ethnography for e-commerce (annette priest)

Ethnography for e-Commerce

Annette Priest

The Research ThingLifting the Lid on Ethnographic Research

London - December 2013

What can we learn from ethnography?

Source: http://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/

http://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/

http://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/

GoalsShow what real life is like for customers

Share the participant stories and show what a real purchase is like

Give the sponsor things to think about

Usability Testing

Usability Testing

Usability Testing

A/B Testing

A/B Testing

Sales - Call

Center

Support - Call

Center

Usability Testing

Usability Testing

Usability Testing

A/B Testing

A/B Testing

Sales - Call

Center

Support - Call

Center

Ethnography

Photo credit: Matt Gibson, Flickr: gothick_matt

http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_gibson/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_gibson/

Reasons to fund ethnographyYour competition is eating your lunch


Your leaders actually *are* leaders



Organizational maturity




Open to or seeking innovation and change





Desire to understand real world experience





Desire to understand real world experience...and ecosystem of competitors

Empathy for executives

“All service, therefore, which a man can perform for humanity must serve to promote truth.”

- Franz Boaz

WARNING!

Avoid ethnography if...The site is in “crisis” or fire fighting mode.

Your budget is so limited that you can’t answer basic UX questions with quicker, lower cost tools.

Your UX team does not have political capital with the organization.

Your execs do not value UX.

Your execs are more interested in promoting their own agenda that than getting at the truth.

Cross Cultural Universals

3 Phases to Buying

Research

Consideration

Purchase

Compelling

http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2012/07/10/measuring-money-left-on-the-table-moving-beyond-conversion-rates-part-5/







Business Needs vs.

User Needs



Give the sponsor things to think about

Learn Buy Use

Coordination with other departments and

functions is critical

Prepare to negotiate

Recruiting ConsumersCurrently own a personal computer Have purchased any electronics or computer related item online in the past

year Shared or primary decision makers for computer purchase

Must purchase a system (notebook or desktop) in the next 2 months

Must make this purchase online

Plan to spend $1000+

Security (cannot work in computers), past participation (six months)

Likelihood of 60/40 sponsor/Non-sponsor (Non-sponsor split among top 3 competitors)

½ persona profile for self service users & ½ persona profile for people who need assistance

Recruiting ConsumersA good mix of gender (relatively even split)

Income: minimum HHI $50-60K

Ethnicity: representative mix for local market

Marital status: recruit a good mix.

Presence of children: recruit a good mix (with at least ½ having kids.)

Education: must have at least some college—preferably a four year degree

Employment status: mix of full- and part-time employees, full/part-time students, homemakers

Recruiting Small BizPrimary decision making authority or high degree of influence for computer

purchases within the organizationSecurity (cannot work in advertising, market research, software/hardware

development, web design, e-commerce, computer manufacturer/retailer), past participation (six months)

Purchased a personal computer with the past 24 monthsWill purchase a system (notebook or desktop) in the next 2 monthsMust make this purchase onlineLikelihood of 60/40 Sponsor/Non-Sponsor(Non-Sponsor split among top 4

competitors)½ Very Small Business (less than 10 employees) & ½ Larger Small Business

(10-200 employees)Must have used the internet to have made at least one product purchase in the

past year (must be a computer, software, peripheral or electronic device)Aged 25 - 60Must not be negatively pre-disposed towards purchasing from sponsorStrive for a 50/50 mix of men and women

Recruiting Small BizAttributes common to all Small Business respondents

Company size less than 25 employees

Technology purchases are a responsibility, but not the primary/only role

Can be any title within the organization, as long as primary decision maker

Attributes common to all Medium Business respondents

Company size 25- 200 pp

Must have an IT-related title, or be consistently responsible for recommending technology products for purchase.

