An Herbalife Customer Global Discovery & Define Learning Initiative

A Global Discovery

Herbalife's global digital products provide shopping experiences for customers and distributors to purchase retail health and fitness products, and find recipes, workouts videos, services, and tools to help distributors grow their businesses.

I led a discovery initiative to develop a best-in-class system for the customer and distributor funnel that included application and ordering for Herbalife Nutrition customers.

My Role

Team

Timeline

Sr. Product Design Owner
User Research
User Interviews
Workshop Facilitation
C-Suite and Regional Updates
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EAOX
MyHerbalife Root
Signup & Shop
Reports
Support Center

2019 - 2020

Problem

Today, we expect online shopping to be effortless, and  quickly lose interest quickly when it isn't. The Herbalife digital landscape was a segmented and often antiquated experience overall as a result of inconsistent  experiences across regions and holdover features  catering to obsolete business models, making the overall signup and shop experience cumbersome and complex. Understanding the problems and streamlining the experience even marginally could have an exponential improvement in sales and retention.

Goal

How might we improve the user’s experience, understand where problems exist and for whom, so that we attract new users, increase conversion rates and make the current experience effortless “

Process

Through contextual research, user interviews, worldwide workshops, digital product technology team interviews and evaluation of the existing platform, we intended to:

Document the offline and online signup and purchase process 

Understand the usage context and the user’s needs 

Discover what worked well and didn’t with the current digital products 

Results and Deliverables

A comprehensive report with key conclusions regarding a global user’s context, intention and interaction patterns, drawn from over 70 one-on-one interviews with customers, distributors and employees from 22 workshops that included 400 participants of customers and distributors.An overview and readout of our current technology portfolio and system architectures identifying overlaps and necessary improvements. A report on what problems exist with suggestions on how might we improve them. StatusFinished. Awaiting funding for next steps into design 

"To evaluate, simplify, and develop a best-in-class system for the application and ordering process for Herbalife Nutrition Members, Preferred Members and Customers. "
Discovery
Discovery

A deep dive into current state the user experience and technology landscape.

We began by getting a clear picture of the current state, identifying what technology and digital products are available to our users by region, and where and with whom are are seeing the larger issues through a few methods: 

Method #1:
One-on-one  interviews

More than 100 phone and in-person interviews with customers, distributors, and employees around the globe surfaced common problems directly from end-users.

Method #2:
World wide discovery workshop

22 worldwide customer and distributor discovery workshops conducted in a dozen key countries to learn firsthand what problems exist for our end users and, with their help, how we might go about solving them.

Method #3:
Global member and customer Survey

An extensive global survey to over 19,000 customers and distributors gathered demographics, personality,  and professional background data which helped identify core problems and build accurate personas. 

Method #4:
High-level Current State Technology Mapping

Info sessions with technology teams operating along our entire digital product ecosystem to learn where product service features and support overlap, understand engagement with products, and ultimately to make recommendations on which technologies should be kept and which should be retired.

Across 11 Regions over 26 Members, 42 Herbalife Employees and 44 Workshop Attendees were Interviewed.

Gaining foundational knowledge about our users and the problems they’re facing.

Looking to quickly and easily gather user data we started off this initiative with in-depth phone interviews with about 15 distributors and 42 employees. Information from these early interviews helped us update our proto-personas, gave us an early look into know issues along journey maps, and form early feature and workflow ideas. 

We continued interviewing these subjects throughout the workshop part of the discovery period, and were saw some early patterns—users,  customers and distributors had an inconsistent approval experience when sighing up to purchase products. In some regions users could purchase products immediately while in others they had to wait almost a day. We were excited by these early findings, but wanted to wait until we had a better understanding of the bigger picture. 

After each workshop we interviewed around 5 - 10 customers.

Product team interviews 

We conducted over 90 internal interviews with our product, business, development and design leads. Gathering valuable insights on how our tools were built, how they worked and what problems they knew had to be solved for.

61,763 Surveys sent over 48 Countries with a 6.9% Response Rate.

