., with regard to site editing. This ensures that the newly created communication spaces are used effectively on a long-term basis and engage customers with current topics.

I provided the customer with an interdisciplinary team led by a strong product owner, which also offered strategic UX expertise and innovative UI design. The technical implementation was carried out with Mercedes-Benz Trucks' existing technology partner.

During the project, my personal task was primarily to manage stakeholders and bring about decisions at a higher management level. Even after the successful relaunch, we continue to support the customer at a strategic level on a selective basis, with me acting as the strategic contact and source of inspiration for the decision-makers.

The right questions are better than quick answers.

The business case behind digitizing the product catalog is clear: rising raw material prices and volatile conditions in global supply chains create the need to adjust prices more quickly. This is difficult when the catalog has already been printed.

Of course, there would have been a simple answer – but we didn't want to settle for that. After all, if you're going to go to the trouble of developing a digital product, you should also take the opportunity to use it to meet the right requirements. And that was precisely the starting point for the joint requirements engineering phase, which enabled us to convince the customer of our capabilities as a consulting service provider.

Behold, the bible!

VELUX customers, dealers and service staff have christened the thick reference book with detailed product tables, complex compatibility lists, and never-ending cross-references "the Bible". In addition to the clear importance of the VELUX catalogue, it also makes it clear that it is not easy to digest.

To find out how we can create real added value with an interactive digital catalog, we structured our research phase using a mixed-methods approach and gathered both quantitative and qualitative insights in order to derive specific user requirements from them.

Working towards a scope.

When we embark on a research phase, our goal is always to be able to provide our clients with concrete recommendations for action at the end. Usually, our work in this first project phase, which we refer to as “Sprint Zero,” results in an MVP backlog, from which concrete tasks emerge and from which a reliable cost framework can then be derived.

The importance of a solid evidence base for large-scale relaunch projects is obvious, but it is confirmed even more clearly when surprising insights come to light, even if they are absolute no-brainers for everyone involved in retrospect. In the case of our VELUX project, analytics reporting from the previous platform tools revealed a high proportion of desktop users, which is typical for B2B. Tracking showed >95% desktop devices. However, it was only through observation in the customer service center that it became apparent that the VELUX employees who will be working with our tool in the future only have a single monitor in front of them, on which in many cases the website and an internal ordering tool are already open. So if we want to earn a place on our users' screens, we should develop the application to be as space-saving as possible – and despite the high proportion of desktop users, we decided on a mobile-first development approach. A decision that proved to be the right one.

The right setup for a complex challenges.

Thanks to our research phase, we were able to define the ideal framework conditions for our subsequent agile development project.

Due to the variety of products, versatile configuration options, and complex dependencies, it was important to develop program logic that could be easily integrated into the existing infrastructure. In addition to strong product ownership, a senior technical project manager was key to our success. As in all our software development projects, the rest of the team works in an interdisciplinary and self-organized manner according to a sprint logic that we adapt to the requirements of our customers. The team consisted of a backend developer, two frontend colleagues, a UX concept developer, and two UI designers. Thanks to regular usability testing with real users, we were able to steer in the right direction even during the development phase.

The result: a real power tool for our users.

In close cooperation with the customer team, we have succeeded in creating a lighthouse case for digital transformation within the company.

The application goes far beyond the mapping of information from the print catalogue, and provides a variety of relevant features for the different user groups.

Growing with an agile mindset.

We are delighted to have found a bold and forward-thinking partner in VELUX, which looks ahead with an agile mindset. Our collaboration has now evolved into a continuous process of further development and optimization.

Stop thinking in terms of engine displacement, number of previous owners, transmission types, and trunk volume.

In 2018, we took over the relaunch of Volkswagen's popular used car search engine. Over several years, we have continuously developed and optimized the site for conversion and initiated an important change in perspective. While the competition still focuses on vehicle characteristics that require a certain amount of automotive knowledge, we concentrated fully on the mobility needs of our customers. Through a variety of interactive modules and mobile-optimized features, we offered completely individualized access to used cars, thereby having lowered the barriers to contacting dealers.

