Ainoa

UX/UI design | Branding | Business Development

Location

Cataluña, Spain

Date

2023

Collaboration

Bruna Siles
Maria Falla
Mario Mora
Ana Hidalgo

During a one-week sprint, we collaborated with Ametller Origen to address their service improvement challenge. By focusing on empowering employees through improved training, we developed Ainoa, an AI-based platform that simulated client interactions to boost performance, communication, and team-building skills. With Ainoa, we aimed to enhance Ametller's customer service, ignite a positive company culture, and create a more knowledgeable and engaged workforce.

82%of customers are lost due to poor service

64%of buyers believe stores have more poorly trained or underprepared staff since 2019.

38%of shoppers said they were most likely to have an unenjoyable experience at supermarkets than other retail categories.

41%of buyers believe that employees “lack of helpfulness or willingness to assist” is one of the most common problems in retail stores.

The brand was not communicating properly with their employees and in return their employees were not communicating the brand's vision/mission properly to the clients.

How might we incentivize employees to become more knowledgeable about the brand taking ownership of their role in delivering exceptional service to customers?

Observation
Interviews
Online Research
Customer journey map
User Persona

Through research, interviews, and in-store observations, we identified key pain points in the customer journey, particularly related to product understanding, navigation, and employee assistance. It became evident that employees lacked proper knowledge about the brand and its products, leading to ineffective communication and a compromised customer experience. Our team decided to focus on empowering employees through improved training to enhance their understanding and delivery of exceptional service.

This led us to develop Ainoa, an AI-based platform that simulated client interactions through gamification, aiming to boost employees' performance, communication, and team-building skills.

In the prototype, employees could access Ainoa's app to engage in simulated client interactions and earn seed points based on their responses. These seed points could be redeemed for Ametller products or discounts. The app also featured individual progress tracking, team goals, chat functionality, and upcoming activities. The benefits of Ainoa included increased engagement, customized training, a more equipped workforce, improved ROI, enhanced internal value propositions, and easily upgradable content.

On the final day of the sprint, we refined our idea and prepared a presentation for potential investors, outlining a roadmap and proposed investment. We estimated a timeline of nine months for research, analysis, prototyping, and validation, with the initial launch expected in about 9 months. For the prototype, we considered an initial investment of 4,500€, utilizing existing AI technology for prompts and user interface design. The final platform, with features like customizable learning paths, KPIs, feedback and coaching, interactive learning, and micro and social learning, was estimated at approximately 18,000€. We conveyed to the Ametller Team that investing in their most valuable asset, their employees, would contribute to the brand's growth and success.

Ainoa recognized the vital role employees play in shaping the brand experience and sought to create a positive work environment that translated into positive interactions with customers.