The Mayo Clinic and the City of Rochester wanted to improve the patient and caregiver experience outside the clinic walls. We led a team of business designers in ethnographic research - performing observational studies and intercepts in cafeterias and waiting areas, and immersion activities like overnights in long-term cancer homes, day-in-the-life of a wheelchair-bound patient, and self-admittance to the Clinic as a patient.
Our team’s research uncovered the fear of the unknown: patients and caregivers are extremely hesitant to explore given their fragile state. Our recommendation of a personal concierge system offered patients and family members a knowledgeable guide throughout their journey, with targeted, individualized itineraries for each visitor to facilitate holistic healing.
Cone Health is building a new $100M Women’s Hospital in North Carolina to support its Labor and Delivery and NICU departments. We were brought on to better understand the patient and family member experience, and optimize design of the new building around service and environment opportunities.
After deep ethnographic research, including scrubbing in for a c-section, shadowing laboring mamas, and numerous patient, family member, and healthcare worker interviews, we journey mapped the emotional highs and lows of the patient experience. Insights and opportunities were integrated into the new building design, and further work requested and completed for the OBGYN department.
“Big Three” Telecom Provider
We spent 18 months working with a “Big Three” Telecom Provider’s Retail division to identify opportunities to surprise and delight store customers, and market new and existing products and services in its 4,000 stores.
We also devised a tiered marketing and investment strategy after surveying store locations, budgets, and impact. Select high-profile locations now act as brand ambassadors, converting customer “switchers” via custom materials and messaging, while stores in less competitive markets save costs with reduced marketing and retail budgets.