My team and I researched trends and surveyed various women to understand how Porsche can better attract the female customer. We presented our key insights directly to Porsche. I revisited our findings to design a mobile app concept that streamlines the car search process in order to better align with common values that women prioritize the most.
THE CLIENT
Porsche
Automotive
DURATION
September 2017 -
November 2017
MY ROLE
User Research
UI/UX Design
TOOLS
Illustrator
Figma
THE CHALLENGE
Where and how can Porsche expand their customer base?
The objective of this project was to identify demographics that Porsche have not been able to reach, and understand the barriers that stand in the way, in order to strategize methods to reduce if not remove them completely.
BACKGROUND RESEARCH
The future is female
My team and I identified that one of Porsche's largest untouched demographic is women.
THERE ARE 1.4 MILLION MORE WOMEN DRIVERS THAN MEN
62% of cars are bought by women. Women also make 85% of car buying decisions, making them a huge opportunity.
ONLY 19.7% OF PORSCHE'S CUSTOMERS ARE WOMEN
Men make up 80.3 percent of Porsche's customer demographic, making it the third most popular brand amoung men.
COMPETITORS
So what are women buying and why?
First, I identified which brands had the most female customers. In terms of commonalities these brands market practicality, safety, durability, and affordability. On the other hand, the top brands for men were: Ferrari, Maserati, and Porsche- all brands that make appearances and speed the forerunner of their marketing strategy.
HONDA
46.0% BUYERS WERE WOMEN
KIA
46.8% BUYERS WERE WOMEN
MINI
47.9% BUYERS WERE WOMEN
USER RESEARCH
How are women buying their cars?
I interviewed 4 different woman in order to gain a deeper understanding as to how they purchase their vehicles and why they may gravitate towards other car brands.
"I hate going to dealerships because it reeks of toxic masculinity, and dealers trying to push me into a purchase that I don't even want, or would never consider in the first place."
SUPPORTING STATISTIC:
According to the Beepi Consumer Automotive Index, 62% of millennial women feel pressured to buy right away and 49% said they felt tricked into buying features they didn’t need. Additionally women are offered list prices that are, on average, $200 higher than what is offered to male customers.
INISGHT:
There is a huge social aspect to the typical car buying process. The car dealing industry is saturated with men, and many women have noted that they instantly feel patronized or treated differently than their male counterparts.
"I put in a lot of research when I'm about to make a big purchase. It's good to know what you want, that way you can stand your ground if a salesmen tries to convince you otherwise. As a woman, it's good to have the upper hand in these situations."
SUPPORTING STATISTIC:
On average, women take 75 days to make a decision to purchase a vehicle whereas men take approximately 63.
INISGHT:
In order to prevent being convince to make a purchase that does not suit their needs, many women find it necessary to conduct their own research- which can be time consuming and tedious.
" The process is a bit intimidating. There are just so many things to look for, I don't even know what's important and what's a useless added on feature at this point haha."
SUPPORTING STATISTIC:
58% are confident in their purchase, and know exactly what they want in their car, while only 38% of women are confident in theirs.
INISGHT:
Finding the right car can be overwhelming because there are so many options, with a plethora of features that are presented in ways that don't necessarily explain why they are importnat.
"As the President of *** **********, I have a company car, but in terms of what I drive around day to day, you can see our family van in the driveway, that's the "dump truck". It's reliable and dependable."
SUPPORTING STATISTIC:
Women tend to be more utility minded than men. They value features like durability, reliability, safety, and affordability.
INISGHT:
Women have different values that they prioritize in a car. These values are not values that Porsche places emphasis on.
DESIGN OPPORTUNITY
It comes down to perception and information
It became apparent that a huge source of the problem came down to how Porsche is widely perceived and how those perceptions direcly conflict with key values that many women have placed priority in when looking for a car.
THE OPPORTUNITY
CDK Global’s Language of Closers research found that women tend to focus on reviews that tell them something about the car that they can't get from a list of technical specs. They were more interested in words like: “driven,” “trip,” “comfortable” and “handling” because they described the experience of driving a vehicle in a relatable manner.
So what would happen if we shifted Porsche's current narrative to highlight its safety, durability, and reliability features over visual appearances and prestige? What if this information became more more accessible and presented in a way that was more relatable?
THE PROBLEM
Many women prefer to research cars beforehand in order to know exactly what they want before making a purchase. Many do this to prevent interactions at dealerships that leave them feeling undermined, belittled, or taken advantage of.
They rely on information that is already out there and widely available like: reviews, blogs, the words of their peers, etc. Consequentially, Porsche often gets overlooked because it has an existing image that does not appeal to or emphasize features that women place the most importance on.
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
Streamlining the "search to purchase" process
The idea was to design an application that could present anecdotal information along with product
FINAL DESIGN
Streamlining the "search to purchase" process
I am currently retouching the final interactive prototype. Please check again soon!
KEYWORDS MATCHING SURVEY
To get started and find the perfect Porsche, the first step is to identify what you are looking for. Users can select what they value in a vehicle for from a consolidated bank of the most popular terms searched for when looking at cars.
LEARN WHAT YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO KNOW
Based off of the survey results, the user can view a selection of cars that best fits their wants and needs. Each car has information sorted in categories distinguished by the keyword survey so that users can access the information that they are looking for quickly and directly.
REVIEWS CURATED TO YOUR VALUES
It has been shown that women value personal anecdotes, advice, and experiences over stats and technical terminology. The Review section allows users to access this information with ease. Furthermore, they can filter reviews based off of the keywords they have selected.
BOOK A TEST RIDE WITH YOUR DREAM CAR
One merit to traditional/in person car shopping is that customers can experience what it feels like to be behind the wheel. With this in mind users can schedule test drives in locations that are convenient for them, so that they can understand not only how the car looks like but how it feels to drive it.
PLACE AN ORDER FOR YOUR PORSCHE
Customers can order their perfect Porsche via the app, rather than having to experience the process at a dealership.