We’d never sent out a communication this large, but thanks to strong partnerships with partner teams we were able to accomplish this in one two week sprint. 

As we gathered this information we started to update our current personas, and update proto-personas with new data. I’ll cover more of that once we get into the define stage output. 

22 workshops in 11 regions with over 428 participants.

Today we dream, so tomorrow we can create.

The workshop was based on the theme that all great technology feels like magic, one of the examples I gave was when i first drove my electric car on autopilot, i have no idea how it works and i don't have to, but i leave feeling of amazement and wonder. A feeling that all great technology should inspire.

We broke the day into small exercises each with the idea of thinking outside of the box, thinking about what amazes you and feels like magic.

Me presenting during the workshop in Marid, Spain.

Using Mentimeter on their mobile phones we would ask the participants to tell us what magic meant to them finding common themes through out the group :

Through annonomous feedback Mentimeter empowers everyone to participate in the workshop.

With each exercise, gathering valuable input and insights all while having fun!

What were the products of yester-year and how have they evolved?

We Learned how each participant would imagine their future, thinking well beyond what could be possible while helping us understand their deep wants and needs.

An example of the customer journey with pain and proof points.

One of the more valuable parts of the day was an exercise that involved the participant putting themselves in the shoes of a persona we assigned to each table, then discussing what pain and or proof points exist throughout the signup and ordering funnel. To then later ask, in a perfect world, what would your do to solve some of the pain points discussed.

Customer Journey showing far more pain than proof points.

The over 428 workshop participants helped us gather Around 2,000 data points, with 60% being pain points and areas to improve.

Finally participants are asked to walk the wall and vote for their favorite solution
Workshop presentation overview

Discovery Conclusion 

‍‍Visiting 11 counties in a month was intensive but incredible. We (my team, our partners, regional tech leads, and got a hands on experience with our end users at a scale that was a first in my career. 

We returned home energized to compile the extensive amount of data we collected, looking to solidify and define our primary problems, the most impacted users, the benefits derived from our solutions. 

Define

Our Target Members & Customers

From the survey results, interviews and workshop data-points we were able to clearly define who we were designing for with target users separated in to a specific personas:

Mike SecondLife, age 45

Role: New Member

Preferred Engagement: facebook, one on one, mobile phone, myhl

Bio: Michael works in construction five days a week.He was introduced to Herbalife Nutrition by a friend,who recommended some products to help him increasehis energy levels at work.

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Mike SecondLife, age 45

Role: New Member

Preferred Engagement: facebook, one on one, mobile phone, myhl

Bio: Michael works in construction five days a week.He was introduced to Herbalife Nutrition by a friend,who recommended some products to help him increasehis energy levels at work.

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Carlos Deciding, age 45

Role: New Customer

Preferred Engagement: facebook, instagram, twitter

Bio: Carlos learned about Herbalife Nutrition from a colleague about a year ago. He was initially enticed by the idea of losing a few pounds so he placed an initial order for some weight management products.

However, Carlos hasn’t had a great experience so far and has yet to develop a close relationship with his Distriputor. As a result, he hasn’t made a purchase in quite some time.

Val Mogul, age 52

Role: Full-time Chairman’s Club Distributor

Preferred Engagement: myHL. goHL Phone

Bio: Val was a gym owner when she started promoting Herbalife Nutrition products seven years ago. Her business has been growing steadily since then. Val is now fully dedicated to her Herbalife Nutrition business and relies more on her downline to actively recruit new Distributors and Preferred Members. Val loves motivating and keeping her organization engaged, inspiring others, and remains passionate about growing her team.

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Anita Entrepreneur, age 21

Role: New Member

Preferred Engagement: Instagram, twitter, tiktok,myHL

Bio:

Anita is a senior in college and is passionate about health and fitness. She has been using Herbalife Nutrition products to supplement her diet and workouts for six months and is excited to introduce others

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Savannah Eager, age 19

Role: Fitness Customer

Preferred Engagement: YouTube, Instagram, Tiktok, Messanger

Bio: Savannah is very connected and informed about the latest fitness trends and has been actively sharing about her Herbalife Nutrition journey on social media. She is excited by the idea of potentially becoming a Distributor as a way of making some extra money during college.

recommended some products to help him increasehis energy levels at work.

