“Zhoon” a Beauty salon booking service
Introduction
City life often involves frequent relocations and busy schedules, making it difficult for individuals to find convenient beauty salons for their routine needs. People typically prefer salons located near their home or workplace, but discovering a reliable hairdresser nearby can be a challenge, especially when salons close or relocate. Moreover, finding a hairdresser on short notice can be particularly stressful.
Project Overview
Zhoon addresses these challenges by offering a comprehensive mobile application and website for booking beauty salon services. Users can easily find and reserve appointments at salons across the city. The platform provides a curated list of hundreds of salons, complete with ratings, reviews, locations, and pricing, allowing users to make informed decisions and secure appointments with ease.
Participant Profile
The primary target users for the beauty salon booking application are women. Expanding the audience to include both men and women would require significant additional time and investment, so the focus was on women for this project phase. After consulting with stakeholders, two key user groups were identified: employed women and housewives.
Through informal surveys and discussions with friends and colleagues, it was found that the target users typically visit a salon once every two weeks or once a month for routine services, and every two months for specialized services or event preparations.
Challenge
The client needed a comprehensive system that allows users to find their ideal salon based on multiple factors. The platform needed to incorporate location, available services, pricing, reviews, and photos to help users make informed decisions and book appointments easily.
Constraints
The project had to be completed within a limited timeframe and budget. Additionally, it needed to integrate with existing salon management systems.
Success Metrics
Success would be measured by the number of active users, the frequency of bookings, user satisfaction ratings, and positive feedback from both users and salon owners.
Role & Responsibilities
I designed this project as a freelancer, where I held multiple roles and responsibilities:
Responsibilities:
- Conducted early market and user research to understand the needs and preferences of the target users.
- Created and managed the early roadmap to ensure project milestones were met.
- Designed user journeys and user flows to optimize the user experience.
- UX and UI design for both the app and the website, focusing on the customer side.
- Assisted with quality assurance (QA) and liaised with the development team to ensure the final product met design specifications.
Phase 1: Customer & Market Research
Competitive Analysis:
I conducted an in-depth analysis of competitors, focusing on Mahshee, a local service, and Booksy, a UK-based platform. Through this analysis, I identified their strengths, weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats in the market landscape. This exercise provided valuable insights into the competitive landscape and helped inform our strategy moving forward.
Online Surveys:
To gather quantitative data on appointment-making habits, I conducted online surveys with 40 participants. The survey aimed to understand the frequency of salon visits, preferred appointment-making methods, satisfaction levels, and willingness to explore new salons.
Survey questions
- How often do you visit a salon?
- How do you make an appointment?
- What are the ways that help you find an appropriate salon for yourself?
- How long do you usually wait for your turn?
- Are you ready to explore new salons if the quality of service is known beforehand?
- How satisfied are you with your recent salon experience?
- Do you book a specific stylist while booking the appointment?
- Do you always get the stylist you requested?
Survey results highlighted:
- 70.6% prefer making appointments via phone call.
- 45% prefer arranging appointments directly at the salon.
User Interview:
Conducted user interviews with 2 housewives and 3 employed women to gain deeper insights into their frustrations, pain points, preferences, and habits related to salon appointments.
Interview Questions:
- Can you describe your typical experience when making a salon appointment?
- What frustrations or challenges do you encounter during the appointment-making process?
- How do you typically find and choose a salon?
- What factors are most important to you when selecting a salon?
- How satisfied are you with your recent salon experiences?
- What improvements or additional features would you like to see in a salon booking platform?
- Can you walk me through the questions you ask when calling a salon to make an appointment?
- Have you ever had difficulties in booking a specific stylist? If so, can you describe your experience?
- How do you feel about trying out new salons if you could ensure the quality of service beforehand?
- Is there anything else you’d like to share about your salon appointment experiences?
Insights from Research Findings
Based on the findings from the conducted research, several key insights were uncovered:
- Preference for Phone Reservations:
Despite advancements in technology, it was observed that the majority of people still prefer making salon reservations via phone calls. This indicates a reliance on traditional communication methods for appointment booking.
- Long Waiting Times:
A significant number of respondents reported waiting for more than 15 minutes until their turn at the salon. This highlights a pain point in the current salon appointment process and suggests a need for solutions to reduce wait times.
- Concern for Others’ Salon Experience:
Women expressed a concern for the experiences of others at a salon, indicating a desire for reliable and quality service. This suggests that reputation and word-of-mouth play a significant role in salon selection.
- Limited Use of Internet for Salon Search:
Contrary to initial assumptions, it was found that people rarely search the internet to find a beauty salon. This insight challenges the assumption that online platforms are the primary source for salon discovery and highlights the need for alternative methods of reaching potential customers.
- Preference for Chat Communication:
Given the choice, respondents indicated a preference for chat communication over phone calls for making salon reservations. This preference for text-based communication suggests an opportunity to explore alternative booking methods that cater to this preference.
- Desire for Price Transparency:
Respondents expressed a preference for having access to a price list of salon services, rather than having to inquire about prices individually. This indicates a need for transparency and convenience in pricing information to facilitate decision-making.
These insights provide valuable guidance for the development of a salon booking platform that addresses the needs and preferences of users, ultimately enhancing the overall salon experience.
