ribot Ltd.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

AmRest is a leading restaurant operator in Europe, with around 1,500 locations, including familiar names like Starbucks, KFC, and Pizza Hut. I’m the digital director of the company, and I’m responsible for all customer-facing technology, like websites and apps, through which customers either make orders through or get to better know our brands.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ribot?

We’ve worked with them on a couple of projects for the KFC brand in Poland, including a new app for which we’re launching a new functionality. It was a preorder and pickup solution, and we wanted to do it in an intuitive and engaging way.

For our second project, we were launching self-service kiosks in restaurants through which users could independently place orders. This was a first in Poland, and the user experience was very important because this had never been done for our brand. It was, however, something our competitors were doing, so we needed to think about how we could leverage their approach, but do it in a better and more unique way.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ribot helped us with the design and user experience, and also elaborated on the journey we wanted the customer to go through. For the kiosk project, we were working with a screen size we’d never used before, and we’d also never tackled the user journey for self-ordering within a restaurant. They helped us with upfront due diligence, looked at what competitors were doing, and held a strategic workshop with both our digital and operational teams.

Once they got all the feedback and pulled in the research, they walked us through the design phase of what the product needed to look like and how it needed to work. As we got closer to implementation, ribot remained the main liaison with our backend app builders in making sure the development would be correct. ribot’s main contribution was creating a more humanized and memorable frontend experience.

The process was similar for our app, but in this case, ribot helped us redesign one which already existed. This app had different functionalities, so they made sure the result would be more aligned with our brand since people who weren’t used to engaging customers made the original version.

It’s not hard to put together an app or a website, and we already had the functionalities in place. What we didn’t have was a form that could bring enjoyment to people tapping on the app. ribot helped us with the preorder and restaurant pickup functionality, but their main contributions were the subtleties, including indicators of fun, colors, and moments of engagement.

For KFC, we have an amazing tone of voice and persona in the form of the colonel and his chicken, but we hadn’t brought that into the app experience before. In the version ribot created, we actually have the colonel guiding users through how to order their food and enter credit card details, all while making comments on what looks delicious. We have a much more humanized element, which really lends itself well to the brand and overall experience we were looking to create.

We have a brand portfolio or regulations booklet we have to abide by, so for global brands like KFC, we couldn’t just redesign the logo. ribot incorporated the colors, tone of voice, and mascot in a way that was relevant to our customers and the market. The challenge for them was working within an environment that had clear guidelines and restrictions, while still producing something creative.

I’ve also worked with ribot for Harris+Hoole, a speciality coffee shop, where I was the director of digital experience. It was an entirely new company, and, even though we had a logo and small brand book, everything was being done from scratch. There was only one other person internally. The real challenge was thinking about the technology, and also putting our backend CRM [customer relationship management] into place. ribot went through the entire journey with us as we were learning what we wanted to do, and how we would execute it. We really needed a strong partner who had handled app development before.

For this project, ribot created an experience that not only required frontend research and design, but also native iOS and Android loyalty app development. We used a full suite of services from them in that case. In terms of functionalities, it was a first in its industry.

At the time, our major competitor was Starbucks because they allowed clients to pay for coffee through their app. We went one step further by adding digital loyalty functionalities in addition to being able to pay online. The app allowed users to walk into any of the 50 coffee shops at the time and be recognized by name. Our competitor required customers to walk in, state their name, show they phone, then get it scanned.

We connected to a geolocation check-in system, so when someone walked into the restaurant, they could put their phone down and it allowed us to know who they were, what their favorite coffee was, and how they wanted it made.

What is the team dynamic?

We had 3 primary contacts, including a project manager, a designer, and Antony [Co-founder, ribot] was more involved in the strategy sessions. The day-to-day work was done through our assigned designer, and we had weekly meetings with the project manager as well. It was a nice balance which worked well for our team, and included 3 direct people from the company in addition to another 3 from the backend development team.

How did you come to work with ribot?

I’d had a good experience when I worked with them for a previous company. When I joined AmRest as the digital director and looked at some of our tools (specifically apps, and the fact that we didn’t have a kiosk), I knew that ribot could provide those missing elements. I was confident they could develop a good user experience through thoughtful design based not only on features and different devices, but also through the actual psychology behind them.

I introduced them as potential partners and went through a standard RFP [request for proposal] process in the company. ribot stood out due to their deep engagement at the founder level, which makes a massive difference compared to working with a huge company that offers no continuity due to passing their clients off from salespeople to different designers.

