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Discovering the impact of client workshops on the overall branding process
Branding, UI and app development for a food delivery platform focused on the healthier side of staying in.
Online and mobile apps within the food delivery industry have and are still growing at exponential rates worldwide. With this innovative and convenient way for consumers to have their orders fulfilled at the ease of their fingertips, new online platforms race to capture those markets. Grubbage seamlessly connects customers, restaurants, and drivers while implementing advanced features and technologies to optimize the way food is delivered. Grubbage focuses not only on fulfilling consumer needs but also highlights the benefits of becoming a partner. Grubbage helps restaurants expand their business through increased sales, new customer acquisition, boosted reviews, and in-creased exposure through digital marketing.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Changing How People View Food Delivery
Now that eating in is the new dining out and consumer preferences are changing to more healthy dietary choices, Grubbage has the opportunity to disrupt the food delivery market. Although this industry has been oversaturated with a small handful of powerful competitors, other delivery services cater more towards ‘junk’ food options such as fast-food, pizza, burgers, and deep-fried foods to name a few. With competitors focused on less healthy options and catering to the masses, Grubbage identified a potential gap in the market. Grubbage aspired to create a food delivery service that would focus primarily on healthy options that other apps neglected, while still offering other options to appeal to any and all consumers’ needs.
Client Type
Startup
Headquarters
Los Angeles, CA
Solutions
Strategy, Experience, Develompent
Solutions
Workshop, User Experience, Branding, User Interface, Web Design, Software, Mobile App
Grubbage came to LLT Group in need of a full brand delivery so it was imperative to build a trusting relationship from the onset of the initial planning phase to ensure that a trusting, truly collaborative process was maintained throughout the project. Both the design and development teams at LLT were fully involved from the start of the project and this communication allowed the team to strategically and comprehensively understand Grubbage’s desired outcomes. By proposing and recommending ideas and insights that went undiscovered by the client, LLT demonstrated a level of expertise and knowledge that surpassed any expectations and allowed the partnership to flourish. This level of professionalism and attention to detail was emphasized even further upon delivery of Grubbage’s brand book.
“The branding deliverable is the most robust branding deliverable that we offer. It narrows as it walks [the client] through our thought process – from here’s how we started in sketches, to which ones we picked to move forward with, to how we narrowed it further, to the one concept we are presenting you and the whole brand system that we are pitching with it.”
“That document in it itself, about forty pages where we are walking them through that process and showing our expertise, opposed to just tossing over the fence 3-5 logos really offered that expertise that builds that trust.”
The goals and final outputs of this app were highly complex, so LLT took great care to implement a strategy that would establish a cohesive, unified framework around the project and tie together all these moving parts into one scalable platform. This included recommending key features and technology along with a detailed implementation process, allowing the partnership to align around unified expectations so the project could be phased properly and implemented in a scalable way so it could grow and evolve with the company.
THE APPROACH
What happens when you have more than one MVP?
Due to the scope of the work involved – from the demands associated with crafting a new brand, to the platform and features it needed – the daunting scale of the project required more than just a simple kick-off meeting. To ensure that all of Grubbage’s needs and desired outcomes were fully understood and to adequately capture the full scope of what final deliverables were needed, LLT introduced, coordinated, and launched their first-ever customer workshop. While workshops in their current iteration have evolved significantly since then, the spirit and goal of them have remained – to absorb the digest the customer’s vision for not only the project but also their business, to ensure the final output solves every desired outcome, and helped outline all the necessary features and details to provide an accurate scope for the remainder of the project. This primarily included an iterative feedback structure between design, development, and the client to accommodate their desire to launch three, MVP (Minimum Viable Product)-based software for four different user audiences.
This process provided much-needed clarity and guidance as both LLT and Grubbage mapped the approach needed to be taken for each user experience and interface that were being built out. In order for the project to be successful and deliver on both the expectations and needs for the client, LLT needed to account for multiple elements in terms of a digital/online presence.
Retailer-Facing Website
UX Approach: Content-Driven | Development Approach: Web App (MVP)
The outputs delivered included a “website” experience for restaurant owners that focused on showcasing the simplicity of the sign up process and the ease of listing their menus online with Grubbage. A curated sign up process helped alleviate any concerns for restaurant owners and gave them confidence that even the least tech savvy of individuals could use the platform as a marketing tool to connect with hungry consumers.
Drivers’ Mobile App
UX Approach: Feature-Driven | Development Approach: Mobile App
The final piece to the consumer equation was developing a process for couriers to deliver healthy orders to hungry customers. The outputs delivered included an iOS mobile application focused around not only the application process to become a driver, but also the now known as “Uber-esc” features of being able to have a queue of driver acceptance (for new orders needing delivery) by way of constructed territories and general geo-location (for tracking drivers, pick-ups, and drop-offs).
Administrator Dashboard
UX Approach: Content-Driven | Development Approach: Web App (MVP)
With so many markets launching simultaneously it was necessary to build out a “command center” that allowed different levels of internal, administrative control within Grubbage monitor and observe the experience for consumers, restaurants, and drivers. Within each of the user-specific platforms, a system of checks and balances was developed to allow for the monitoring of the Grubbage ecosystem. Offering the ability to flag drivers, leave feedback, and overall gather performance metrics from both the restaurant and consumer sides was crucial in building a dynamic application that allowed Grubbage and the team to have insight into how to best serve their users.
Staying true to an MVP Approach – While the UX approach at LLT differed from user group to user group, the process of developing by way of an MVP framework did not. LLT went into each experience looking for ways to simplify the software to eliminate unnecessary frills and iterate on a functional prototype that would continually drive scalability.
THE RESULTS
Stepping outside each other’s comfort zone.
Every client and project is unique so to ensure that a strong relationship is formed and the outputs match client expectations, it is imperative to have honest, transparent conversations at the onset to solidify strategy, align desired outcomes, and cultivate a strong working relationship.
In the case of Grubbage, LLT needed to rethink their scoping and planning processes to deliver on a project of such a massive scale. This involved being honest with their shortcomings and acknowledging that out-of-the-box thinking and creative, strategic solutions was the only way to deliver on client expectations. The result was leveraging insightful, thorough, and engaging workshops as a new way of curating face-to-face interactions with clients. This process was revolutionary for LLT as it challenged them to step outside their comfort zone and embrace their own vulnerabilities while interacting with Grubbage.
“In my mind, the negative perspective is sometimes the most positive perspective…” “…Us being true about what our weaknesses are help other people feel comfortable and allow them to trust us. It helps build a stronger relationship.”
This vulnerability helps LLT accentuate its strengths while being honest about its weaknesses. Throughout their experience with Grubbage, LLT not only recognized where its strengths lie but more importantly what areas to improve on for the success of working with future clients. This acute self-awareness drove more proactive communication that instilled confidence with Grubbage and helped ensure that this complex project ended in success.