Reflection: Visualization Tool by Veronica Giraldo

Challenge

During this hard times that the entire world is experiencing for the first time, the pandemic of COVID-19,  the way people are used to do business has change.  This including the automobile industry, where the  idea of visiting the dealer to buy a vehicle is no longer a choice (the traditional way) due to the  government lockdown.  The business as it is doesn’t work for us right now.  People are choosing to shop  online instead of visiting any facilities.  Right now, the way to start a sale is by these two options: an  online search or a phone call.  Looking for options in how I can help our dealer network I thought about  the online experience.  People now a days are used to buy online and they are looking forward to  complete their own vehicle transaction online.  The world is still moving thanks to the technology and  online retail sales and that is the way we should move in the automobile industry.  I visited their online  pages to see how they are moving and adapting to this new normal of online selling/shopping.  I noticed  that their web pages are not updated and is quite difficult for the customer to shop and navigate  through the site and the phone numbers announced have no answer due to the lockdown.  My  challenge was to think on how I can present all these finding to my team in an effective and easy way.

Selection

In order to help improve the web pages of the dealers and to communicate the finding to my team and  eventually to the dealers, I have chosen the visualization tool.  In the search of looking for a way to  explain the actual situation of the online sites to my team I found that this tool will let me explain myself  without even saying a word.  The pictures and online retail sales simulation will speak for themselves.   This way I can engage my team and they can have a better understanding of the current situation so we  can look for improvements and have a bigger impact.

Application & Insight

I started exploring the different online sites of our dealer network, going one by one and taking  screenshots of the pages, documenting in a Power Point the customers journey trying to shop online or  at least start the selling process in their pages.  I also took pictures of their social media pages.  I even  found out that, sometimes, the all 3 pages had different phone numbers and different messages, which  can confuse and frustrate the customers.  By documenting the process using pictures, I’m also  portraying how hard it is to navigate and shop and in most of the cases a dead end for the customer.

By using the visualization tool, in this case a Power Point presentation, I also created an ideal visual  process of what the online page must look like in order to start the sales process.  Demonstrated to my  team how, from the customer’s point of view, the online page should be configured in order to engage  the customer and satisfy their needs.

After presenting my findings to the team, all I received was good feedback and that it was an excellent  exercise.  I achieved a faster consensus and everyone in my team understood where the dealers online  page stands and the improvements that needed to be made. This was our first step in trying to resolve  the vehicle selling issue and move to the online retail experience.

Approach

For my next step which would be presenting the findings to the dealers I will like to complement the  visualization with the storytelling tool.  Using this tool, I can tell the customers journey, share findings  and engage our clients in trying to resolve the problem, but also, generate emotion and urgency to try to  resolve this issue.


Reflection : Visualization Tool by Veronica Giraldo Challenge During this hard times that the entire world is experiencing for the first time , the pandemic of COVID-19 , the way people are used to do business has change . This including the automobile industry , where the idea of visiting the dealer to buy a vehicle is no longer a choice ( the traditional way ) due to the government lockdown . The business as it is does n’t work for us right now . People are choosing to shop online instead of visiting any facilities . Right now , the way to start a sale is by these two options : an online search or a phone call . Looking for options in how I can help our dealer network I thought about the online experience . People now a days are used to buy online and they are looking forward to complete their own vehicle transaction online . The world is still moving thanks to the technology and online retail sales and that is the way we should move in the automobile industry . I visited their online pages to see how they are moving and adapting to this new normal of online selling / shopping . I noticed that their web pages are not updated and is quite difficult for the customer to shop and navigate through the site and the phone numbers announced have no answer due to the lockdown . My challenge was to think on how I can present all these finding to my team in an effective and easy way . Selection In order to help improve the web pages of the dealers and to communicate the finding to my team and eventually to the dealers , I have chosen the visualization tool . In the search of looking for a way to explain the actual situation of the online sites to my team I found that this tool will let me explain myself without even saying a word . The pictures and online retail sales simulation will speak for themselves . This way I can engage my team and they can have a better understanding of the current situation so we can look for improvements and have a bigger impact . Application & Insight I started exploring the different online sites of our dealer network , going one by one and taking screenshots of the pages , documenting in a Power Point the customers journey trying to shop online or at least start the selling process in their pages . I also took pictures of their social media pages . I even found out that , sometimes , the all 3 pages had different phone numbers and different messages , which can confuse and frustrate the customers . By documenting the process using pictures , I ’m also portraying how hard it is to navigate and shop and in most of the cases a dead end for the customer . By using the visualization tool , in this case a Power Point presentation , I also created an ideal visual process of what the online page must look like in order to start the sales process . Demonstrated to my team how , from the customer ’s point of view , the online page should be configured in order to engage the customer and satisfy their needs . After presenting my findings to the team , all I received was good feedback and that it was an excellent exercise . I achieved a faster consensus and everyone in my team understood where the dealers online page stands and the improvements that needed to be made . This was our first step in trying to resolve the vehicle selling issue and move to the online retail experience . Approach For my next step which would be presenting the findings to the dealers I will like to complement the visualization with the storytelling tool . Using this tool , I can tell the customers journey , share findings and engage our clients in trying to resolve the problem , but also , generate emotion and urgency to try to resolve this issue .