Pet Healthcare

Project Overview

Pet Health- ManyPets flea, tick and worming subscription service. A product design case study for ManyPets first subscription based product. This was a business critical project.  

My Role: 

Product Designer - I was responsible for user research, journeys, user flow, building wireframes and prototypes, testing and design standards of ManyPets.  

Timeline: 

‍3 Months (September 2023 - December 2023).  

Objective: 

Create an subscription based service that allows ManyPets to venture into the E-Commerce space and helping segment ManyPets into the subscription service and Pet healthcare industry.

Problem Statement:

Problem identified

Rise of subscription based services are on the rise. ManyPets want to launch into the Pet health/Pet wellness industry and be the go too place for everything and anything todo with healthcare and insurance. By doing this, it can help lead towards the prevention of customers claiming on their insurance; plus tapping into non insurance based customer market.

Impact: At the moment customers can only purchase an insurance subscription. Once this product goes live it will enable customers of ManyPets and bring in revenue from non ManyPet customers and launch into the Pet Health prevention industry. Goal: To create a fluid and useable sign up journey where customers can sign up and choose a subscription to suit their needs. Ideally with a upwards of 100 customers by the end of the 3 month trial period stay on and pay for their 4th month and beyond or 1 month if a non ManyPets insurance customer.

Project goals 

The ManyPets project emerged as a response to a growing societal shift—the transformation of pets from mere companions to cherished family members. This paradigm shift led to a need for innovative solutions that would enhance the lives of pet owners, streamline their responsibilities, and provide a supportive community for their shared experiences.

Purpose and Goals: ManyPets was conceived with a dual purpose: to simplify the complex landscape of pet care management and to create a platform that celebrated the emotional connections between pets and their owners. The primary goals included:

• Empower with Resources: Integrate an e-commerce component to offer a curated selection of pet products and services, providing pet owners with easy access to trusted resources.

• Simplify Pet Care: Develop a user-friendly digital hub that would centralize pet-related information and healthcare making pet care management intuitive and stress-free.

• Optimisation and subscriptions: As we are designing over Vetbox experience, making sure the new subscription flow is as close to the experience of ManyPets. 

Challenges and Opportunities: The project presented a series of challenges and opportunities that fueled our design process:

• Complexity of Pet Care: Managing various aspects of pet care, from appointments to medications, posed a significant challenge due to its intricate nature.

• Desire for Connection: Pet owners expressed a strong desire to connect with like-minded individuals, seek advice, and share their pet-related experiences.

• E-commerce Integration: Integrating e-commerce seamlessly into the platform without overwhelming users was a crucial challenge.

• Visual Aesthetics: Balancing practical functionality with an appealing visual design that captured the essence of the pet-owner relationship was a unique opportunity.

The ManyPets project became an embodiment of innovation and empathy, with the goal of redefining the digital landscape of pet care and strengthening the bonds between humans and their beloved furry companions.

“Farewell pesky parasites. Hello everyday health”

Introduction‍

In an era where pets are cherished members of our families, catering to their needs and well-being has taken on new dimensions. The ManyPets project emerged as a response to this growing demand, aspiring to revolutionize the way pet owners engage with their furry companions. As a senior product designer at the helm of this transformative endeavor, I embarked on a journey to craft an innovative digital platform that would seamlessly integrate into the lives of pet owners, enriching their experiences and simplifying their responsibilities.

This case study unveils the meticulous design process, strategic thinking, and creative solutions that shaped the ManyPets platform into a hub of connectivity, organization, and community for pet enthusiasts. Throughout this narrative, we will delve into the intricacies of understanding user needs, devising intuitive interfaces, and harnessing technology to create an ecosystem that not only serves practical purposes but also fosters meaningful connections among pet owners.

As we embark on this voyage through design evolution, let's explore how the convergence of user-centric research, collaborative ideation, and visual design expertise culminated in the birth of ManyPets, and discover the tangible impact it has had on pet owners' lives and the broader pet care landscape.