They’re good at what they do, and have a wide range of clients. When looking at the different experiences ribot has created across different devices and purposes, we saw that they all had a clear, thoughtful perspective. This same level of thought was delivered to us for the KFC project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve launched a pilot, and they are continuing to help us determine the effectiveness of the solution, measure our data, and make tweaks and improvements before rolling out to a wider restaurant base.

I first engaged with them in April 2013 for my previous company, which ended in May 2014. The project for my current company started in November 2016, and is currently ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve tracked KPIs [key performance indicators], such as speed and convenience, and we are achieving them. We are only now piloting the solution, so I don’t have many statistics.

Much of the feedback is anecdotal, but internal operations people and front-of-house team members in the restaurants were very impressed with the app and the fun experience it provides. We expect there to be higher usage of the app and its new functionalities because of the redesign.

For the kiosk, we’ve been able to get customer feedback stating that it’s an amazing community experience, as well as a nice alternative to having to order the standard way. It puts the power into the client’s hands, allowing them to customize products however they want. People have genuinely enjoyed the product, which transcends its base functionality. We don’t just offer something that works, but something which engages the customer and creates an emotional response.

Regarding the project for my former company, the loyalty app they created got us from 0% loyalty to an average of 25% in all of our coffee shops. It was a huge success factor in terms of how great the experience was, especially at a time when our competitors were averaging between 12–15% app usage from their customers. The system turned a 40-second conversation into a 5-second interaction, which was an industry first. It was not only exciting for our brand, but for my overall career, and there’s no way I could have done it without ribot.

We won an award from Retail Week for one of the most innovative products in 2014. We were up against massive competitors outside of the coffee industry, and there were numerous industry publications mentioning us, as well as a tech feature on BBC news. We were being compared to companies like Starbucks, and they described our app as clearly better than those of our competitors.

In terms of feedback, the app has 5/5 stars on both Google Play and the App Store, and the customers and industry loved it. From an operational standpoint, we were able to make sure orders were accurate, as well as shorten the amount of time needed to place them. A quarter of people coming to our stores were actually using the app, which is a high statistic for any industry.

How did ribot perform from a project management standpoint?

For this project, we’ve had one team member assigned as project manager who’s been incredibly helpful. He was an effective counterpart, and it was nice to have a representative within ribot’s company. Some things may not go as expected, and it’s nice to have someone else in charge on their side.

The engagement was helpful, as well as impressive. I’ve worked with ribot for a couple of years now, and this is a new service they’ve added for projects. When I first worked with them, they didn’t actually have a project manager on the account. I’ve seen them grow in this area and improve as a company in terms of the service they offer to customers.

They’ve come to Poland a couple of times, not only during strategy kickoffs, but also since we’ve gone live. Even though they’re based in the U.K., ribot has found it important to understand not only the market they’re operating in, but the actual physical experience of restaurants, which has helped them design better products. They’ve come to us for more strategic meetings, but on a weekly basis, we’ve used things like Slack, conference calls, etc. I found Antony’s involvement to be a differentiating factor for their company.

What did you find most impressive about them?

ribot provides a clever, thoughtful design, but they allow the client to choose between options and make the final call. However, they will push back if they believe strongly in something, and I appreciate this as well. They challenge us and ask for the logic and rationale behind a decision in order to provide a better solution, instead of just agreeing with everything. They remain clever and engaged while striving to deliver effective solutions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are a lean company, and don’t have too many designers or developers. However, ribot does this by design, and they only hire the best resources available. We’ve been lucky to work with them, but we also know we couldn’t give them additional projects because of their small size.

We’ve informed them about our needs for next year’s projects so they can begin to create a timeline and make sure we can work together. If anything, it’s an awareness factor that’s necessary for our work, instead of anything negative about ribot.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager of an e-commerce company in the apparel space. We’re a direct to consumer business that sells apparel exclusively through our own website and mobile app channel.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ribot?

We approached ribot before we launched our brand to the public. We felt it was important to have a native iOS experience accompanying our .com selling channel in order to reach, interface with, and help express our brand to customers in a unique way.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We came to them with a general idea as to how we thought the native channel might enhance our existing business strategies and channels. They flew out from the U.K to ideate with us regarding features and strategies to be put into place, and also to work in partnership with our UX and product design team in creating wireframes and brand application. We then had an engineering partnership with their in-house team, through which we co-developed the actual iOS app.