Start encorporating research into your daily business.

While we managed the agile development project from an early stage and an interdisciplinary UX, UI, and Dev team was responsible for further development, we were able to win further mandates in the regular tender process and have also been responsible for the strategic consulting of the overall project since 2020. Prior to this, we established regular sprint reporting and professionalized the use of data expertise in the project. In addition to the evaluation of SEO and analytics data, regular usability tests in particular led to success.

Your car is only just one click away.

We made this our motto, so to speak, and achieved significant success over the years. Conversions increased by over 35%, and the click-through rate to retailers even rose by 85%. The bounce rate on the homepage was reduced by 28%.

Projects end, partnerships don't.

In 2022, the used car program was discontinued as part of a group consolidation. The 14 markets that we had successfully launched by then were carefully phased out and transferred to the new infrastructure. Here, too, our client was able to rely on our support.

The long-standing project collaboration has resulted in a number of follow-up projects and consulting mandates based on partnership, and we are still in close contact with our Volkswagen colleagues today.

Ready for takeoff.

Lufthansa Technik is one of the world's largest providers of MRO services for aircraft and holds numerous manufacturer certifications, enabling it to carry out a wide range of conversions and optimizations on existing aircraft.

In a pitch for the relaunch of the corporate website, I was able to prevail together with my team and presented LHT with a trailblazing concept for generating real added value with the website. There were three key ideas:

1. The structure of the website should no longer be based on the individual business areas of the group, but rather on the needs of professional airline customers.
2. The website should enable visitors to compile personalized landing pages using a modular dashboard function, thereby becoming a relevant decision-making tool in purchasing processes.
3. All of Lufthansa Technik's capabilities and certificates should be accessible in a central tool so that global MRO measures can be planned more efficiently.

Partnering up, on site.

At the start of the project, we began working closely with a proactive customer team. The agency's six-person team worked on site at Hamburg Airport three days a week, enabling them to gather valuable insights from the various departments during the research phase.

The large-scale sprint reviews eventually generated so much interest that we moved our biweekly presentation to the boardroom. In addition to good strategic groundwork, close cooperation was a key factor in ensuring that the project was completed on time and within budget.

Minus on black, plus on red.

Car batteries are high-tech devices these days. They ensure many on-board functions, enable convenience features such as automatic start-stop systems, and thus ensure the reliable operation of a vehicle. And they are one of those things that people imagine to be much less complex than they actually are.

Nowadays, it is no longer possible for drivers to replace a vehicle battery themselves, as battery software also needs to be programmed, for example. Every manufacturer has its own specifications and procedures for this, so it is extremely important for authorized repair shops to be well informed when replacing batteries. In many cases, the procedure takes several hours. The challenge begins even before the hood is opened. Depending on the application, different battery technologies can be used. As an original equipment manufacturer, VARTA stands not only for first-class product quality, but also for a high level of service.

A digital tool in our partners toolbox.

At the heart of this plan was the “VARTA Partner Portal,” a digital customer program that we conceived as an “operating system” from the outset. The modular concept made it possible to add individual business applications gradually, easily, and with greatly reduced effort.

What began with battery search, a recommendation engine, and sales tips for upselling and cross-selling measures was quickly expanded to include interactive installation instructions, training materials, additional use cases, and even automated recourse management.

"Velvet ropes" instead of heavy doors.

In order to provide workshop employees with real added value, the platform also incorporated aspects of social platforms. Using simple seat mechanisms, workshops could invite their employees to use the tool with individual accounts, thus also providing them with customized functions. Each employee could save their own battery searches on a workshop PC, enabling the tool to create real added value in everyday work.

Another focus area of the project was the revised CRM strategy that accompanied the launch, which was based on a much more intelligent segmentation of users based on their individual application behavior. This turned the original large number of contacts into a large number of relevant contacts.

