positivity • growth • transformation
Making Sustainability Accessible
Project Overview
A strategy oriented project to make sustainability accessible
in the consumption based financial system through reimagining rewards.
Scroll to see concept, customer journey maps, and market strategy.
Timeline: 15 weeks | Project Type: Academic | Team: 6 members
This project was created collaboratively as a part of a management-focused class to strategically position Doconomy, a Swedish fin-tech startup, in American markets and maximize the capability of its concept.
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My contributions were focused mainly on the user research, insight generation, and concept creation part of the project. I also offered input and helped with the digital execution of screen design and presentation design.
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After running secondary research and connecting with some individuals in the fin-tech space, we had a rough idea of consumer interests in the American market. We found that one of the biggest drivers behind credit card choices in the United States was the reward points system. We debated this since Doconomy is a sustainable brand that shows you your carbon footprint with every purchase and encourages you to limit your spending based on carbon footprint instead of monetary value. The idea was to reduce consumption, but rewards foster consumption.
So the challenge was,
"How might we compete in the rewards market while reducing consumption?"
A sustainable reward points system designed for Doconomy
We designed a system that adds points for every sustainable purchase and deducts points for every unsustainable purchase. In initial interviews, we found that young users had largely positive responses to accept responsibility for environment-friendly budgeting!
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Our system allowed them to redeem their points for a few sustainable purchases, but predominantly toward discount coupons to sustainable stores, tickets to sustainable experiences, and donating toward environmental causes! The benefit of this system was that it also allowed users to earn points for taking action toward sustainability, like signing petitions, spreading awareness, and more, instead of relying solely on purchases.
Prototyping methods of redeeming reward points in a sustainable system
We also ideated other business avenues for users to redeem points without consuming more physical products. Some examples are DO Talks (similar to TED), DO Salons for sustainable relaxation services, DO Transportation such as ride-sharing and bike rentals, and impact investing.
We then created user personas and mapped their journeys with Doconomy's potential service offerings.
Multiple users' journeys mapped to demonstrate application of proposed system
Finally, we also developed a customer growth journey map to determine the various stages of life that a Doconomy adopter would go through and the solutions our strategic model represents for each one of those stages to enable them to have a sustainable lifestyle.
Demonstrating how a customer can grow their journey with Doconomy in various stages of life
We concluded our project by putting together a framework to demonstrate the strategy for market penetration of our recommendations with each user category.
Complete strategy for Doconomy's customer acquisition in the target market
"Strategy for Sustainable Impact is the recognition that capitalism is not the only way for economic growth. Executing strategic frameworks that require users to shift their mindset and lifestyles toward the well-being of themselves and the planet is the most fulfilling part of a strategist's career in my perspective."