Let's embark on this journey of design innovation, where pets and technology harmonize to create a more connected and enriched world for both humans and their beloved companions.

Research and Discovery

Understanding the intricate bond between pet owners and their beloved companions was at the core of the this project's inception- Pet healthcare. This served as the compass guiding us toward creating a pet health platform; first stage product, one that would seamlessly integrate into the lives of pet owners- addressing their unique needs and challenges.

This ties in with the marketing campaign of summer 2022

Since launch, ManyPets have made it their mission to make the world a better place for pets and their pet parents. The pet insurer’s new campaign represents a significant stage in the company’s journey as it expands its pet health and insurance offer and shows its commitment to pets and their parents.

The new campaign is underpinned by data that highlights how caring for a pet can improves our mental and physical health. Whether pets help people deal with anxiety and stress or help make people more active, pets make everything better.

To launch the new campaign, ManyPets commissioned a survey of 385 pet owners asking about the health benefits of owning a pet. The survey found ‘89% of people say their pet helps them deal with anxiety and stress’ and ‘90% of people say their pets help them feel calm’.

User-Centric Ethnography:

• To gain insights into the daily lives and routines of pet owners

• How they manage their Pets healthcare

• Do they have any subscriptions

• If so what are they signed up too and why?

• Would this make management of their pets health easier?

‍Market and Competitive Analysis:

A comprehensive analysis of the pet care market and existing digital solutions revealed gaps and opportunities. By identifying strengths and weaknesses in competitor platforms, we were able to strategically position ManyPets to offer a unique and compelling value proposition.

The Research and Discovery phase served as the bedrock upon which our design journey was built. Armed with a profound understanding of pet owners' lives and the digital landscape, we were primed to embark on the next stage: Ideation and Conceptualisation.

What are pet owners currently doing? 

From researching into ways pet owners obtain flea, tick and worming treatment, many purchase it from their vet practice; known as a "family plan".

• Our Flea and Wormer treatments are prescriptions, this means they are made from experienced animal pharmaceutical definition companies that have funding trials to improve the effects and detect flaws before releasing to market. They also have consultations from experienced vets so they are meeting high standards.

It comes under a monthly subscription service which can include: 

• un/limited vet consultations or discounted, booster vaccines, nail clipping, discounts on other services, help with insurance claims, free food or treats. 

What are pet owners currently doing? 

From researching into ways pet owners obtain flea, tick and worming treatment, many purchase it from their vet practice; known as a "family plan".

• Our Flea and Wormer treatments are prescriptions, this means they are made from experienced animal pharamceutical companies that have funding trials to improve the effects and detect flaws before releasing to market. They also have consultations from experienced vets so they are meeting high standards.

It comes under a monthly subscription service which can include: 

• un/limited vet consultations or discounted, booster vaccines, nail clipping, discounts on other services, help with insurance claims, free food or treats. 

Purchasing online

From a quick google search, there are a multitude of results for someone to look into. Each website offering a variety of products, services or adds ons and extras for potential customers to sign up too. Many go through a sign up flow

• Pets information (either over multiple screens or on one screen) 

• Customers information 

• Select a plan 

• Payment (possible add ons).

Would they be open to having a subscription with their pet insurer?

With the above in mind, I created a Figma doc (view here) with a few journeys customers could potentially go through when buying flea, tick and worming. Fro

With this research in-mind i started to look into the Vetbox website

• How are customers currently purchasing their Flea,Tick & Worming treatments?

  • How long is the journey?

  • Are the right questions being asked?

  • What are the areas that are causing friction

  • What are the most likely drop off points

  • Where can i make improvements to make it as seamless as possible

    • Information needed

    • Help points

    • reduce friction or worries and reduce drop off rates and improve conversion.

Whilst i was thinking through user journeys, the user research team were conducting user interviews to better understand, why they has chosen to take out a policy with ManyPets. I was given 5 minutes for them to answer the below questions i needed better understanding and clarification on to come up with the optimal solution.