We engaged in both open and structured ideation around the features sets that would be particularly useful to our customers in the native format. We set ground rules, including an emphasis that the native app not be a replication of our e-commerce or .com website. We were intent on solving unique friction or pain points for customers through the iOS app, including focusing on storytelling around our merchandise assortment.

As far as storytelling goes, it was important that we leveraged features, interactions, and gestures that are available on iOS – for example, making sure clients could see our product, zoom in on it, evaluate it from different angles, and experience the elevated emotional connection that accompanies the best native app interfaces.

We wanted to make sure we were providing a minimal-friction checkout flow, so we implemented Swipe-to-pay functionalities that were becoming prevalent on a few of the leading e-commerce apps. We thought swipe to pay would be really beneficial for customers coming back and checking out our merchandise on a regular basis. Spring was just launching at the time, and we felt they’d done a nice job advancing customers through a dynamic set of checkout fields.

We also wanted to ensure that our most frequent, repeating customers received service levels through the app that were just as good or better than what we provided through our other channels. We added enhanced push notifications, a click-to-call customer service feature, and a handful of others that helped accomplish that mission.

All of these ideas arose out of the collaboration with ribot. They were very talented at expanding the funnel of ideas at the right time, guiding the conversation, and narrowing in on real problem-solving features as we advanced through the strategy sessions.

What is the team dynamic?

There was a project manager who was our day-to-day point of contact for business-related issues. Their 2 founders were involved as much as the project needed, and they participated in a handful of important strategic sessions to help handle any issues. They did a great job of ensuring that we were satisfied with ribot’s service and project outcomes.

There was a product designer who handled the UX and visual design, and he’s very talented in both areas. There was an engineering team of 2 people on average working on the project. It was about an 8–12 week project from start to finish.

On our side, we had the equivalent counterpart of a product manager. We also had our business lead, 1 iOS engineer, and a few people from our creative team who were involved with different aspects of the build. Our CTO, who was an individual contributor and a manager of our technology team, ended up contributing heavily on some complicated aspects of the checkout and payments code.

How did you come to work with ribot?

We were already familiar with several providers, both local and non-local, through pre-existing relationships at our firm. We received 3–5 RFPs [request for proposals] from companies that had all participated variably in e-commerce, e-commerce centric, and consumer tech app development. ribot rose to the top through a blend of their past experience, innovative ways of uniquely engaging customers and the brand-customer dynamic. They also had fair pricing.

They’re not a low-cost provider, but they are reasonably priced for the scope of what we asked to have done. We signed the contract with their 2 founders, and really felt they were on the same page as us. They were committed to building the project out because they’re excellent service providers, and also because they were looking for a marquee project in their portfolio.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from October 2014–April 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since its launch, the iOS app has been our highest converting digital channel. The open rate on our push notifications for the app was approximately 5–10 times the norm for an e-commerce benchmark client.

The app was featured in the App Store in various categories and several times on the homepage. It was well regarded by Apple, and is an important channel for us and our customers. It was always designed with a focus on repeat customers receiving a delightful experience over time.

How did ribot perform from a project management standpoint?

They were highly responsive and managed the remote relationship very successfully. We were weary of working with a remote partner, but they assuaged those discomforts from early in the engagement. It’s a very organized operation, and they’re notably not a shop that’s looking to drive up total cost by logging the last incremental hour or small change orders.

They were honest and frank in projecting the time required to complete each project phase. They delivered everything they promised, both in terms of timeline and the all-in cost of the project. We walked away from that engagement feeling that it was extremely well managed. We were well and kept up-to-speed by the ribot team throughout.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are a comprehensive product development shop. I found it impressive that their entire strategy stems from the founder level, which promotes punctuality and comprehensive project management. It also allows for their engineers, product designer, and UX designer to remain good work ethics. They hired hard-working, kind, and talented people.

The project would have been a failure if we had had a poor UX design that was brilliantly executed by the engineering team, or if we had had a fabulous product design that was poorly executed. I give credit to their team, and founders in particular, for assembling a great holistic organization that works well together and with their clients.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Visual design for an upscale apparel brand was not their strongest area of expertise. If there was something that I wish they were even better at, it would be bringing an upscale sort of luxury aesthetic to our product. Our product stands on its own pretty well, and the photography ended up becoming the hero of the app. However, I do think there’s room for them to be more capable on the brand-creative side to the extent that it needs to be manifested in the app itself. This was 2–3 years ago, and I wouldn’t be surprised if their team composition is different now.