Experience Audit: Red Mango Case Study

EXPER RIENCE AUDIT An In Depth Analysis of the Red Mango Frozen Yogurt Franchise and Their Designed Experience (Or Lack Thereof).

DESIGN RESEARCH FALL 2012

RED MANGO, ESTABLISHED IN 2007 TODAY, OVER 190 LOCATIONS NATIONWIDE.

CONTENTS 5 THE ASSIGNMENT Synopsis on what this whole project is about.

7 COMPANY PROFILE An overlook on Red Mango as a company

9 EARLY OBSERVATIONAL VISITS What we discovered, from the get-go!

13 THE TASK

What our task was, and how we completed it.

15 COMPARISONS Visualizing the differences between locations.

19 IDEO METHODS & THEIR CORRELATION Tying in IDEO’s methodology to strenthen our research.

21 FINAL THOUGHTS & CONCLUSION What we learned from this whole thing.

SO WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?

AN EXPERIENCE AUDIT IS...

According to Joe Quackenbush, “Audits are a classic research technique for many different disciplines. Traditionally in design, an audit meant a purely visual audit. Branding firms, for example, would often start a new project with a complete audit of a company’s visual identity and collateral materials. But a customer’s relationship to a product or services is hardly limited to the visual. Customers engage a product or service on the web, in mobile apps, on the phone, on the radio, in physical spaces, and, perhaps most importantly, in face-to-face meet- ings. The emerging field of service design looks at each of these dimensions as crucial to the overall customer experience.” We took this information to heart. The root of all design essentially is how it makes you feel. Whether it is a poster, book, product, or an environment, great design will provoke positive feelings in the viewer and ignite their respect for the art or the space. Corporate companies need to have a cohesive consumer experience so that customers return to their stores happy and satisfied. It is not solely about the products anymore, it is about the entire experience.

THE ASSIGNMENT When we first received this project in Design Research, we were excited.

Auditing a company on their designed experience? It sounded great. Just one catch: our companies would be chosen for us. The first two groups were appointed REI and Whole Foods. Then it was our groups turn.

“Hope, Katlyn and Kat...you have Red Mango in Boston.”

We thought, Red Mango? The frozen yogurt place? None of us had ever been there before. We knew that it would be a chance for us to go in with fresh eyes, no bias, and really be able to observe our experience. The frozen yogurt industry has been growing in the US, and it was a great opportunity to be able to see what it was all about. In our group of three, we decided to venture out that week and explore it from a first hand perspectve.

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“Our stores are designed to be as refreshing and fun as our delicious frozen yogurt and smoothies.”

—RED MANGO WEBSITE

SO WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?

RED MANGO: A COMPANY OVERLOOK Red Mango was founded in 2007 by Dan Kim. In only five years, they have opened over 190 stores nationwide. They pride themselves on serving the healthiest and freshest frozen yogurt and claim that they started the “frozen yogurt mania sweeping the nation.” They claim on their website that they have a “unique store experience.” They also claim, “Our stores are designed to be as refreshing and fun as our delicious frozen yogurt and smoothies. From the stylish and modern décor to the friendly, inviting vibe, Red Mango is the perfect place to sit back, relax, and dig in—spoon first.. “ With this information in mind, we thought it would only be right to explore it more.

“WE HAVE BOTH FULL-SERVE STORES, AND SELF-SERVE STORES. EITHER WAY, YOU’LL END UP WITH YUMMY IN YOUR TUMMY THE WAY YOU WANT IT!” 7

HOW SHOULD WE OBSERVE THIS PLACE?

EARLY OBSERVATIONAL VISITS We really wanted to come out on top for this project in every way we possibly could. When we first began, it was difficult to be able to see exactly where we should go from the position we were at, which was no knowledge of Red Mango whatsoever. As we first approached the Boston Red Mango, we found it difficult to find parking. The store itself was wedged halfway below ground level. From first glance, it seemed as though it was very dark inside. When we first entered the store, we noted that there were no employees to be seen. None. To top it off, there were no customers either. It was just us three, frozen yogurt, and some toppings behind a high glass shelf. A few seconds passed and a scrawny young college man appeared from the back of the store. “Hey guys,” he awkwardly muttered.

We had a lot of questions for him and he had a lot of “umm’s” and “I don’t know’s” for us.

Actually, he was rather reserved and very awkward throughout the entire experience. The music playing in the background was catchy, overplayed pop songs.

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HOW SHOULD WE OBSERVE THIS PLACE?

INITIAL OBSERVATIONS As we ordered, we realized that it wasn’t self serve. From the website research we did, we had come to the conclusion that Red Mango would be a self-serve yogurt service. On the contrary, this young collage gentleman was making our yogurts himself. Thinking our yogurt would be weight-based when we checked out, we piled on the toppings. Only after he put them all on we realized that the toppings were $.75 for the first one and $.50 for the remaining! All the sprinkles and random chocolate toppings we had him put on actually added up to an extra $3.50. If it were weight based (like many frozen yogurt places) the weight of these items would be much less than that. We were astounded our small serving would cost around $6.

Observations of the space were pretty consistent. It was dark, and hard to navigate. The front of the store is lit up by the windows but there is an entire back section just for seating and fairly poor lit. The day that we went we noticed that there were seldom people there. After sitting in the back and eating our yogurt, we noticed the back janitors closet was wide open and right next to where we were sitting. The colors and feeling of the decor is all red and lime green, with black and white photographs of happy people eating yogurt strung across the walls. Overall our first visit was not very positive, and we were itching to know why this company was given to us for this assignment.

