As a product design leader, I played a key role in transforming Domain Group's commercial real estate platforms. This involved driving customer-centricity, conducting in-depth research to understand diverse user needs, and implementing strategic design solutions to enhance profitability and create differentiated experiences. My work focused on aligning the platform experience across all channels, ultimately modernizing the approach to commercial real estate.
The commercial real estate sector presents unique challenges due to its inherent complexity. Unlike residential property, commercial real estate encompasses a wide array of property types – offices, retail spaces, industrial warehouses – each with its own distinct user groups, requirements, and market dynamics. This complexity was a central challenge in this project.
To address this, I led a comprehensive effort to deeply understand the needs of all stakeholders within the commercial real estate ecosystem. This involved extensive research into the user journeys of corporate tenants seeking office spaces, the lifecycle of business owners and franchisees, and the investment strategies of commercial property investors. We recognized that each group had specific pain points and motivations that needed to be addressed.
For corporate tenants, we mapped out the often-complex process of finding and securing office space, noting the various decision-makers and approval hierarchies involved. For business owners and franchisees, we explored the challenges and opportunities at each stage of their business lifecycle, from startup to expansion. For investors, we analysed their portfolio strategies and the factors influencing their investment decisions, including the growing interest from overseas investors in the Australian market.
A core aspect of my role was to work closely with technology, business, and marketing teams to ensure a cohesive and aligned platform experience across all channels and touchpoints. This meant creating seamless integrations between the web and mobile platforms, agent services, and marketing communications, presenting a unified and consistent brand experience.
By focusing on user needs, streamlining complex processes, and fostering cross-functional collaboration, we were able to drive significant optimisations across Domain Group's commercial real estate platforms. This not only unlocked new revenue streams but also enhanced customer satisfaction, solidifying Domain Group's position in the market.
We developed a powerful, fast, and visual map search functionality to allow users to explore properties geographically, recognising the critical importance of location in commercial real estate decisions.
Research highlighted the importance of intuitive search initiation. We implemented intelligent filters to streamline the search process, enabling users to quickly refine their results based on their specific needs and criteria.
The platform was designed to deeply understand and cater to the nuanced differences between industrial, retail, and office property types, providing tailored information and tools for each sector.
Robust map search functionality provides crucial location context, including amenities, nearby businesses, and zoning information, empowering users to make informed decisions based on location-specific factors.
Simplifying complexity
We focused on identifying the commonalities and differences across various commercial property types and user needs to improve the platform without adding business complexity.
Defining the user journeys
We designed solutions to streamline the process of finding and securing commercial space, catering to the specific needs of differnt users and channels (desktop, mobile, print...)
Critical SEO
We meticulously designed key user journeys with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) best practices in mind to maximize organic traffic and improve property visibility.
Cross functional collaboration
Successful product development relied heavily on effective collaboration across diverse teams: design, product, engineering, marketing, sales, SEO...
To effectively design for Domain Group's commercial real estate platforms, it was crucial to gain a deep understanding of the diverse stakeholders and their unique needs. This involved extensive research and analysis, including user journey mapping, stakeholder interviews, market analysis, and data analysis. This comprehensive research approach enabled us to design solutions that addressed the specific needs of each user group while creating a cohesive and integrated platform experience.
A key design challenge was to create a seamless and consistent experience across Domain Group's various channels and touchpoints. This involved developing a cross-platform design system, implementing an omnichannel strategy, integrating agent services, and ensuring marketing alignment. By prioritizing a cohesive and integrated experience, we enhanced user satisfaction and strengthened Domain Group's brand identity.
Design played a crucial role in driving innovation and unlocking new revenue streams for the Commercial Real Estate division of Domain Group. This was achieved through feature optimisation, new feature development, personalisation, experimentation and data-driven decision-making. By focusing on user needs and aligning design with business goals, we were able to contribute significantly to the division revenue growth and market leadership.
