Storefront is a leading platform for renting short-term retail space. From single location pop-ups to multi-city star studded product launches, Storefront empowers retail businesses and property managers to create magic experiences in their communities. Please note that this exercise is purely theoretical, not based on actual user interviews, employee interactions, or proprietary data.
Background
As a seasoned product manager with over 8 years of experience, I've had the privilege of working with a diverse range of companies, from startups to industry giants, across sectors such as fintech, SaaS, and news media. I have also specifically worked with Storefront in the past. Since I cannot share work under NDA, I showcase my skills through case studies and thought experiments.
In a recent thought experiment, I focused on Storefront, a leading platform for renting short-term retail spaces, exploring the question: "What new feature would you build and why?" Utilizing my intuition and theoretical understanding, I undertook a comprehensive exercise addressing Feature Analysis, Understanding User Needs, Designing the Feature, and evaluating Trade-offs, Risks, and Metrics for Success. The process summarized in this article and detailed in this article, ensures a well-informed and thoughtfully designed feature to tackle real challenges faced by Storefront users.
Case Study / Thought Experiment
In this article, I will discuss the dedicated communication feature I propose to build and why I believe it would enhance user engagement and drive growth.
Proposal and hypothesis
The proposed dedicated communication feature aims to improve user engagement and foster growth for Storefront. The core hypothesis is: "Effective communication between Brand and Property Managers through Storefront leads to more frequent rebooking on the platform."
Feature Analysis
During the discovery phase, I analyzed Storefront's features, competition, market research, and other data, identifying key opportunity categories: showing peer pressure, revealing business insights, providing profit levers, improving communication, incentivizing transactions, enabling peer ratings and reviews, offering more feature and service control, and reconsidering business alignment between Storefront and its customers. After thorough evaluation, I determined that a dedicated communication feature would have the most significant impact on user engagement and growth.
Understanding User Needs
Understanding the needs of both Brand and Property Managers was vital. By analyzing personas and mapping user journeys, I discovered that a single, dedicated communication channel consolidating all relevant conversations and information related to rental campaigns would be invaluable to users.
Designing the Feature
Based on user stories and product requirements, I designed the dedicated communication feature with four main views: All Business Activity, Campaign Activity, Property Activity, and Conversational Actions. These views provide users with context-specific information. The feature also includes messaging, calls, payment processing, file sharing, activity review, and issue reporting capabilities.
Trade-offs, Risks, and Metrics for Success
The primary trade-off in developing this feature is the opportunity cost of not pursuing other solutions. However, I believe that the benefits of improved communication outweigh the risks. To measure success, I established user metrics and signals, such as session length, user flow patterns, booking count, and satisfaction through feedback, to evaluate the feature's impact on user engagement and alignment with Storefront's business objectives.
Testing and Deployment
For testing, I suggested selecting a diverse user cross-section based on various metrics and signals, deploying the feature using a Feature Management solution like LaunchDarkly. Users would provide feedback, informing necessary iterations and improvements before broader rollout.
Conclusion
The dedicated communication feature aims to enhance communication between Brand and Property Managers, leading to increased user engagement and growth for Storefront. By understanding user needs, designing a feature that addresses them, and measuring its impact, I believe this feature has significant potential to benefit Storefront users.
Through this case study and thought experiment, I hope to demonstrate my product management expertise and ability to address complex problems with a user-centric approach. Passionate about creating exceptional products that improve lives, I eagerly anticipate new challenges and opportunities in the product management realm.
Introduction:
As a seasoned product manager with over 8 years of experience in the field, I've had the privilege of working with various companies, ranging from startups to industry giants. My journey has taken me through various sectors, such as fintech, SaaS, and news media. In this article, I will showcase my abilities as a product manager by sharing my experience in tackling a challenge faced by Storefront, a marketplace platform for renting short-term retail spaces.
The Challenge:
Storefront was facing an issue where communication between brand and property managers was not streamlined, leading to a decrease in rebookings through the platform. To address this issue, I took on the responsibility of developing a dedicated communication feature that would facilitate effective communication between brand and property managers and, ultimately, increase rebookings.
The Approach:
To tackle this challenge, I followed a step-by-step process that began with analyzing the problem, identifying target users, defining test users, designing the feature, and outlining success metrics. Throughout this process, I remained focused on empathizing with the end-users and understanding their needs, while ensuring that the proposed solution would bring value to both Storefront and its customers.
Problem Analysis:
The first step in my approach was to analyze the problem and identify the factors contributing to the lack of effective communication between brand and property managers. By conducting thorough market research and analyzing user feedback, I discovered that users were often resorting to external communication channels, leading to fragmented and inefficient communication.
Target Users:
With a clear understanding of the problem, I then defined the target users who would benefit the most from the dedicated communication feature. These included:
- Brand Managers - responsible for managing campaigns and coordinating with property managers to ensure successful execution.
- Property Managers - responsible for overseeing property rentals and providing support to brand managers.
Test Users:
To ensure the success of the feature, I outlined a plan for selecting test users who would provide valuable feedback during the development phase. I employed a sampling strategy that encompassed a cross-section of accounts with varying user metrics and signals, such as account age, session length, booking frequency, and satisfaction with existing communication features.
Feature Design:
Drawing from the insights gathered during the problem analysis phase and guided by the user stories of both brand and property managers, I developed a set of high-level product feature requirements for the dedicated communication feature. These included a consistent interface for all users, messaging capabilities, call support, payment processing, file sharing, activity review, and issue reporting.
I then brainstormed visually, creating wireframes and mockups that illustrated the proposed communication feature's look and behavior. The final concept consisted of four primary views: All Business Activity, Campaign Activity, Property Activity, and Conversational Actions.
Trade-offs, Risks, and Success Metrics:
Throughout the project, I carefully considered the trade-offs and risks associated with the dedicated communication feature. By focusing on this feature, Storefront would incur opportunity costs that could have been used to explore other options. It was crucial to make educated decisions based on the analysis of these trade-offs and risks to maximize the value delivered to users.
The success of the feature hinged on whether it led to an increase in rebooking rates. To evaluate its impact, I defined a set of user metrics and signals that would be tracked and measured, such as booking frequency, session length, and user satisfaction.
In Summary:
By following a structured approach that prioritized empathy for the end-users and a deep understanding of their needs, I was able to design a dedicated communication feature that held the potential to revolutionize the way brand and property managers interact on Storefront. As a product manager, my passion lies in improving people's lives through exceptional products, and this project allowed me to apply my expertise]