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Lina Part- time, age 38

Role: Part time

Preferred Engagement: myHL, One on One, text, Facebook, instagram,email

Bio: Lina is a real estate agent, which gives her the flexibility and social lifestyle that compliments the role of a part time nutritionist. She appreciates the extra income that allows for flexibility with her finances.

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Teresa Dieter age 34

Role: New Member

Preferred Engagement: Facebook, Pintrest, Mobil, Nutrition Club

Bio: Teresa has struggled off and on with weight management and has tried several different diets..

Pedro AMBITIOUS, age 45

Role: New Member

Preferred Engagement: facebook, one on one, mobile phone, myhl

Bio: Michael works in construction five days a week.He was introduced to Herbalife Nutrition by a friend,who recommended some products to help him increasehis energy levels at work.

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Define

Our Target Members & Customers

‍

From the survey results, interviews and workshop data-points we were able to clearly define who we were designing for with target users separated in to a specific personas:

Members
Customers

Mike SecondLife, age 45

Role: New Member

Preferred Engagement: facebook, one on one, mobile phone, myhl

Bio: Michael works in construction five days a week.He was introduced to Herbalife Nutrition by a friend,who recommended some products to help him increasehis energy levels at work.

‍

Mike SecondLife, age 45

Role: New Member

Preferred Engagement: facebook, one on one, mobile phone, myhl

Bio: Michael works in construction five days a week.He was introduced to Herbalife Nutrition by a friend,who recommended some products to help him increasehis energy levels at work.

‍

Mike SecondLife, age 45

Role: Full-time Long-time Member

Preferred Engagement: myhl, gohl, phone

Bio: Val was a gym owner when she started promoting Herbalife Nutrition products seven years ago. Her business has been growing steadily since then. Val is now fully dedicated to her HerbalifeNutrition business and relies more on her downline to actively recruit new Distributors and Preferred Members. Val loves motivating and keeping her organization engaged, inspiring others, and remains passionate about growing her team.

Savannah Eager, age 19

Role: Customer

Preferred Engagement: fYoutube, instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Email

Bio: Savannah is a freshman in college who was introduced to Herbalife Nutrition through her mom who is a Distributor. She purchased a myriad ofHerbalife Nutrition products to bring with her to college to avoid gaining the ‘Freshman 15.’ She
is very connected and informed about the latest fitness trends and has been actively sharing about her Herbalife Nutrition journey on social media.
She is excited by the idea of potentially be coming a Distributor as a way of making some extra money during college.

Lina Part-Timer, age 38

Role: Part-time Member

Preferred Engagement: facebook, one on one, mobile phone, myhl, instagram

Bio: Lina is a real estate agent, which gives her the flexibility and social lifestyle that complements the role of a Distributor. She loves to travel and explore new places with her husband. Lina appreciates the extra income she earns from being a Distributor so that she is able to go on new adventures with her family.

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Tim Wellness, age 54

Role: Customer

Preferred Engagement: facebook, one on one, mobile phone, myhl

Bio: Michael works in construction five days a week.He was introduced to Herbalife Nutrition by a friend,who recommended some products to help him increasehis energy levels at work.

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Pedro Ambitious, age 29

Role: Full-time Member

Preferred Engagement: facebook, instagram, myhl, Youtube, gohl

Bio: Pedro has been a Herbalife Nutrition Member for four years. He ended his career as a high school biology teacher when he was able to replace his income as a full-time Distributor. Pedro loves the flexibility and autonomy that being a Distributor provides which allows him to set his own schedule and spend quality time with his two-year-old son. He is working extremely hard to grow and motivate his downline, and is determined to reach TAB team level in the coming years.

Teresa Dieter, age 34

Role: Customer

Preferred Engagement: facebook, Pinterest, Email, Nutrition Club

Bio: Teresa has struggled off and on with weight management and has tried several different diets.

