Achieving customer acquisition goals while designing a movement!
KeyString Labs @ Entergy
Entergy struggled to get customers to adopt their community solar product due to a lack of awareness and engagement. This led to missed benefits for customers, economic consequences for Entergy, and hindered growth in renewable energy. Enter Solarity, a movement to improve the appeal, accessibility, and value proposition of community solar.
ROLE
Product Designer
YEAR
2019
Customer Interviews,
A/B Testing,
Uster Testing,
Information Architecture,
Branding Workshop,
Mock-ups,
Prototypes,
Executive Presentations,
Final Specs
TEAM
Product Designer,
Product Manager,
Inovation Architect,
Researcher,
Growth Analyst,
Engineering Lead,
Frontend Dev,
Backend Dev,
Business Analyst
DELIVERABLES
Project Overview
I was the lead product designer at KeyString Labs, and I oversaw the development of Solarity, a community solar product created by Entergy. The purpose of this service was to give customers access to solar power without having to install solar panels on their homes. Our goal was two-fold: to understand the needs of existing users and to create attractive value propositions for our subscription model that would excite potential customers and increase demand for additional solar sites.
As the product design lead, I was able to create a product website that resonated with our target audience. I led a UX designer, logo designer, animation team, and voice actor to lead workshops, user testing, and creative direction to meet our objectives. By analyzing the competition and conducting meticulous research, we were able to uncover key insights that shaped the unique identity and compelling messaging of Solarity.
What are customers’ motivations and abilities?
“There’s no way I’d join. I see no benefit”
Previously to KeyString Labs in Mississippi, Entergy began its first solar trial. It quickly became apparent that customers needed to be aware of solar energy's advantages and intricacies. To make matters even more complicated, our Solarity subscription plans had to consider varying monthly bill payments based on the production from each solar farm.
My preliminary exploration when launching the project revealed three vital regions to prioritize to acquire and energize customer registrations:
Visual identity - Create an inviting, engaging, and appealing visual design to showcase Entergy's innovative eco-friendly product.
Product Education - Demonstrate the essential merits of Solarity and successfully communicate their importance.
Bill Awareness - Let your customers explore Solarity's subscription plans quickly and clearly.
UX strategy planning and research analysis
Furthermore, through our team's thorough 1:1 research sessions and my careful examination of the competition, critical insights were uncovered that ultimately enabled us to craft a distinct identity and compelling messaging for Solarity:
Despite having access to solar power, most Entergy Mississippi customers needed to know the capabilities and advantages of going solar.
Customers were enticed by the possibility of making a significant ecological contribution.
Invite customers to become part of something bigger than themselves; evoke a sense of belonging and purpose with your messaging.
Our competitors resorted to using unclear cost-saving tactics, leading people to believe that solar energy would directly result in savings.
Site information architecture and content strategy
Leveraging those insights, I crafted numerous objectives to make Solarity's customer journey distinct from the competition:
Ensure a smooth journey - many of our competitors' websites could have been more coherent and clear.
Emphasize the potential benefits at the start - competitors complicated their messaging about how their services were used.
Emphasize transparency and be part of a revolution - unlike our competition, which advertised savings that needed more accuracy.
Offer customers various plan alternatives for their specific needs - most of our rivals needed a selection of plans and strategies to choose from, with an unorganized UI that doesn't prioritize the choice options.
Activities & Outputs
UX Strategy
Information Architecture
Customer Interviews
Stakeholder Interviews
Competitive Analysis
Visualizing a movement through brand and design
Project workshops and design feedback sessions
When we were tasked with developing Solarity's style guide and brand, our aim was to create something that would distinguish it from Entergy's previous and corporate branding. Our objective was to create a product that was environmentally friendly, modern, and appealing to young customers. To achieve this, we focused on creating visual elements that were bold and simple. The colors we chose conveyed energy while also having a calming effect, and our messaging was tailored to connect with customers on an emotional level. Based on our research, we discovered what customers value in a solar energy product and their attitudes towards it. This helped us create an exclusive product identity that would capture their attention and inspire them to sign up for Solarity's services.
Solarity style guide
Evolution of design: version 1 with site images, version 2 with vibrant illustrations
After our launch, we conducted additional user testing to gauge the effectiveness of our messaging and designs in engaging potential customers. While our illustrations received positive feedback, we discovered that site images had a negative impact on customers. Based on this information, we made the decision to use illustrations for value proposition areas as well. This design change was well received by both our customers and stakeholders at Entergy.
Activities & Outputs
Branding Workshop
Style Guide
Illustrations
Wireframes
Testing to create the right message
Collaborating with my UX teammate and strategic designer, we conducted A/B testing and user testing sessions to accurately refine our messaging and effectively communicate Solarity's value.
Design iterations: testing customer impact designs and messaging
Design iterations: testing plan page designs
Results from testing sessions led to the following changes:
Simplification of value props - from five to three.
Separate cost from impact - when the price was the primary focus, users were no longer concerned with its implications. However, when we emphasized its benefits first, it made them far more receptive to plan costs.
To best educate customers about the value and cost of each plan, prioritize only the most critical information.
Activities & Outputs
A/B Testing
Wireframes
Prototype
Choose your impact
Customer impact design
After many redesigns, I was able to craft a simple and relatable illustration of each plan's influence on the environment. To make sure that it remained relevant to its theme, I coined names like Seed, Sprout, Tree, and Forest to indicate how much impact an individual could have with their subscription.
Customer impact design (mobile & desktop)
Breaking down plan details
The plans page was designed to provide the most critical details of each plan, with a banner to create a sense of urgency and reinforcement of being a part of a movement.
Customer impact design (mobile & desktop)
Simplifying the sign-up process
To ensure the sign-up process was straightforward, I addressed any lingering customer queries and allowed for modifications in plan choices. Being that we had 5 different markets with various service options, I made sure to design for each customer use case.
Customer impact design (mobile & desktop)
Results and takeaways
“We’re excited that this is just the beginning of building more solar in Mississippi!”
Solarity was a fantastic project to work on. It was a great introduction to working at a utility and challenged me in new ways. After spending previously spending 3 years working on an enterprise product, it was a nice change to design a website and brand. I also was able to interact with new roles like growth, innovation architects, and business analysts.
Solarity successfully launched and met its target sign-ups in Mississippi and Arkansas.
The site design and brand also greatly impacted our internal processes as several other departments in the organization saw the success of the product's brand and design - I was contacted by these departments to assist or provide guidance on building new products for their teams.
Having already established operations in Mississippi and added Entergy's Arkansas utility and Entergy Texas for pre-sign-ups, Solarity is now on the brink of an even more significant expansion. The product site will soon be equipped to serve two more regions, offering more services than ever.
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