Outboxers

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an innovation laboratory that focuses on transportation, mobility, and convenience through cars. If our projects are successful, we transfer them to other companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Outboxers?

We provided them with a scope of work to build the entire service themselves, including coding to our requirements. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, they conducted research to inform their action based on market research and audience targeting. Then, they got into the product itself, which addressed convenience in the car servicing market.

They prepared the marketing plan, MVP, and the business plan. From there, they also made contracts with car repair companies, promoted their work, and ran sales for the project. Now, they operate the service on a daily basis while also running social media. We’re always looking for ways to improve the functionality and UX. 

What is the team composition?

We had one main point of contact throughout the project.

How did you come to work with Outboxers?

I found them through a reference. We considered other vendors, but they were the best. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The whole service lasted 7 months. We started in February 2019, and it ended in September of that year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Our project wasn’t successful, but it wasn’t because their work wasn’t strong. They’re a detail-oriented, organized team. Our market just isn’t ready for a service like the one they created. 

How did Outboxers perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re a small team, so they were able to be very agile. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a young, flexible, easy-going team. It was always easy to collaborate with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Broker Trust is the largest broker pool in the Czech Republic serving 2,000+ professional retail financial advisers. Founded in 2001, the company disrupted the traditional financial advisory sector with its innovative pool business model carving out a significant market share.

The company, thru its affiliated financial advisers, is now the largest distributor of mortgages in CZ. Serving as part of the Product team I am currently in charge of Empathy/UX research.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Outboxers?

We wanted to come up with an innovate way to boost the sale of financial products.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to

1. Come up with an innovated customer-centric finance product and CX for our advisers and end customers
2. Boost our market share in that particular product segment
3. Become familiar with the human centered design (HCD) methodology

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We talked to several innovation agencies and solicited their proposals. However, we chose to go ahead with Ouboxers mainly because they were more flexible on project workload/cost sharing. Remember our objective was to also train our team in HCD, in a learning by doing fashion.

Describe the project in detail.

We have successfully completed two initial phases phases under the HCD framework.

In the Empathy phase, we did desk market research and ran multiple interviews (incl. in-depth, contextual interviews) on our financial advisers and end customers using co-created personas and customer journeys, as well as empathy maps, and generated deep and actionable insights into "pains" and "gains".

In the following "Ideation" phase we then diverged to come up with a variety of creative ideas and then we converged on the best few concepts for subsequent prototyping, using agreed upon selection criteria. We used Innovation Canvases to make concepts more tangible.

Right now, we are movng into the Prototyping/Validation phase.

What was the team composition?

We deployed a mixed team composed of Ouboxers staff as well as that of Broker Trust Product Department. This enabled us to train our team members in HCD, as well as optimize the budget/resources.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Within around one month we generated deep and actionable insights that enabled Broker Trust to come up with innovative concepts for prototyping. In doing so we also inspired our company as well as some of our advisers to look to HCD for their innovation efforts.

As the project is still ongoing, we are confident that more benefits and successful outcomes are on the way.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was very effective. Like I wrote before, we agreed to involve inhouse team members in the project. We had to coordinate our efforts more intensively and we agreed to follow up and run regular check-ins in order to allign ourselves on the methodology issues and consistency of deliverables.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The company is very flexible in their approach, with a laser-sharp focus on our needs. On top of that the people are really easy going and totally awesome to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Planning for could have been done better, given that the majority of work was done in August when most people were on vacation...

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the chief product officer at Greenlight. It’s a SaaS product company. I’m responsible for defining and developing products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Outboxers?

We had an idea for an HR product called Quest.gl that could uncover candidate potential using AI technology. We needed to validate the MVP’s usefulness with a relevant target audience before further development. We were looking for a vendor to conduct comprehensive interviews to validate our idea.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to strengthen our unique selling proposition (USP) by identifying and correcting any gaps, barriers, or obstacles in the software.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We reached out to them following a recommendation.

Describe the project in detail.