Between caring for her children and other commitments, she rarely has time to exercise and her weight loss aspirations have been met with limited success. Teresa was searching online for the best weight management methods about six months ago when she found Herbalife Nutrition.She now drinks Formula 1 shakes for breakfast and lunch on the weekdays and hopes to lose 10 pounds over the next three months.

Anita Enrepreneur, age 21

Role: New Member

Preferred Engagement: Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Tiktok

Bio: Anita is a senior in college and is passionate about health and fitness. She has been using HerbalifeNutrition products to supplement her diet and workouts for six months and is excited to introduce others to the products. As a digital native, she shares her story online through social media and has had a lot of success referring friends and family to HerbalifeNutrition. Anita is excited by the prospect of having her own business and building her brand.

Carlos Undecided, age 28

Role: Customer

Preferred Engagement: facebook, instagram, Twitter

Bio: Carlos learned about Herbalife Nutrition from a colleague about a year ago. He was initially enticed

by the idea of losing a few pounds so he placed an initial order for some weight management products. However, Carlos hasn’t had a great experience so far and has yet to develop a close relationship with his Member. As a result, he hasn’t made a purchase in quite some time.

Teresa Dieter

One of the 12 per region customer personas.

Ok we have the who, now we need to understand the what, where and when...  Then we can understand the best problems to solve.

A problem well stated is a problem half solved

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Enter Problem framing, a great exercise that helps us  break the data into common digestable themes. Working with our Product leads, Business stakeholders and Experience and Research team we took days to review the data together on digital white boarding product called Mural, breaking into collaborative teams to help identify the what when and where these problem exist and how many user's this problem affects so that we can best assess the level of importance and urgency it to solve.

Problem Framing Zoom meetup with Value Stream, User Experience and Research Leads
Pre-work done before the workshop, breaking data and feedback points into groups along user value stream

After grouping data together into themes, with the help from our technology leads we worked to understand which problems would be most impactful

Problem framing workshop ran during quarenteen with over 20 participants using Mural

Ok have the who, now we want to understand the what, where and when.

Helping us understand the

best problems to solve.

Align

Communicate the value to our executive team.

Our problem framing meeting presented some pretty common themes. In order to continue we needed to show our executives the value of tackling these issues.

Joining

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Ordering
Hard to submit documents

Applying to become a Member or Customer requires too much documentation and information

Can’t figure it out

Customers and Distributors are unclear on what to order for themselves and others, don’t understand pricing calculations, and can’t tell when products are out of stock

Takes too long to complete

The amount of effort required to complete and submit an application discourages people from completing the process

Can’t order my way

Customers and Distributors are unclear on what to order for themselves and others, don’t understand pricing calculations, and can’t tell when products are out of stock

No immediate satisfaction

After spending time and effort on completing the application, users are stuck waiting and unable to submit orders or complete training

Don’t know if I’ll get my products

Customers and Distributors are needing to wait too long to receive their orders and they have no idea when it will arrive

We prepared a presentation with a breakdown of our work, presenting the priority problems we found and who they impact. While the point of this initiative was primarily focused on discovering and defining our current landscape to inform design, we took the initiative to create “how might we” mockups and an experience video to communicate what could be possible if management continued to prioritize this initiative. 

Proposed experience ideas and features
A sizle real to help share our ideas and next steps with the executive team.
Final readout to our executive team covering current state KPIs and future projections.

Initiative Conclusion

The purpose for this initiative was to "To evaluate, simplify, and develop a best-in-class system for the application and ordering process for Herbalife Nutrition Members, Preferred Members and Customers.” Considering our findings, our priority problems, and our technology it was clear to us we’d have to fundamentally rethink how we build our digital products. 

Overall we received great feedback and buy-in from our Sr. Leadership and we're adjusting the proposal slightly in result.

Next Steps

After receiving final sign-off we'll include the problems and details into the product teams backlog, and solve using exploratory enablers and depending on size, design spikes or sprints.