Designing the Surf Ranch Experience
Market Research
Service Design
Business Design
CLIENT
World Surf League
LOCATION
USA, Costa Rica, Mexico, Australia
Chief Design Officer, Lead Service Designer, Lead Business Designer, Experience Designer, Visual Designer
TEAM
Located in Lemoore, California, the ‘Surf Ranch’ wave pool uses pioneering technology developed by surfing icon Kelly Slater to produce what is widely regarded as the ultimate artificial wave. WSL partnered with Kinlab to better understand their customer and market in the North American, Central American, and Asia-Pacific regions and design the customer experience for the Surf Ranch facilities.
Insight Services
Market analysis
Systems analysis
Consumer research
Field research
Design Services
Experience strategy
Service design
Product design
Business design
Commercial modelling
We wanted a rich understanding of the relationship that americans have with water sports and surfing. From that position we could then work out the customer strategies we needed to implement and experiences we needed to deliver at surf ranch.
Pete Jozsi
Senior Vice President WSL Wave Company
Immersing in the customers’ world
Over two months, Kinlab immersed in the US and Central American markets. We observed, interviewed and workshopped with hundreds of people with a relationship to water sports. From surf line-ups in San Diego, to the back of wake boats in Texas, beaches of Costa Rica and Surf Ranch itself, we dove into the lives of prospective customers. Our method is immersive, informal and flexible. We didn’t recruit research participants from recruiter lists; we created opportunities to engage with real people through intercept interviews, pop-up workshops and activations.
Scoping the market
Once we understood and segmented the customers, we undertook a comprehensive data-driven analysis of the customers and the markets, scoping the landscape both in the US and Australia.
Designing the Surf Ranch customer experience & business model
With a rich understanding of customers, we designed the end-to-end multi-channel service experiences. Our service design team worked closely with Surf Ranch staff, including the product, facility design and construction, and sales and customer service teams.
We then prototyped service experiences with customers on-site at Surf Ranch, Lemoore through iterative design and testing sprints. Once the service experience was tested and validated with customers, we developed a viable business model for a Surf Ranch facility.
The Outcomes
The customer experience and service blueprint are being rolled out at Surf Ranch in California, so far resulting in a 25 per cent rise in customer satisfaction, and increased sales revenue.
Milestones
Undertaking customer research across five US states and three continents
Operating a dual-located experience design lab in Solana Beach (company HQ) and on-site at Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California
Prototype testing of revolutionary surf coaching tools
Getting to surf the world’s best man made wave (yew!)
Delivered
Customer Personas
Surfing Lifecycle Journey Map
Customer & Market Analysis
Surf Ranch Customer Experience Map & Service Blueprint
Surf Ranch Business Model
Kinlab &
World Surf League
est. 2018
We have been working with World Surf League since 2018, focused on their key business areas of wave technology and property development, and WSL events. Our efforts to help them better understand their audience and uncover growth have taken us across the United States, Central America, Australia and New Zealand. With most of us Kinlabbers having a close relationship with the ocean, many of us surfers, it’s an important partnership to us in and out of the studio.
Let's innovate the future of sport
Let's innovate the future of sport
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