MARKETING PERSONA - Assistance Seeker

Demographic profiles represented; Mix of M & FRepresentation from married females, with kids under 18 in HH, works at least part-time, college educatedRepresentation from married females, 25-44, single, no kids in HH, works full-time, college educatedRepresentation from married male, empty nester, 50-64Representation from married male, with kids under 18 in HH, works at least part-time, college educated

Purchase behaviorConsider talking to rep on the phone or at a kioskWould consider purchasing at retailPurchase (plan to purchase) extended warranty for computerMust visit retail store as part of the learn/research phase of buying new computer

PC Usage / Technology AttitudesPrimary user of computer purchased or plan to purchaseUse computer at home for 7+ hours per weekUse computer for a variety of purposes, beyond email and Internet surfing. Must select 2 uses from list in

addition to email and Internet surfing Consider themselves at least an advanced user

Purchase Attitudes - How much do you value the following when choosing a computer or other technology products to purchase (top 2 box on 7-point scale):Face-to-face sales interactionThe recommendations of friends and familyOffers the highest quality computersOffers the best service and support

MARKETING PERSONA - Self Service Techie

Demographic profiles representedMajority maleYounger 25-4475% married, 25% not marriedHalf with kids in householdHigher income, $100K+

Learn / Purchase behavior (plan to purchase behavior)Likely to research computer product online Likely to visit computer manufacturer’s websiteOthers tend to come to me for technology advice

PC Usage / Technology AttitudesPrimary user of computer purchased or plan to purchaseUse computer at home for 10+ hours per weekUse computer for a variety of purposes, beyond email and Internet surfing. Must select 2 uses from

list in addition to email and Internet surfing Consider themselves at least an advanced/expert user

Purchase Attitudes - How much do you value the following when choosing a computer or other technology products to purchase (top 2 box on 7-point scale):Offers flexibility in picking the features I want

Documenting for digestion

Summary of Participants

Summary of Findings

Purchase FindingsToo many model and specification choices in the browse path...confused by the number of choices available, cannot easily determine

what they need.

Help Me Choose content needs to be clear and accurateAlthough willing to upgrade components, many do not because the

justification to upgrade is not available in the HMC content.

Warranty options before Configuration cause problemsMost default just to proceed to Config quickly, with one even aborting the

purchase process in frustration.

The language used throughout manufacturer’s sites is “too technical”Even IT-savvy SMB participants appreciate layman’s terms where possible,

versus internal nomenclature or industry jargon.

Out of Box FindingsMost are surprised with the form factor of the system upon receiptMost respondents are pleasantly surprised by the size and aesthetics of

their system, claiming they were unprepared for this from the online experience

Respondents do not appreciate pre-installed softwareMany respondents (particularly those in the business segment) are unhappy

with having pre-installed software on their system.

Overall network connectivity is a key point of success in the OOB experience.Many stop the out-of-box experience at the point of connecting to the

internet and take a break before installing software & transferring files.

Instructions, manuals and tutorials are largely ignored.

Respondents almost always throw away printed promotional materials.

Background and motivation

SMB Participant Stories: Chris – “The Hands-On Technologist”

!  The Story – Chris is a lawyer at a small law firm. He is extremely busy and makes his technology purchases when he gets time between client visits. He is the de-facto “tech guy” for the firm, whereby other lawyers ask him for his opinion on technology purchases. However, the firm does have an outsourced IT company for networking and technology setup. Chris makes his own business technology purchases and decisions.

!  Driver of Purchase – He is purchasing this computer for a secretary in the office. In total, he expects the purchase will take him approximately 5 minutes. He is buying a desktop for the office that is as “straightforward” as possible. The computer will be used primarily for database, calendar and word processing applications, and does not need to be “high end.”

Snapshots

SMB Respondents: Very Small Business (1-9)

!  Name: Peter !  Age: 50�s !  Location: Irondequoit, NY !  Profession: Senior Financial Consultant !  Purchases: Dell Inspiron 1520 Notebook !  Spends: $1615.42 !  Driver of Purchase: His current Dell notebook

computer is overheating and he is under pressure to buy a new computer, so as not to slow down his productivity. While Dell has offered to fix it for free, he is still going to update his setup with a new computer. He still plans on getting his old computer fixed.

Upgrades

!  Upgrades to high resolution glossy screen !  Upgrades wireless card to 11 a/g ! Upgrades to 85Whr 9 cell Lithium battery ! Upgrades Microsoft Office Small Business 2007

Snapshots+

Milestones

Consumer Respondents: Self Service Techies

!  Name: Shelly !  Age: 40�s !  Location: Leroy, NY !  Computer Expertise: Very advanced PC user,

can solve most of own PC issues and other people come for help with their own PC problems.

!  Profession: Telecom Analyst !  Purchases: Dell Inspiron 1521 Notebook with

AMD Turion 64x2 1.8 GHz !  Spends: $916.92 !  Driver of Purchase: Shelly needs a new laptop

computer for a new part-time real estate job. She has a Dell desktop currently, and is happy overall with the Dell brand. She wants mobility with a lot of hard drive space for high resolution images she will take of houses with her high end Kodak camera. Price and color (pink) were primary drivers of her decision.

