Project Background

Workfeed sought to expand its customer base by better understanding the needs of small businesses, particularly cafés and shops struggling with shift planning.. My research uncovered key barriers—primarily cost concerns—and led to a new pricing strategy that boosted adoption rates.

The research involved:

  • Guerrilla discovery research to understand customer needs for an online shift planning tool.
  • A mix of in-depth interviews, participant observation, and on-the-ground research.
  • Visited local cafés and shops to observe real-time shift scheduling practices.
  • Synthesized data and presented suggestions to relevant stakeholders.

Team

I led the UX research in collaboration with the Company founders

Duration

4 Weeks

Tools

Excel, PowerPoint, Figma

Skills

Interviewing, Guerrilla Research, Affinity mapping, Participant Observation

Challenge

  • Workfeed wanted to gain a deeper understanding of its customer base, particularly small businesses.
  • Many small businesses hesitated to adopt Workfeed’s tool, and the company wanted to understand why.

Solution

  • Conducted guerrilla research, including participant observation and interviews.
  • Identifying pricing as the main adoption barrier, I recommended a cost-effective model tailored to small businesses. Workfeed implemented this model, leading to significant growth in this segment.

Process Overview

1
Understand
2
Conducting Guerrilla Research
3
Analyzing Pain Points
4
Proposing a Solution
5
Reflections and Impact
Survey Design Process

The target segment was small cafes and bars

Phase 1 - Identifying the Research Need

  • Spoke with business owners and customers to understand market gaps.
  • Explored why smaller businesses were not adopting existing shift planning solutions.
Data Cleaning Process

I walked into cafés and bars in the local area to speak with the owners

Phase 2 - Conducting Guerrilla Research

  • Visited local cafés and shops that managed shift planning.
  • Conducted direct interviews with business owners and employees.
  • Observed shift scheduling practices in real-time.
  • Identified key frustrations with existing solutions.
Data Analysis Process

We noted insights down and divided them into groups (Not actual insights)

Phase 3 - Analyzing Pain Points

  • Found that many small businesses used Excel for shift planning.
  • Determined that cost was the primary barrier to adopting digital solutions.
  • Recognized an opportunity for a more affordable pricing model.
Report Creation

Wordfeeds pricing model, which is still used today

Phase 4 - Synthesizing Insights into action points

  • Identified a pricing model gap for small businesses in the shift planning market.
  • Proposed a cost-effective pricing package to remove affordability barriers.
  • My research led to a new pricing strategy tailored to small businesses. Since implementation, Workfeed has seen continued growth in this market segment.

Phase 5 - Reflections & Impact

Reflections

  • Learned the importance of early stakeholder alignment to ensure impactful outcomes.
  • Learned the importance of not only presenting observations but also demonstrating their direct impact on business KPIs to drive stakeholder buy-in.
  • Demonstrated how translating user insights into strategic decisions drives stakeholder buy-in.

Impact

  • Workfeed adopted my pricing recommendations, which contributed to their continued success in attracting small businesses.