MenuClose
iO Energy
Helping Australians pay less for clean energy
Created a seamless onboarding experience for clean energy customers.
Project Outcome: Reduced friction within the onboarding process and elevated product desirability via new touchpoints, as validated through user testing.
Client: iO Energy
Role: UI Designer, UX Researcher, Client Liaison
Duration: June 2022 (2.5 week sprint)
The Brief
iO Energy is an Australian energy retailer delivering affordable renewable energy to homes and businesses. Consumers are offered a way to reduce their energy costs with smart electricity meters and time-of-use pricing. iO Energy’s initial brief was to create a smooth end-to-end user experience, from initial consideration of their energy plans and clickthrough, to use of their bill comparison tool, and signing up of customers to iO Energy.
1. Defining audiences and journeys
In order to design an improved end-to-end digital experience, we first had to define the key audiences and journeys involved. To do so, a discovery phase into the current pain points surrounding iO Energy’s website and also the broader problem space of sustainable energy and provider switching had to be conducted. Phase one thus involved:
Comprehensive Research
Affinity & Empathy Maps
Personas
User Journeys
Research & Findings
Methods:
- Online survey (45 responses received)
- 1:1 Interviews (27 participants)
- Heuristic Evaluation of current website
- Competitor Analysis
- Desktop Research
Key Findings:
Although Australians are willing to explore clean energy alternatives, many find it difficult to navigate the information that’s out there. Consumers are worried about the price of clean energy, tedious switching processes and whether the energy is actually sustainable or not.
Although Australians are willing to explore clean energy alternatives, many find it difficult to navigate the information that’s out there. Consumers are worried about the price of clean energy, tedious switching processes and whether the energy is actually sustainable or not.
Scroll to explore research insights
Problem Statement
Based on the research findings, two problem statements (one for Residential Customers and one for Business Owner Customers) were created to help frame and define the challenge:
Problem Statement (Residential Customers)
Australians lack motivation to find out where their power comes from and are unsure where to check to see if their energy is renewable and if it benefits them cost-wise.
Problem Statement (Business Owners)
Australian Businesses are struggling to sign up to another competitive provider because they are time poor with understanding what deal is best and the information on renewable energy is unclear.
Personas & User Journeys
Two key audience groups were identified during research: Residential Customers and Business Owner Customers. Using a combination of quantitative survey data and qualitative interview feedback, we came up with two key personas and also mapped out their current journeys when engaging with iO Energy.
Scroll to explore personas and user journeys
2. Identifying Opportunities
With the journeys and personas properly defined, the next stage involved identifying where we could make the most impact and address key pain points. This was done via:
How Might We's
Ideation Workshops
Storyboards
Solutions Matrix
How Might We's
‘How Might We’ statements were created to focus ideation around each personas’ biggest pain points. These were:
Julie’s How Might We’s
How might we build trust in iO energy for Julie by enhancing her understanding of renewables and the potential savings available?
How might we make the end-to-end sign-up process seamless to build confidence in Julie that she's made the right decision?
Sam’s How Might We’s
How might we educate Sam about the trustworthiness of a small business so that he is willing to make the change from a larger provider?
How might we make it easy and clear for Sam to understand the benefits and costs associated with switching to a greener energy provider, so that he is happy with the ease of the process?
Ideation & Concept Development
These HMWs were used to facilitate two major brainstorming sessions.
Key themes that arose during this were: clearer information breakdown, more interactivity and transparent language at all touchpoints.
Solutions were further developed via storyboards, user flows and (in the case of the website), information architecture mapping.
Scroll to explore
Solutions Matrix
Final deliverables were mapped out within a solutions matrix. Through this, we ensured that major pain points were being addressed and that the solutions were fully integrated within the personas’ end-to-end journey.
3. Delivery
Having a clear idea of what the deliverables were, the final phase was to design and test the various prototypes in an iterative process. Changes were based on learnings throughout the research process and constantly validated with our personas.
Lo-fi Sketching
Mid-fi Wireframes
Usability Testing
High Fidelity Prototype
Website Uplift
Goal:
- Triage Residential and Business Owner customers on the website due to different use cases (as identified via research)
- New features aimed at simplifying pricing and industry information
- Increase trust and credibility of the brand throughout
- Optimise website IA
- Improve visual consistency throughout site
Outcome: Ease of use scores increased from 7.6 to 8.8 whilst product desirability increased from 7 to 8.1. Overall, users felt information was better tailored to them (via features such as the ‘Find Your Plan’ quiz) and that they felt a lot more trust towards iO Energy due to expanded content.
Scroll to explore wireframes and user testing results
Website (High-Fidelity Prototype)
Scroll to explore prototypes and user testing results
Bill Comparison Tool Uplift
Goal:
- Reduce confusion throughout using the tool (as noticed during user testing)
- Remove friction points (such as users having to navigate through multiple pages)
- Increase trust and credibility of the brand throughout
Outcome: Users preferred the uplifted bill comparison tool as evident via A/B testing, stating that it was easier to understand the benefits of switching to iO Energy. Information was clearer and there was a greater sense of transparency due to expanded content and explanations.
Sign Up Flow Uplift
Goal:
- Remove friction points throughout sign-up flow, as identified during user testing
- Reduce time to complete sign-up process
- Match visual aesthetics of the website and other touchpoints
Outcome: Duration it took to complete the form decreased from 5 and a half minutes to 3 and a half minutes. Ease of use scores increased from 7.8 to 9.3. Users much preferred the uplifted version of the sign-up flow.
Scroll to explore prototype and user testing results
Scroll to explore iterations and user testing results
New Mobile App
Goal:
- Create an iO Energy mobile app for customers so they can easily check their usage and make payments on the go
- Continue to provide value to the customer after onboarding
Outcome: Provided the client with a working prototype that had been tested with personas and refined throughout. Users rated it a 7.6/10 for ease of use – however more work should be done in order to ensure that parts of the app were not misleading.
Wearable Technology
As a bonus deliverable, we explored the potential of wearable tech in helping to change energy consumption behaviours.
The ability to receive notifications and reminders on when to do laundry or perform other high-energy tasks was a left-of-field approach that could distinguish iO Energy from other sustainable energy providers.
Outcome: The client was intrigued by the potential of this technology and wished to explore this further with the team.
Scroll to explore prototype
Project Conclusion
Initial research into iO Energy’s existing touchpoints showed that consumers lacked an understanding of the renewable energy space and the potential savings involved. In addition, many were time-poor and wanted information to be quickly provided to them in a personalised manner.
By uplifting various touchpoints and incorporating features that would help simplify and pricing and industry information, we were able to reduce confusion and increase desirability in the product (as validated via thorough user testing).
This holistic solution was presented to the client and received an overwhelming positive response. Figma files and research notes were handed over to iO Energy’s development teams who immediately started working to integrate these changes into their existing website .