We started with a quick workshop, where Outboxers developed a working understanding of our needs. Then, their team designed a methodology to guide our partners, stakeholders, and key audiences in structuring their thoughts and feedback. Once we finalized their approach, they conducted the interviews. Following those, the team used their findings to come up with a few ways we could improve the original solution, addressing every pain point that came up.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a project manager and several sociologists.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Outboxers spoke with c-level stakeholders to gather helpful feedback on our product. The results helped us form a big-picture view of our market and value proposition.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They were an integral part of our team for this project. Outboxers provided routine updates on their progress and planned next steps. If they weren’t clear on something, they’d reach out immediately, which helped us avoid misunderstandings or surprises. Communication was fluid throughout the engagement.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They know how to ask the right questions and deliver high-quality services. Their expansive professional network is an added benefit.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can’t think of any areas of weakness in my experience.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of the innovation auxiliary team for one of the largest banks in the Czech Republic. We’re market leaders in many areas and product lines. We also specialize in retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and corporate banking.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Outboxers?

We needed help with building a prototype of a solution for our company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have a comparator of financial products, which we placed into an e-shop. It shows users all the options available in the market from different banks with different conditions, so they can choose the proper loan provider through it.

We had one design sprint, which lasted one week, where we took on the challenge and went through all the stages of design. We ended up with the prototype for the comparator, which is more of an online solution that we then tested with our customers. Not only did they deliver the prototype of the solution, but also the feedback from customers.

What is the team composition?

We had one designer who led the design process, a coder, and a person that conducted the market research. Behind those three people, there was a supporting team, but I didn’t meet any of them.

How did you come to work with Outboxers?

I believe they were referred to us. We ran a competition and approached maybe 15 companies, out of which, five were selected and received an open contract. If we had a task or challenge that was suitable for them, we would assign it to them once we agreed on all the conditions of work, such as pricing and delivery, among other things.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in January 2018, and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I feel their role was quite important in the early stages since the prototype helped us write all the business requirements and build the final solution. We’re preparing to work with them again due to the good experience we had.

How did Outboxers perform from a project management standpoint?

I think it was a well-managed project. Everything they prepared was accessible online; they used Google tools for all the notes and information we exchanged, which was quite simple.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think their standards are quite higher than what you’ll generally find in the market. Everything was delivered as I expected as far as quality. The timeline we agreed upon was maintained and they stayed within our budget.

Furthermore, they were eager to know what the next steps were, which didn’t necessarily involve their service. It was nice to see that they were interested in how we were progressing. I was very happy to work with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The service could always be faster, but I think everything was in line with our expectations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Define precisely what you want. The people at Outboxers are quite professional, and if they’re missing certain information, they’re able to get those missing pieces from you. It’s a pleasure to work with a company like theirs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the team lead for the advanced technologies and prototypes team of the biggest and oldest Czech bank. We have almost five million clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Outboxers?

We needed help in validating our idea of creating a fintech cloud.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They initially helped us with business validation, sending researchers to fintech events in Berlin and Barcelona to find out if there were any potential customers for a fintech cloud platform. They asked a lot of people what they thought about it, which ended up proving that our hypothesis was correct, so we moved on to building the platform.

Currently, Outboxers is helping us with marketing campaigns, communication, social media and link management, and more. They developed a brand-new website that explains everything about our goal of building a fintech cloud platform.

What is the team composition?

I've worked with four to eight people, which includes frontend developers and UI designers as well as Dalibor and Michal (Co-Founders, Outboxers). There were also two researchers who did the trip to Barcelona and Berlin.

How did you come to work with Outboxers?

I knew Dalibor when he was the lead of mobile development at another job. I really liked his background and their approach of building something new on their own. When their company was established and had some customers, we chose to use their services.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $45,000–$90,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2017 and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The website they built is fully public and has produced over 60,000 views and dozens of leads. We’re very satisfied with these numbers because we know how hard this segment is. It’s all pretty new for us because we’re a very conservative bank, so it’s really valuable to have these figures.

Thanks to Outboxers’ personal investment in the project and their research and campaign work, we have insight on how to develop this for both B2C and B2B segments.

How did Outboxers perform from a project management standpoint?

I really like how they work; they’re a very agile team of young professionals with interesting experience from other companies. They’re able to think about long-term goals and don’t require any micromanagement. Once we show them our vision and milestones, they work smoothly and autonomously.

