Salomon.
Mapping the future of ski rental, one real journey at a time.
WMP was tasked by Salomon to gain insight into the future of winter sports rental. With new, disruptive players entering a transitioning market, Salomon needed unbiased, objective insight into what renters actually experience, from planning a holiday through to returning their equipment at the end of it.
Sectors
Expertise
Solutions
Background.
A ski rental market being reshaped by new, disruptive players.
Salomon's Alps-based in-house design team, with unlimited access to ski slopes on its doorstep, could sometimes struggle to empathise with renters travelling from farther afield, such as those in the UK.
The ski rental market is transitioning, with several new players and disruptive business models threatening the traditional approach. To gather unbiased, objective insight, Salomon came to WMP. The brief was to capture the entire user journey in minute detail: from initial holiday research and planning, through travel to a ski resort and getting kitted out, to returning rental equipment at the end of the holiday.
The Solution.
A research programme built on real people, not assumptions.
Defining the user journey and building accurate personas.
We used qualitative, human-centred design methods to follow customers throughout their rental journey, from planning a holiday through to returning to their country of origin. The aim was to define the user journey and establish accurate personas, identify opportunities within rental that better support the real needs of end-users, uncover the attitudes of different holidaymakers by observing the rental experience in context, capture the emotional journey and any gap between expectation and reality, and improve the customer experience to help define the future of rental.
Building Salomon's own research capabilities, in the field.
We used a mix of research methods to engage with a range of participants, helping us understand user and rental staff behaviour, challenges, aspirations, needs and preferences. This also built the Salomon team's own capabilities in consumer research: team members from design, project management and marketing took part in practical training, exploring observation and interview methods first-hand. Over 10 days on site, WMP and Salomon split into two groups each day to carry out observations in a range of stores, from independent outlets to larger rental chains, and intercept-interviewed both staff and holidaymakers on the slopes, alongside one-to-one interviews with people recruited directly on site. Findings were synthesised daily and shared across the team, so observations were classified and reframed towards specific findings as the research progressed.
Turning findings into a visual journey map for ideation.
Rather than a formal written report, WMP delivered its findings through a visual presentation and a journey map designed to inspire Salomon's designers during ideation. Because every insight was grounded in real people, some of whom the team had helped interview themselves, it gave Salomon genuine confidence in their understanding of the market and clarity on what products and services the future of rental actually needs.
Let's work together
Let's partner to create brand, product, and experience solutions that move people and markets.
The impact.
Confidential findings, but a lasting shift in how Salomon designs.
The results of this research are highly confidential and can't be disclosed. What can be shared is that the Salomon team were extremely grateful for the insight gained: the user journey map is now fixed to the design studio wall, and the detailed personas gave the team a tangible starting point for future ideation. Involving designers, project managers and marketers in the process opened them up to speaking with consumers as a starting point for all future project work, a skill set that will deliver more customer-focused product design for the brand going forward.
