Promotions
Within Otter's ecosystem, Promotions is a powerful tool designed to assist restaurant owners in marketing their establishments across multiple delivery service platforms. This product allows owners to efficiently promote their restaurants without the hassle of manually updating each platform. By centralizing and streamlining marketing efforts, Promotions helps boost visibility and engagement, driving more customers to discover and order from these restaurants.
The objective of this project is to understand how customers use the Promotions tool, identifying the features they love and areas needing improvement. Additionally, it aims to uncover the essential information customers seek regarding delivery service platforms(DSPs) promotions and their business performance. By gaining these insights, we can enhance the tool to better meet customer needs and drive greater satisfaction and success for restaurant owners using Otter’s platform.
Problem Statement
To achieve our objectives, we conducted in-depth interviews to gain deeper insights into user experiences and preferences. This qualitative approach allowed us to gather detailed feedback on how customers use the Promotions tool and their essential information needs.
Methods Used
Date
July 2023
Role
Global UX Researcher
Company
Cloudkitchens
Deliverables
Tools
Google Slides (Reports and Presentation)
Recruitment
Digital - Google Contacts (housing user emails)
Internal Sources - Salesforce (database for customer emails)
Research Operations
Calendly (Scheduling)
Zoom (User Interviews/Recording)
Dovetail (Transcription)
Analysis
Figma Jam (virtual affinity mapping)
Research Repository
Google Drive
Research Process
Throughout this study, I managed the end-to-end research process and data collection/analysis phases. I conducted a total of 12 in-depth interviews with both Otter users who were active and inactive users of the product Promotions. I owned data analysis and used Figma’s program with affinity mapping techniques to uncover patterns and themes in the data.
Research Methods
For this study, I conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews as the primary research method. This approach involved conducting one-on-one interviews with participants, guided by a flexible discussion guide that includes both predetermined questions and the opportunity to explore topics that arise spontaneously during the conversation.
Challenges
A notable challenge was finding and recruiting both churned and current users of Promotions. Having to cold email extremely busy restaurant owners was a task of it’s own.
Another challenge was coordinating schedules with busy restaurant owners who are constantly putting out fires in their business. Many participants availability was limited due to peak business hours and varying shifts. This led to a tremendous amount of no shows and having to follow up with them to reschedule extended the time frame of the project.
Key Findings
1. Most existing users valued Promotions for providing a return on their investment.
The majority of current users found that the product met their expectations, particularly appreciating its ability to simplify complex tasks. One user shared their experience running promotions manually through off-premise ordering (OFO) platforms, noting that while their manual efforts yielded slightly better results compared to Otter’s automated promotions, the convenience of automation ultimately outweighed the marginal performance difference. Additionally, a churned participant expressed enthusiasm for the concept of integrating promotions into a single platform, highlighting the appeal of centralized tools for streamlining marketing efforts. These insights underscore the value of convenience and integration in meeting user needs, even when manual methods may deliver slightly better outcomes in specific scenarios.
“I haven’t had any issues. It’s been pretty, pretty easy to look at it and understand it and know where my money is going and everything else... We’ve had over 1000 customers who have redeemed the promotions.”
“So we turned off promotions inside Otter to try something else and we run promotions directly through the platforms, Uber and DoorDash. And those performed better on an average but not that better. So that we would not rely on Promotion and do things manually.”
“We like to see like at least five and a half times, but I have one store right now that has about 13 times return, which is really good. When I’ve done them manually, I can do five or six. I like to see ROIs that are like significantly above the ones that I have created in the past.”
2. Most existing and churned users felt Promotions options were limited and wanted the following: BOGO deals, bundle deals and marketing new menu items.
Participants expressed a strong desire for greater flexibility in creating promotions, emphasizing the importance of being able to design virtually any type of deal to meet their customers' needs. Examples included promotions such as "buy one, two, or three items and get one free," "spend $35 and receive a free item," bundle deals, and strategies for marketing new menu items. The ability to tailor promotions to specific business goals and customer preferences was seen as a key feature for driving engagement and sales. Additionally, a churned participant highlighted their willingness to return if the platform offered the freedom to implement diverse marketing strategies, reinforcing the value of customizable promotional tools in retaining and re-engaging users.
3. Existing users unanimously felt the dashboard was clear and had general data they needed.
Participants found the charts to be well-aligned with their expectations, providing the key data needed to effectively monitor their overall performance. The charts were appreciated for their clarity and relevance, offering valuable insights into critical metrics that helped participants stay informed and make data-driven decisions about their operations. This feedback underscores the importance of presenting performance data in a straightforward and accessible manner to meet user needs and support their business goals.
“I mean that would be really cool if you could get like a little bit of competitor data on there, like something to give us a taste of how we’re performing compared to others. But I think like Boost has all of like your internal data there.”
“I’m on the reports tab and there’s four different charts and then there’s ways to filter the days, which I like. I like that you can do like custom date ranges.”