EASY TO FIND DARK NO VISIBLE EMPLOYEES CAN WE SERVE OURSELVES? DIFFICULT TO FIND FLAVORS & PRICES EMPLOYEE NOT KNOWLEDGABLE HIDDEN PRICES TRICKED US VERY FEW CUSTOMERS, MOSTLY FEMALE LONELY TROPICAL PLANTS OUT FRONT

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE SPACE

LEATHER COUCHES WERE TORN POP MUSIC PLAYING HARD TO NAVIGATE WHERE IS THE ACTUAL YOGURT?

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WHAT IS THE TASK AND HOW CAN IT TEACH US MORE?

THE TASK As groups came in to share their stories and observations, we were weary on what would happen when we presented. After all, our experience was very negative and nothing within the realms of the other groups presentations. After we told the class everything we discovered, our professor shared with us that the Red Mango he was familiar with (and the reason why he chose for us to audit this company) was actually an amazing experience. He was referring to the Red Mango in Hingham, MA. All of a sudden, it made sense. Our task was to go to a selfserve Red Mango and compare and contrast the two. We suddenly knew this would make our project much more dynamic. That up and coming week, we planned a trip to Hingham to check it out.

So much different! Everything about this location was opposite of the one in Boston. Boston was self-serve, this was full serve. It was full of kids, bright inside, with a much more dynamic interior. See the venn diagram for more similarities and differences.

RED MANGO IN HINGHAM, MA CUSTOMERS ENJOY SELF-SERVE FROZEN YOGURT.

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BOSTON Easy to find Dark No visible employees We can’t serve ourselves Difficult to find flavors & prices Employee not knowledgable Hidden prices tricked us

Pop music playing

Very few customers, mostly female Lonely Tropical plants out front Leather couches were torn Hard to navigate Where is the actual yogurt?

WHAT IS THE “TASK” AND HOW CAN IT TEACH US MORE?

No dairy-free options

HINGHAM Hard to Find Bright Friendly, young employees Had self-serve bar Lots of kids, afternoon rush Playground across the street

Same company

Confusing as to which door was the front Awkward curvy wall in the center difficult to navigate around Prices were not by self-serve bar Very clean and new looking

VENN DIAGRAM TO HELP VISUALIZE DIFFERENCES

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BOSTON

WHAT IS THE TASK AND HOW CAN IT TEACH US MORE?

HINGHAM

IMAGES TO HELP VISUALIZE DIFFERENCES

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HOW DO IDEO METHODS COME INTO PLAY?

IDEO METHODS The IDEO Methodology and research techniques really helped our group narrow in on some key aspects we wanted to observe. After we completed our initial observations and our task, we were left with some questions that were unanswered. We needed to focus on the root of our actual research, and we couldn’t get there without some solid research methods. These cards helped us generate that information. For our extreme user interviews, we carried out video research of us asking employees questions at checkout. We also asked slightly invasive and pressing questions gave us the answers we wanted, which lead to certain employees feeling awkward and uncomfortable. Flow analysis we carried out using the blueprint sketches and how consumers maneuvered throughout the store. As for the shadowing method, we brought along friends and observed how their experience was. Since this project had already consumed us, we wanted feedback from someone who has never been to Red Mango, isn’t paying attention to the store while they are in it, and just genuinely wants a cup of frozen yogurt. We found that naive observations (from experiences like that) proved to be just as valuable, if not more, than ones we calculated and analyzed.

THESE RESEARCH TECHNIQUES WERE USED WHEN WE VISITED THE STORES. 19

“How do we use our knowledge to really be able to say something?”

IDEO METHOD: FLY ON THE WALL

Boston Hingham

Boston Hingham

WHAT DID WE LEARN?

COMING INTO PLAY We really felt we could put our IDEO methods into play when we visted the Red Mango in the Natick Mall. The five whys was our favorite in really understanding what exactly we needed to do in this final step.

We need to visit the Natick Red Mango.

Why?

It will help us understand the differences and similarities of the franchises.

Why? So we can see how franchised companies have very little control over user experience.

Why? Because if one store has a greatly better designed user experience than another, it will resinate with the consumers.

Why? Consumers want the same quality experience in every Red Mango, not just 1 out of 3.

Why? We live in a consumer-based world.

NATICK MALL RED MANGO: FAST-PACED AND GETS THE JOB DONE.

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WHAT DID WE LEARN?

DISCOVERIES Throughout this process we did learn a lot. We learned mostly about how different both Red Mangos are and how the experience between two stores within the same company can differ immensely. We even took a trip to the Natick Mall’s Red Mango for added information. From adding that third source, we realized how different all of the stores really were.

Should companies regulate their experience design even if they are franchised?

This was a big question we are now able to answer thanks to this project. We believe that from collecting all of this data and information, that if your company is franchised or not, the experience of going to a Red Mango should be consistent throughout. They should ideally take their best store and clone it, like companies such as Apple and Nike have done. We understand that it takes a lot to design a store’s experience. It relies on much more than the interior design.

Employement, product, design, furniture, lighting, music, mood, scent all affect how a place can affect and resinate within a consumer.

As a grand finale to this project, we might forward this report to the CEO of Red Mango, Dan Kim. We believe it would serve as a valuable piece of interest for him and his team. Maybe they can come up with a more cohesive system that works better for the environment their stores are individually placed in. It just goes to show that even when the product is great (in this case, frozen yogurt), it doesn’t always mean you will return again.

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© 2012, Design Research, Joe Quackenbush

KATLYN EVANS KAT DEVILLIER HOPE LENHART