MVPing & launching 0→1 luxury mobility services beyond the car
2
new 0→1 services MVPed & launched in Australia.
34
approvers aligned across executives & the dealership network.
2019 | 6 months Team: 1 product manager, 1 executive product director, 1 brand strategist, 1 account manager, 1 digital designer, 1 customer experience consultant & myself
Lexus Australia wanted to attract new & younger customers and drive preference against German luxury competitors benefiting from historical luxury credentials.
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Defined & scoped an agile, customer-centered project approach
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Led customer research, co-design workshops, concept testing sprints, qual/quant concept validation
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Led & delivered financial modeling & business case
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Led the definition of MVP service design (blueprinting, staff training)
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Defined MVP pricing
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Executed UX design & build of key online touchpoints for the MVP pilot (SMS/emails/apps)
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Presented the shift to the dealership network & executives to secure buy-in
Rallied stakeholders from the start, around the customer
When defining the approach, I purposefully got everyone to participate in the inception of the new services offering. Rather than adding more wine & dine ideas, I refocused the brief on the customer's core job to be done: 'luxury mobility' (which we evidenced through user research).
Validated resonance before any investment
Most ideas didn't resonate strongly enough, or resonated with the wrong audience. The product manager and I launched multiple email campaigns with owners and non-owners to behaviorally validate interest in the new services before any investment.
Minimized investment & accelerated MVPing with no-code solutions & partnerships
While my product management partner sourced partnerships, I sourced & set up SaaS no-code solutions to operate campaigns, manage online bookings with a spreadsheet and communicate to customers via text messages. The result: accelerated time to market.
Ensured Minimum Viable 'Perfection' with clear blueprints and operating procedures
Each new service was blueprinted with risks analyzed and mitigations defined, so we could ensure the MVP test wouldn't impact the Lexus brand.
I led the creation of SOPs for our and 3rd-party staff so the delivery could be scaled across MVP locations and partners, and meet Lexus's luxury standards.
Modeled the business plan to secure approval
Lexus executives only came fully on board when I modeled the financial investment and return scenarios. The dealership network followed.
The MVP became the backbone for scale-up
The MVP touchpoints, procedures and partnerships formed the backbone for scaling up the service once fully integrated into the Lexus loyalty program.