To convince our stakeholders of significantly easier access conditions, we used the metaphor of “velvet ropes”: instead of requiring registration before accessing all features, users could unlock features step by step. Whenever a hobby user ventured further, we requested additional data to carefully expand CRM records. This also made it possible to accurately distinguish hobby mechanics from workshop customers and to target the customer's email marketing measures more accurately.

Full Service, at your service.

In addition to the strong strategic support that I was responsible for as Director at the time, a large, interdisciplinary team took care of the customer's holistic support. In addition to platform development in all areas, we were also responsible for CRM & email marketing, as well as content creation and the customer's social media channels.

At the international level, the project was celebrated by the parent company “Clarios” as a true flagship case study for successful digitalization.

§ 1 Warnhinweis zu Inhalten
Die kostenlosen und frei zugänglichen Inhalte dieser Webseite wurden mit größtmöglicher Sorgfalt erstellt. Der Anbieter dieser Webseite übernimmt jedoch keine Gewähr für die Richtigkeit und Aktualität der bereitgestellten kostenlosen und frei zugänglichen journalistischen Ratgeber und Nachrichten. Namentlich gekennzeichnete Beiträge geben die Meinung des jeweiligen Autors und nicht immer die Meinung des Anbieters wieder. Allein durch den Aufruf der kostenlosen und frei zugänglichen Inhalte kommt keinerlei Vertragsverhältnis zwischen dem Nutzer und dem Anbieter zustande, insoweit fehlt es am Rechtsbindungswillen des Anbieters.
§ 2 Externe Links
Diese Website enthält Verknüpfungen zu Websites Dritter ("externe Links"). Diese Websites unterliegen der Haftung der jeweiligen Betreiber. Der Anbieter hat bei der erstmaligen Verknüpfung der externen Links die fremden Inhalte daraufhin überprüft, ob etwaige Rechtsverstöße bestehen. Zu dem Zeitpunkt waren keine Rechtsverstöße ersichtlich. Der Anbieter hat keinerlei Einfluss auf die aktuelle und zukünftige Gestaltung und auf die Inhalte der verknüpften Seiten. Das Setzen von externen Links bedeutet nicht, dass sich der Anbieter die hinter dem Verweis oder Link liegenden Inhalte zu Eigen macht. Eine ständige Kontrolle der externen Links ist für den Anbieter ohne konkrete Hinweise auf Rechtsverstöße nicht zumutbar. Bei Kenntnis von Rechtsverstößen werden jedoch derartige externe Links unverzüglich gelöscht.
§ 3 Urheber- und Leistungsschutzrechte
Die auf dieser Website veröffentlichten Inhalte unterliegen dem deutschen Urheber- und Leistungsschutzrecht. Jede vom deutschen Urheber- und Leistungsschutzrecht nicht zugelassene Verwertung bedarf der vorherigen schriftlichen Zustimmung des Anbieters oder jeweiligen Rechteinhabers. Dies gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigung, Bearbeitung, Übersetzung, Einspeicherung, Verarbeitung bzw. Wiedergabe von Inhalten in Datenbanken oder anderen elektronischen Medien und Systemen. Inhalte und Rechte Dritter sind dabei als solche gekennzeichnet. Die unerlaubte Vervielfältigung oder Weitergabe einzelner Inhalte oder kompletter Seiten ist nicht gestattet und strafbar. Lediglich die Herstellung von Kopien und Downloads für den persönlichen, privaten und nicht kommerziellen Gebrauch ist erlaubt.
Die Darstellung dieser Website in fremden Frames ist nur mit schriftlicher Erlaubnis zulässig.
§ 4 Besondere Nutzungsbedingungen
Soweit besondere Bedingungen für einzelne Nutzungen dieser Website von den vorgenannten Paragraphen abweichen, wird an entsprechender Stelle ausdrücklich darauf hingewiesen. In diesem Falle gelten im jeweiligen Einzelfall die besonderen Nutzungsbedingungen.

Quelle: Impressum Generator von JuraForum.de