After the interviews were completed we discovered some interesting results- the biggest gain for us in-terms of insurance polices- word of mouth (Friends, family, social networks) were our biggest reason for people taking out a policy with us.

• 25% of customers were signed up to a family plan with their vets (were up to date with vaccines)

• 10% had a subscription with Amazon shopping- delivered monthly- bi-monthly

  • Ease of use, delivered to their door, eased anxiety of shortages or missing a dosage

• 20% signed up else where - ie itch

• Picked it up at the pharmacy

• Others didn't feel the need to protect their pet against Flea, Tick or Worms- were aware of risks associated with this.

  • Ie cost factor

  • Or had previously done this but cost cutting was a factor

• Or did it as and when needed

• 30% were open to the idea of possibly purchasing it along with their pet insurance but this would not change how they felt about the product

• Others were open to potentially buying this for pets who aren't on a pet insurance subscription with ManyPets.

• Others felt neutral about this

With this in mind 55% of the people we spoke too were using some form of subscription service and over 30% were open to having this as an add on with their insurance subscription.

Ideation sessions and conceptualisation - User Journey

Vet Box current journey

This is the current user journey on Vetbox- It has 11 steps to complete the checkout flow and convert into a purchase- this is 11 points where they can drop out- mixed feelings doubts, worries, concerns or they were researching into prices with other providers- amongst many thoughts they would go through.

Post purchase of insurance & beginning Pet Health flow

This is my proposed flow- with areas of concerns. We only have a short amount of time to complete this project.
With our new design system (I supposed on the accessibility side) along with our new approach to work (re-using where possible), I have thought through areas in the business where i can re-use design models

• Use our new Quote and buy flow (inputting information)

• Checkout page- either follow what Vetbox have or use ours

• Displaying product pricing

• Simplify adding on multiple pets

• Pages for information, help, support.

Now to remind you, this initially started off as a "Re-skin project" Now we all know how that goes, it ends up costing, time, money, effort- more than what it would of been if we had started from scratch.

Above you can see the proposed flow i am intending to use (For now) for Customers, new and current of ManyPets, to go through to purchase and sign up to our new subscription service.

Customer has purchased insurance, see's in my account 3 months free offer, see's ManyPets Flea, Tick and worming subscription, begins sign up flow, enters pets details, see's price, enters their details, enters checkout page and completes their banking information, completes purchase, now a monthly subscriber.

Hopefully with V2 we can simplify this further-

If customer is already a pet insurance subscriber

• We should be able to have their details on our system.

  • Pet information (depending on how long it has been since they purchased/renewed

  • Pet weight, name, age, neutered

    • This could then help us to keep on track with the pet

      • If neutered, can lower cost of insurance, premiums etc.

        • Could inform customer then or after checkout to keep them focused or send an email once they've subscribed or if they drop out email about product and email about pets details have changed since they subscribed to insurance from us.

• Show these to the customer to confirm the details on their pet are correct

  • Or ask if they want to add a new pet if they're purchasing for another pet

    • Cross selling- once they've subscribed we can send them an email about insurance with ManyPets.

  • Check shipping address and card details are correct

• By doing this

  • Quicker check out process

  • Quicker to the end goal of subscribing

  • Lessen the burden on the customer to input the same details again (especially if they have just purchased insurance with us).

Next steps is looking at what we currently have on the website vs what we need

Currently VetBox have

• Landing page

• Get started

• What in the box

• About us

• FAQs

• Login (for current subscribers)

What do we need? (Can view live site here)

• Landing page

• Whats in the box

• About us

• Pet insurance - link to Manypets website

• Login- manage my plan (for subscribers for Pet health)

• Long term we can build on this for future pet health subscriptions

Basic designs for V1 Launch day

Will be uploaded by this weekend! You're welcome to view the live site here and check back for Day 2 designs as well :)