The first problem we had was that there were too many unqualified leads (with low intent to book) for inbound sales team. At this stage of Paintzen’s development, we had not yet achieved the ability to book online and sales would be picked up by the sales team to complete.

I hypothesized that this was because people had to go through the whole flow just to see how much the job would cost, so users who were just curious were being treated like high-intent leads. So I proposed that we show real-time pricing as early as possible in the flow. 

The first A/B test

We ran an A/B test, 50/50 split for 12 weeks. In one version, we revealed the quote after the lead autoresponder email was sent, at the end of the flow. In the other version, we revealed the quote upfront, when the user was selecting rooms, with real-time pricing.

The Result

We found that by revealing the quote before the lead autoresponder email was sent, we had decrease in lead generation but an increase in the booking conversion rate. The inbound sales team was able to spend less time trying to reach out to unqualified leads and more time up-selling the qualified leads resulting in a slight bump to average revenue per job.

The next problem we had was that without full customization, inaccurate quotes would need to be adjusted over phone before booking. This meant problematic friction at our main point of conversion. 

I proposed a rather contentious solution of adding more steps to the quote flow to gather paint details on a per room basis. Of course by adding complexity to our funnel we risked increasing the cognitive load of users, and thus the abandonment rate. I hypothesized however, that for such a high-priced purchase, inputting more details during the quote flow might increase the confidence in the final quote.

The second A/B test

We ran another A/B test, 50/50 split for 12 weeks. I designed a version where surfaces to paint, room size, and ceiling height were all selected on a per room basis and we tested that against our current flow. 

The Result

Ultimately we found users who completed the new, more complex flow required fewer price adjustments before booking and the average revenue per job increased by a noticeable amount. Furthermore, the drop off that we anticipated proved to be lower than we thought.

The final problem was that the room size illustrations were, I suspected, a bit too abstract and were leading to inaccurate sizing and thus pricing, creating problems for both painters and customers. 

I proposed a new isometric (Sims style) illustration approach and designed new illustrations to test out.

Illustration Survey

Another A/B test would mean we would need to have 30 new room size illustrations, plus consistent isometric illustrations for the rest of the flow before we had even validated the need for this change. Instead, we ran a survey with 50 people that lasted two weeks. We had survey participants select their bedroom size based off both illustration styles and then record their actual room dimensions to evaluate accuracy.

The Result

With the results of the survey, participants reported that they were more comfortable with isometric illustrations and those selections proved to be more accurate when comparing to final measurements. So I created all new illustrations for both the quote flow and the rest of the marketing site. I also found that the new illustration style offered lots of opportunity for delight. Many of our users were interior design aficionados and this illustration style afforded me the ability to plant easter eggs in the rooms, like famous Eames chairs or Matisse paintings on the walls. 

A New Vision

As the principal designer at Paintzen, I was in charge of all marketing design and social imagery, in addition to our digital design. Our initial color palette, with its bright poppy colors, proved to be very challenging to put into practice. It was nearly impossible to find images of beautiful, aspirational walls that didn’t clash with those colors. We needed to function more like a fashion house, with a logo that was much more neutral (white or black-purple) so that it would compliment different wall colors and seasonal palettes we’d be showcasing.

We also launched a new product, Paintzen DIY, which allowed customers to purchase the supplies for their paint jobs without paying for the cost of labor. So the branding evolved to accommodate the younger, more aesthetically driven audience that DIY appealed to.