4. Existing users wanted the following analytics: customer data and progress on individual campaigns.
Participants expressed a strong interest in gaining deeper insights into customer behavior and promotional performance. One participant highlighted the need to track data on new customers originating from delivery platforms, as well as repeat customers and the frequency of their orders. This information was seen as critical for evaluating customer retention and lifetime value. Additionally, participants emphasized the importance of assessing the performance of each promotion to determine what strategies were most effective. Some participants also suggested implementing a heat map feature to visualize where customers typically place orders. They felt this data could inform social media marketing strategies and guide decisions on the optimal locations for opening new restaurants, further enhancing their ability to make data-driven business decisions.
“I can’t find where I can see what promotions working and what’s not, I can see it as a whole. I just can’t see individually.”
“Clover grabs that data and it gives me a heat map of where those customers are coming from. It’ll show a heat map of where people are coming from I like having that data because... [I] can open up another location because I already know people from there like the food.”
“It’s already doing what I would want to see whether I’m looking at just an individual store or if I want to see all the stores.”
5. Existing users provided feedback for new UX Designs and suggested the use of calendar slots similar to Google Calendar.
Most participants found the initial design to be user-friendly and intuitive, particularly appreciating the inclusion of features that addressed unmet needs in their current tools. These features included the ability to specify the start date and time of promotions, set their duration, allocate budgets, and designate which stores the promotions would target. However, feedback on the second design highlighted a potential challenge with clutter in the timeline when multiple promotions were active simultaneously. One participant suggested implementing time slots, similar to the format used in Google Calendar, to provide a more organized and visually clear alternative to the existing linear representation. These insights underscore the importance of balancing feature-rich functionality with streamlined, organized design to enhance usability.
“It looks like it gives us more of an option than it currently does with being able to do a start date and an end date which I like setting a budget which I don’t think is on the the older one. Yeah, this one’s not that bad. It’s not that cluttered.”
“Instead of a line like that because you have a full visibility of everything and then broken down to week Sunday to Saturday or Monday to Sunday whatever. And then there would be time slots that you can run the promotion that you see with like an actual calendar. Have you seen Google calendar?”
6. Participants churned due to low return on investment.
Most of the churned participants felt that the return on investment (ROI) needed significant improvement to justify continued use of the platform. Many shared that they had discontinued the service after experiencing financial losses, expressing the expectation that the platform should, at a minimum, cover its own costs. Monitoring their progress revealed that while participants achieved substantial sales, they were also giving away considerable amounts of food, sometimes to the extent of covering their losses out of pocket. Despite these concerns, one participant noted the time savings as a valuable benefit, reclaiming several hours per week previously spent managing marketing efforts. However, they stated that if the ROI had aligned with their expectations, they would have continued using the platform’s Promotions feature. These insights highlight the critical balance between financial viability and operational efficiency in meeting user needs.
7. Churned user's circumstances for returning include: free trial period, complete control of marketing strategies, and biweekly meeting with Otter Reps.
Participants suggested several strategies to enhance engagement with the platform’s Promotions feature and encourage reconsideration among churned users. One participant proposed offering a free trial period of a few months, emphasizing the need for sufficient time to thoroughly test the product and determine if it could deliver enough value to justify continued usage. Another participant expressed interest in expanded marketing options within Promotions, emphasizing the importance of greater control over their strategies and suggesting that broader customization might motivate them to return. Additionally, a participant highlighted the value of personalized support, recommending that an Otter representative guide them through their previous campaigns to identify areas for improvement. For this participant, the primary measure of success was the financial impact of campaigns, as reflected directly in their bank account. These insights underline the importance of flexibility, trial opportunities, and personalized support in driving user satisfaction and retention.
Report Process
After synthesizing the insights from the interviews, I created a presentation Google Slide that captured all of the user feedback and findings. To ensure all stakeholders, many of whom worked from home, were kept informed, I scheduled a Zoom meeting to present these insights. Post-meeting, I uploaded all documentation in our UX Research Google Drive and shared key points in our dedicated UX Research Slack channel. This included the Google Slides and allowed team members outside of the stakeholders to ask questions and stay updated on the research, ensuring comprehensive visibility and collaboration across the company.
Here is the link to Promotions Findings and Insights - Otter 2023
Impact and Outcomes
The promotions research yielded valuable insights that directly influenced product development and user experience enhancements. By gathering feedback from both current and churned users, we identified key areas for improvement, such as the need for greater flexibility in promotion customization and design corrections.
As a result of this research, the promotions platform underwent significant updates, including the implementation of features that allow users to customize their promotions according to their specific needs and preferences. These enhancements not only addressed user concerns but also increased the platform's usability and effectiveness.
Additionally, design corrections were made based on user feedback to ensure a more intuitive and user-friendly experience. By incorporating user insights into the design process, the platform was able to better meet the needs and expectations of its users.
Overall, the promotions research had a positive impact on product development, leading to improved features and design elements that enhanced the user experience and ultimately contributed to the platform's success in the market.