Upgrades

!  Free 2 GB RAM Upgrade !  Free 160 GB HD Upgrade !  Buys Belkin Messenger bag for $50

Milestones - Service TechieParticipant - Shelly

1: Starts at digitaldeals.net

2: Goes to newegg.com to look for prices and featured items.

3: Goes to Google and types in “Inspiron 1521 review”, goes to Cnet which is the first returned search result.

4: Reads review on Cnet.

5: Hits browser back button, reviews prior Google search results, and clicks lower link in the list for another review at uk.shopping.com (Shopping Compare), scans briefly.

6: Types in www.dell.com

7: Selects model and pricing on series page.

8: Configures and selects pink color, and buys a pink bag.

9: Adds to Cart and signs in with preexisting Dell account.

10: Enters credit card info and reviews thank you confirmation screen to complete purchase.

http://www.dell.com

http://www.dell.com

Snapshots+

Video+

Detailed Perspective in Context

Consumer Respondents: Self Service Techies

!  Name: Fred & Cathy !  Age: 30�s !  Location: Pittsford, NY !  Computer Expertise: Very advanced PC and

internet user, can solve most complex problems that arise

!  Professions: President Of Small Company/Homemaker

!  Purchases: Mac Mini with 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo, 80 GB GD and 1 GB RAM.

!  Spends: $1059.48 !  Driver of Purchase: Their old desktop

computer is outdated and they are considering a new computer for their daughter. However, they are considering options for themselves as well (should they come across viable options during the research and purchase process).

Upgrades

!  Adds a wireless keyboard and mouse

Consumer Stories: Fred & Cathy – “The Mac Switchers”

!  Purchase Context – Although Fred is the primary interviewee, Cathy becomes part of the 3+ hour interview and has a significant influence in the final decision. The purchase is made in their home office, where they have two desktop computers (one for the family and one for the children), as well as a notebook computer. They have two desks that are shared by the family. Throughout the interview, there are many interruptions, including their daughter needing attention and the phone ringing multiple times. The interview moves late into the night, and fatigue plays a factor in the process.

Frustration“The thing is interesting to

me…I’m a pretty darn sophisticated user. I have an electrical engineering degree…and I have no clue how to do this. How does the average person do this?” – Fred (SST)

“I so am willing to pay to not be frustrated…That is why I buy things online. I don’t browse. I don’t like shopping. I like to go. I like to find what I want. And I’m willing to pay for it…I’m willing to pay more to get what I want…There is totally the convenience factor for me…The goal is to complete this tonight and I’m tired and we’ve gotten nowhere on the Dell site. And I’m pissed off.” – Cathy (AS)

The Purchase Process

Narrowing Competitive

Choices Browsing

Comparing Systems &

Specs Configuring Cart

& Checkout Confirm

Customer Experience !  Perceived website ease of use has a direct impact on the brand customers purchase from.

Customers believe that how easy it is to use the website has a direct correlation with how easy the purchased product will be to use.

! Comparing models across brands is difficult due to an overemphasis on models and internal nomenclature across manufacturers.

Opportunities !  Differentiate from the competition by using layman�s terminology whenever possible, and de-emphasize the role of model names.


Buying and setup is an in-depth, interruption- driven, often family or group-driven affair that can range anywhere from a simple (in 10 minutes or less) to complex (3+ hours) process. All interviews were conducted in the houses and workplaces of the respondents.


During the interviews, we acted as the “fly on the wall.” We let participants set the timelines and the pace, and observed them as they made their way through the entire computer purchase process.

Give the sponsor company things to think about Our reports highlight the individual barriers to purchase and setup and how

these barriers impact the process. We hope these will spark internal strategic discussions around how to resolve these issues and better meet the needs of customers.

Bring it on home

To Review

What can an organization gain from ethnography?

How does ethnography fit into a UX research approach?

How can we get execs to say “Yes” to ethnography?

How do I avoid common pitfalls?

Do ethnography if...You’ve answered the easy questions and are ready

to go deep and broad.

You’re already using a variety of tools for user research.

Your UX team has political capital within the organization... and you’re ready to play with other teams.

Your execs care about UX.

Your execs can handle the truth.

Thanks!Annette Priest

[email protected]://revelinsight.com

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]