Designs based on market research, not opinions
Imagine your dream home: no matter where it is, it likely has everything you need and want, in a style that suits your lifestyle. And this may differ from what your friends need or want. This was the challenge Implenia faced when they turned to our team for support – they wanted to brief architects based on actual preferences of future residents to achieve higher quality and improved market fit of residential buildings.
Though project leads and architects use reliable experience to design residential buildings for customer segments, this insight may not always reflect what residents look for. As a result, project developers had to invest a lot of resources to align architects’ and project leads’ views on what features were important to include in the set up and design of apartments.
Using service design skills for process development
Though the outcome of this collaboration between Implenia and Creaholic’s Dream Team was a process improvement based on data-based customer segments, the journey was similar to that of a service design project. In service design, the interaction and journey between a customer and a service is examined and optimised. In this case, what Creaholic ultimately did was optimise the work Implenia and architecture firms did to better know and serve the customers – in this case, residents. This improvement was made possible by upgrading the process with a set of research-based guidelines.
The team at Implenia believed in the potential of these target group guidelines, but was unsure of what the final product would look like and how they would include them in their work flow. Roman Hungerbühler from Creaholic created a prototype of the document after gathering data from a small sample group and insight from project leads and architects. Implenia was pleased with not only the initial insights but also the usability of the guidelines. They immediately recognised the value. The next step was gathering the large dataset needed to create reliable customer segments and a clear picture of potential residents.
Data as a foundation
Working with our trusted partner, intervista, Christoph Frei and Roman collected survey results from 1500 individuals living throughout the Western and German-speaking parts of Switzerland. Through expert analysis, six customer profiles were defined, visualised and personified. The profiles – which Implenia refers to as “Lifestylers” – describe what these customers look for in a new home, what they consider to be necessities and what features they believe bring added value. Implenia’s real estate development specialists use the profiles as guidelines to assess what features the apartment should include based on the specific target group; architects use the guidelines to design the physical spaces according to the profiles of the target resident groups.
How architects work with the info: In the resulting document, every element a customer segment seeks in an apartment is explained with a graphic and the underlying need it serves. It's the architect's creative challenge to meet this need. In cases where there are many ways to design a solution – a room for an office space, for example – the solution isn't further specified. Others, like a basement where minimal dimensions are set by law, include more details. This way there is room for unique solutions, making for an exciting challenge where architects can work in their most creative way.
Constructing homes with the right tools
The guidelines and segment descriptions (“Lifestylers”) are now actively used internally at Implenia to inform important decisions about new development projects. Architecture firms designing offers for Implenia work closely with the guidelines to ensure their ideas meet actual customer needs and preferences.
The diversity in our in-house tools, knowledge and network contacts played an important role in creating the guidelines and improving Implenia’s real estate development process. Bringing together customer segmentation skills, product development expertise and user research skills, our Dream Team led Implenia to a human-centred solution that will have a long-term business impact.
Need a fresh perspective?
Our multidisciplinary Dream Team is ready to think outside of the box and create a unique solution to your challenge,whether you’re building dream homes or developing products that fit inside.