Phase 2
Affinity Diagram
Why I Used It:
I employed the affinity diagram to effectively organize the vast amount of data collected during the research phase. By categorizing and clustering related insights, the affinity diagram served as a visual representation of key findings. Additionally, I utilized the diagram to foster collaboration and garner support from both the team and stakeholders.
How I Used It:
In the design process, I frequently referenced the affinity diagram to ensure that all significant points derived from the research were considered. Whether developing user flows or making design decisions, the diagram served as a comprehensive reference. Moreover, when presenting my designs to stakeholders and the team, I relied on the affinity diagram to provide context and rationale behind my decisions.
Pain Points Identified:
- Time Consuming Salon Visits: Waiting for a turn in the salon consumes a significant amount of time, leading to frustration and inconvenience for customers.
- Difficulty in Locating Salons: Physically exploring nearby areas for salons is time-consuming and challenging, especially for individuals with busy schedules.
- Lack of Assurance in Service Quality: Customers are unsure about the quality of salon services due to the absence of proper ratings and reviews, leading to hesitancy in trying out new salons.
- Trust Issues with New Salons: Difficulty in trusting and trying out new salons further exacerbates the challenge of finding reliable and satisfactory service providers.
- Limited Payment Options: The inability to pay online adds friction to the booking process and restricts payment options for customers.
- Appointment Forgetfulness: Customers sometimes forget about their appointments, leading to missed opportunities for both customers and salon owners.
- Desire for Convenient Salon Selection: Customers express a need to find well-rated salons close to their current location for added convenience and ease of access.
- Difficulty in Finding Specific Services: Customers face challenges in finding salons that offer specific services tailored to their needs, leading to frustration and dissatisfaction.
Personas
Employed Women – Maryam
Design Considerations:
- Prioritize features that offer convenience and efficiency, such as instant availability and popular salon recommendations, on the home page.
- Provide clear and concise information about salon ratings, reviews, and services to help Maryam make informed decisions quickly.
Housewives – Fatima
Design Considerations:
- Include features that cater to Fatima’s need for affordability and reliability, such as budget-friendly options and user-friendly booking interfaces.
- Highlight word-of-mouth recommendations and testimonials from other users to instill trust and confidence in the platform.
Problem Statement
Many employed women and housewives struggle to find convenient and reliable salon services due to time constraints, uncertainty about service quality, and limited payment options. This leads to frustration and inefficiency in the salon appointment process.
Generating Ideas
To address these pain points and create a seamless and delightful experience for our users, the team brainstormed and identified several main features:
- Consider the Cost of Services: Provide transparency in pricing to help users make informed decisions based on their budget.
- Search Nearby Salons: Enable users to easily find and explore salons in their vicinity, reducing the time and effort spent on physical exploration.
- Ongoing Offers: Highlight ongoing promotions and discounts to provide value and incentivize bookings.
- Customer Ratings and Reviews: Display ratings and reviews from other customers to instill confidence and aid in salon selection.
- Save Favorite Salons: Allow users to save and bookmark their favorite salons for easy access and future bookings.
- Online Payment Option: Offer online payment options to streamline the booking process and provide added convenience.
- Real-time Availability Schedule: Provide real-time availability information to help users find open slots and book appointments with ease.
Requirements
After the research process, the following requirements were identified and prioritized to guide the design and development:
- Transparent Pricing Information
- Geolocation and Nearby Salon Search Functionality
- Integration of Ongoing Offers and Promotions
- Customer Ratings and Reviews Display
- Favorite Salons Saving Feature
- Secure Online Payment Gateway
- Real-time Availability Schedule Integration
These requirements serve as the foundation for designing and building a user-centric salon booking platform that addresses the needs and preferences of our target audience
Phase 3: Ideation
To kickstart the design process, I began by creating sketches of the website. These sketches served as a foundation for visualizing the layout, structure, and key elements of the platform.
Design Considerations:
- Homepage Layout: The homepage layout was carefully designed to prioritize key features and functionalities, such as nearby salons, ongoing offers, and customer ratings.
- Navigation: Clear and intuitive navigation elements were incorporated to guide users through the platform seamlessly, ensuring easy access to relevant information and services.
- Booking Process: The booking process was streamlined to minimize friction and make it easy for users to find and book appointments with their preferred salons.
- Visual Design: Visual elements such as colors, typography, and imagery were chosen to create a cohesive and visually appealing interface that resonates with the target audience.
Phase 4: Detail Design
In the detailed design phase, I translated initial sketches and wireframes into high-fidelity designs. below you can see the design frames.
Prototyping:
I proceeded to create digital prototypes of the app. These prototypes allowed for more detailed exploration of interactions, transitions, and user flows, providing a more tangible representation of the final product.
Feedback and Iteration:
Throughout the prototyping, I sought feedback from team members, stakeholders, and potential users to identify areas for improvement and refinement. Iterative cycles of testing and iteration were conducted to fine-tune the design and address any usability issues or concerns.
Impact:
Revenue Growth for Salons:
Salons listed on the platform reported an increase in bookings and revenue. The platform’s ability to highlight ongoing offers and provide real-time availability played a crucial role in attracting more customers.