SpareFoot Emails Redesign

SpareFoot is the largest self-storage marketplace offering consumers the ability to find storage, compare deals, and book storage seamlessly across more than 12,000 facilities in the U.S. on SpareFoot.com

Having migrated our emails to a new server we wanted to take the opportunity to redesign our email templates. Not only did our consumer facing emails get an aesthetic update, but new content was included to ensure our customers have all the information they need to successfully move into their storage unit.

Above you can see examples of the current and new Confirmation, Reminder 1, Reminder 2 (Move-in Day) and Cancellation emails.

Break it apart, put it back together

I audited the content in each email and sketched various iterations focusing on a clear hierarchy including all relevant information needed to move-in.

A modular design with clear headlines allowed the customer to scan content quickly to find key information.

This structure enabled SpareFoot to test content and its placement, as well as add new content—such as move in promotions—in an effort to optimize post-reservation communications and improve move-in rate.

Conducting Exploratory Research Through User Interviews

The objective

The purpose of this study was to gather real-time consumer feedback regarding expectations and best practices for post-reservation communication flows. We wanted to understand what we were currently doing well, identify opportunities, and dispel any assumptions we held about our post-reservation experience.

the Methodology

• We watched twelve one-on-one interview sessions with consumers who have stored or are about to need storage

• The sessions were conducted remotely over video with a moderator

• Participants were asked to discuss their reactions to emails from SpareFoot, Public Storage, CubeSmart, Extra Space, Airbnb, Booking.com, and Priceline without knowledge of who was conducting the study 

making the most of iterative testing

We were able to take realtime feedback from the participants and iterate on our designs from session to session.

Some of our key takeaways and updates included:

• SF Confirmation Email_v1: People were not reading the introduction copy at the top so we removed most of it. We also noticed people were still not understanding that we were a storage marketplace, so we added messaging about our 11k partnerships.

• SF Confirmation Email_v2: We saw our partnership messaging was going unnoticed. We felt the information was still relevant for the customer (especially if they needed to change facilities), so we moved it near the “Update my reservation” CTA.

• SF Confirmation Email_v3: Our participants talked about how their confirmation code and move-in date were very important. We added the code into the top yellow section, removed all extra copy and gave the scheduled move-in date more prominence.

• SF Confirmation Email_v4: “We manage your storage reservation so [Facility Name] can focus on you” was added directly under our logo to suggest SpareFoot as a marketplace.

interesting findings

Post-Study Slides

Below is a sample of the slides we presented to all stakeholders involved in this initiative. This deck was made available as a summary for those who couldn’t attend the study in person.

Optimize Emails for Mobile

Due to feedback we received from our user interviews, it was critical to optimize our emails for smaller viewports. The new modular design works well for stacking, scanning and scrolling on mobile phones. 

Moving Forward

We are building new email templates so we can test them against our current emails. Once we have successfully tested into our new designs we will roll this out to 100% of our users and start designing new tests to optimize our email content and cadence.

SF Confirmation Email—Current vs New Templates

Bonus! B2B Email Template Updates

To maintain consistency of the new email brand we are currently in the process of updating our B2B templates. The work and learnings from the consumer facing emails heavily influenced these designs.

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