Problem: understanding the beginning of the home remodeling journey
By understanding the phases and the myriad touchpoints of a home remodeling project, we can discover what motivates consumers to begin the process. Home remodeling can be expensive, time consuming, and disruptive. At the very beginning of a home remodel, consumers are excited and hopeful. However, as they begin to make their dreams a reality, the experience of finding contractors, agreeing on decor, understanding timing and deciding on a budget can be stressful. This home remodeling journey map covers the research, planning and purchasing parts of a home remodel, up until the actual remodeling begins. A journey map focused on these aspects helps contractors and vendors understand the timing, content and media actions that contribute to purchasing remodeling services.
Solution: mapping consumer’s home remodel journey
This home remodeling journey map is based on one couple’s experiences. It focuses on the roles, actions, and motivations of each person in the couple. It shows the participation of each person in the seven phases of their process. And it highlights the people, brands, and technologies they used during each phase.
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Consumer Persona
- Couple with two incomes
- Urban neighborhood
- Has lived in the home over 18 years
- Has completed a prior remodeling project
- Plans to stay in the home another 10+ years
Individually mapping one consumer couple at a time does not constitute a model. Instead, it documents real instances of an individual buying process. Our process typically includes creating journey maps for a range of consumers on the same journey. Then the team can compare and contrast individual journeys rather than a generic hybrid in which the rich stories that are key to innovation may be lost. Taking a highly visualized approach helps us to see the flow of specific activities and get a sense of the amount of interaction, attention, and energy needed for each phase of the journey. Asking consumers to rate the usefulness of each touchpoint gives us insight into where contractors, advertisers and business owners can focus their resources.