Senior Product Manager
Dani Dene Hair Services
2021 Case Study
The Task
The focus for this project was to research the effectiveness of a small business at creating habit forming processes within the user. I used the hook model to evaluate the different phases a user must go through during the service to get "hooked" and determine where the service is lacking in order to develop improvements. This was an independent project completed in two sprints.
Dani Dene Hair Services
To begin my research, I met with the Danielle Solorzano, the owner of Dani Dene Hair Studio. I got to know the history of her business, her desires for her business, and her beliefs on what the clients experience through her services.
About the Business
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Independently owned hair studio
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2 years old
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Recently transferred to a new rental unit in popular downtown area
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Loyal client base
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Belief: Danielle wants women to feel pampered while they are in her chair and beautiful when they leave her chair.
Goals
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​Short Term Goal: increase clientele and cash flow of business
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Long Term Goal: Looking to eventually own her own salon studio and rent out chairs to other hair stylsits
Anticipated User Highlights
Satisfying Results
Excellent Service
Fair Pricing
Danielle delivers consist and beautiful results for her clients. Clients leave happy with their hair and return for the upkeep.
Danielle creates meaningful conversations with her clients and remembers details for when clients return for another appointment.
Danielle's pricing for her services is closely related to some of her competitors in her area that offer similar services and quality.
Anticipated User Pain Points
Response Time
Online Information
Loyalty Program
Danielle feels that clients have to wait too long for her to return their inquiry requests via text messaging and direct messages.
Danielle believes that her website does not currently offer enough information describing which services are offered, so clients incorrectly book appointments.
Other than providing fabulous hair to her clients, Danielle does not have any incentive program for returning customers or for referring new clients.
User Persona
I conducted a series of interviews with a variety of clients to gain qualitative data about the pain points and highlights users experience in their current journey. I compared this data with the anticipated experience narrated by Danielle.
Meet Olivia
"I need a reliable hair dresser that I can trust to deliver top results every time I visit!"
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White female
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Mother of three
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Married for 8 years
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Lives in the DFW metroplex for past six years
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25-35 years old
Background
Olivia has struggled to find a hair dresser that she can rely on for a few years. She has tried a few people out but is never fully satisfied with her results. As a mom of three, her schedule is usually pretty full, so her hairstyle has to be one that can withstand a few months in between visits. She is willing to pay higher prices and travel further for her appointments if she can find the right hair dresser.
Desires
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Self-esteem is largely influenced by physical appearance and staying relevant with the latest trends, so her hair is a priority.
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Appointments need to be confirmed and scheduled in advanced to allow her to plan due to her busy schedule.
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Because her appointments are so spread out, she needs to purchase reliable products to help maintain her hair style.
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Hair appointments are "me-time", so she wants to feel pampered during her visits.
Frustrations
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Hair styles that require frequent salon visits and high-effort day to day care
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Hair dressers that don't communicate before or during appointments
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Results that don't match her expectations
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Cancelled appointments
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Difficult booking experiences
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Not earning any reward for her numerous referrals
User Highlight and Pain Points
Excellent Service
Clients always loves their hair after appointments. They feel refreshed and enjoy the customer service that Danielle offers including beverages, conversation, and accessible technology.
Missing Information
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Available appointments are not always up to date
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Vague descriptions of different types of hair services cause errors in booking
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Unable to purchase products
Lack of Rewards Program
Many loyal clients have referred 5+ clients to Danielle. They would like to have some sort of reward for sending new clients Danielle's way.
Evaluation
After gathering qualitative data from Danielle and her clients, I evaluated the user journey via the hook model and considered potential opportunities for Danielle to increase her business.
Hook Method Evaluation
Trigger
Action
Clients see friends' well-done hair or see before/after pics on Instagram
How can we create additional external triggers to generate more clientele?
Message Danielle on Instagram or text (some self-book online, but these booking are often incorrect)
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How can we make the booking process more user friendly?
Investment
Variable Reward
Clients who are satisfied become returning customers (4-6 month recurring appointments)
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How can we make the hair products Danielle uses during her appointments available to her clients?
Clients' hair looks fabulous and they feel refreshed. No other variable reward.
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How can we incentivize referrals to generate new clientele?
Potential Opportunities
Booking
Product Sales
Loyalty Program
Creating a clear list of hair services with accurate time frames and prices. Make the action more user friendly
Link product sales to website and promote "packages" once appointment is over. Clients are mostly invested in the service already
Establish a loyalty or reward program for frequent clients and/or for client referrals
Solutions
Based on the research and evaluations, I suggested a three-phase growth plan to meet the immediate goal of increasing clientle and cash flow and prepare to meet the long term goals of the business, as well.
Phase 1:
Loyalty Rewards + Product Sales
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Created hair care bundles based hair types from on the products Danielle already offered for purchase from her salon​
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Makes products more meaningful and accessible for clients​
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Implemented discount on product bundles for loyal clients who refer new customers​​
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Increases new customers and product sales by incentivizing referrals > increased cash flow​​
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(Next Steps) Phase 2:
Streamline Booking Services
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Website includes list of services with detailed descriptions, service duration, and accurate prices
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Clients will have access to a hair quiz to determine their current hair type and future hair desire
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Quiz will recommend booking service
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Clients can self-select appointments offered on website base don quiz results
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Existing clients can accurately book appointments based on mores descriptive services, times, and prices
(Next Steps) Phase 3:
Expand the Business
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Hire assistants that will transition into full-time hair stylists
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Rent out chairs to transitioned stylists
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Continue to use product bundles and loyalty program
What I Learned
From this project, I learned the following:
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Customers desire rewards for continued service and referrals
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People will pay more for quality service
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In this case, the business owner accurately anticipated her client's highlights and pain points during their service journey. I believe because she is the owner and service provider, she is more intuitive about the needs and desire of her clients.