Challenge
There is little differentiation between oil companies' offerings. Oil consumers typically go with the lowest price. While Heatable offered a very competitive price, they realized that in order to gain more customers, specifically Millennials, they needed to make it easier for them to buy heating oil. A large percentage of Heatable customers were "on demand" customers who called to order oil only when they needed it. Heatable recognized that a mobile ordering capability would make it much easier for on demand customers to find their low price and purchase instantly using their mobile device.
Solution
Product Map Sprint In order to understand the market fit and the features that were important to oil buyers, Heatable and AndPlus engaged in a Product Map sprint. A series of user experience workshops were run in order to define the optimal user journey outlining the process of: Checking Price, Defining Tank Specifications, Placing an Order, and Account Registration. Through Story Mapping and Release Planning, discrete features were documented and an MVP release was defined. heatable-engineer-1 Agile Approach With our product roadmap in hand, the team kicked off the design and development process. Two-week sprints allowed us to deliver software often and iterate quickly based on feedback and usability testing. Using Xamarin as a cross platform tool, AndPlus also worked in two-week sprints to create the user flow outlined in the product map sprint. The application relied on a backend ERP system and needed to communicate with that using a RESTful API.
Results
An MVP was launched to the App Store and Google Play store to one single Zip Code within 90 days. The first customer to order through the application came on day 2 after launch. Within the first year, the application has expanded to 22 towns and cities in Maine and New Hampshire and will be continuing expansion to 3-4 times the current geography in the next 6 months. The application has been a technical and business success, with nearly all 5 star reviews on their respective app stores.
Want fresh marketing stories in your inbox?
Get the weekly email that makes you a marketing genius.
Stay informed and inspired, for free.