It’s really helpful to have a partner I can trust. They bring up issues that need to be addressed, which helps me stay focused. I also have access to all the information I need, such as due dates and such.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Today, they sent a newsletter internally to all our leads and stakeholders, and it was better than the one we had before. It really impresses me that I don’t have to guide them every step of the way and show them how to do things such as newsletters. Overall, I really trust their expertise, especially with business validation, UI design, and social media management.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are some junior guys on the team, so some of the issues we want solved aren’t handled as a more experienced person would. It also took some time to inspire the team and get them to understand what we were doing, but once we got in touch with their founders, they got what we wanted in an hour.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a fintech cloud specialist for the biggest and oldest bank in our country. We have a new program that we want to offer to startups and third-parties globally.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Outboxers?

Our collaboration with them started in late 2017 when my managers hired them to make an analysis for determining whether a fintech cloud is something that makes sense for third parties and startups. Furthermore, startups are creating plug-in solutions that we’d like to distribute to our clients through a client-facing app. As such, we needed to make sure that our end users and clients were interested in having all these functionalities.

For example, one could have a banking app on their mobile phone and activate something from a third party. This means that we needed to find out if it made sense for clients. We chose Outboxers because we really needed to think outside the box.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Outboxers created a website for us on WordPress, I believe, and they’re currently working on marketing campaigns for our social media. They’re also providing marketing collateral, namely logos and graphics for addressing customers and a nice promo video of the product.

We’ve agreed to use Outboxers’ team for other types of activities later on in the year, such as emailing, posting on LinkedIn and Twitter, and video production.

What is the status of this engagement?

Outboxers started working with my company in November or December 2017. I came on as project owner till April 2018. We have an agreement till the end of the year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The website is ready, and some marketing campaigns have been set up on LinkedIn and Facebook. We defined some key performance indicators, including the number of people signing up for our newsletter as well as the number of followers on Twitter and LinkedIn. We’re partially on target, but we’ve had issues with the holiday time and financials. We need to find enough money to leverage the message to the market.

How did Outboxers perform from a project management standpoint?

They provide updates whenever I request them, and always adhere to milestones. At one point, Outboxers sent the right information at the right time to our board members, which allowed them to make good decisions thanks to this.

We’ve used InVision for documenting graphic templates, Google Drive to share documents, and Trello as a backlog of ideas. Outboxers has also shown us some statistics from Hotjar, especially in terms of the customer experience with the website.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I worked with a marketing agency at a previous job, and they delivered a typical product. If we were going to approach the startup world, we had to think like a startup. As such, it would’ve been difficult for an agency that's used to working for corporate clients to reshape a product for the startup world. This is why I really appreciate our collaboration with Outboxers—they understand our needs as a corporation and they see what our issues are, but they’ve also helped clarified whether or not what we are creating makes sense in the startup world.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Companies should open their minds and listen to Outboxers.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for one of the biggest media houses in my country. We have lots of products, from newspapers and magazines to an email service and software services. We're an IT company, but our main focus is on newspapers and magazines.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Outboxers?

We were making some innovations in the magazine and newspaper area, which was the main focus of the collaboration with Outboxers. We had a lot of ideas that we couldn’t have implemented as quickly with our internal team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us implement some ideas, including a Facebook Messenger bot and a Google Chrome plug-in. These components came from many ideas that we discussed during three workshops. They brought us lots of new ideas about how to do magazines and news, mainly from the IT side. We're really learning from them.

What is the team composition?

We met with two of their members initially, including one of the principals and a main UX designer, to discuss their work approach. For the workshops, they brought in a UX researcher, a psychologist, and a designer who helped improve the Messenger bot.

How did you come to work with Outboxers?

They were referred to us and we looked them up online, comparing them with other similar companies.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from June–September 2017. We had some initial meetings during the first two weeks, followed by workshops for another two weeks. The prototyping took place in following month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The Messenger bot was used by thousands of people for communication and news. The other products are maybe not as successful as we wanted them to be, but we’ve learned how to make fast prototypes using InVision and on paper. Learning this process and using it in subsequent projects was the main thing for us.

How did Outboxers perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed excellently. Everything was delivered on time and they made updates for us every week. We tracked what was done and what would be done the following week. We didn’t have any issues with them.

We primarily communicated over Slack as well as the phone, Trello, and Google Sheets.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're friendly and cool. It was a pleasure to work with them from a human and a professional standpoint. They have a special approach to prototyping and coming up with ideas, which I haven’t seen anywhere else.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They made a final presentation for the project, but they didn’t give us the information we wanted about costs.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I definitely recommend working with Outboxers; they provide fast prototyping, and the experience is good. They're up-to-date with what the biggest companies are doing.