Boreal Mountain Resort is a fun ski and snowboard resort that's open to all different skill levels and is very family friendly as well. The resort is on the smaller side however, so to bring more attention/viewership towards the brand and eventually increase revenue, the user experience can be looked at to be improved to make that happen. By utilizing a touchpoint journey with different levels of virtual and physical interaction, people that go through this experience will consider it positive and will come back again.
The main goal of these touchpoints is to provide a means to improve the overall current experience. This proposed touchpoint journey will consist of five key interactive steps within the entirety of the user experience:
My name is Mihir Parmar and I am a graphic design student at Sacramento State University. I will be presenting my solution to the modern business needs of Boreal Mountain Resort through an assigned case study, highlighting a redesigned touchpoint journey. I chose to take up this specific experience based on my numerous previous experiences at the resort, many of which being positive. Having an abundance of experiences from the resort did help to make it clearer to see where the resort's strengths and weaknesses are in terms of user experience.
As mentioned previously, Boreal Mountain Resort is on the smaller side in terms of Tahoe ski resorts. To bring more attention to the brand and eventually bring in more revenue in the form of ticket and pass sales there will be a new social media campaign launch to attract people to follow a specific call to action. Next they would be redirected to a landing page that provides a clear representation of the different purchase options they have. Upon purchasing a ticket or pass, the user will receive a confirmation email including a receipt of their purchase. After receiving this email the user would go on their trip to Boreal soon after, where they will be guided through the site by completely redesigned wayfinding signage to help them find where they need to go. Once their day at Boreal is complete and they have gone back home they will receive a follow up email within a few days of finishing their trip that includes a small discount towards their next purchase on site. This discount is followed by a prompt to take a survey to gather research on general customer satisfaction.
Given the current circumstances many areas around the world have had to change their way of life in some fashion due to the COVID19 pandemic, whether it be mandatory quarantine or social distancing. I plan to address these real world issues by producing an experience that is both fun and safe, encouraging people to return every season.
The main business goals for Boreal includes generating revenue from their customer base and providing an enjoyable experience on the mountain. In the current user experience, customers have to access the main Boreal website to purchase tickets/passes online, or must wait in long lines to purchase them on site. If they decide to purchase their tickets online beforehand, they are sent a confirmation email receipt that contains a barcode used to redeem tickets/passes on site. Once they arrive to the resort all they have to do to redeem their ticket or pass is to head inside the Woodward Bunker building to interact with the self service kiosks. Once they have their ticket users can just walk through the gate at the base of the mountain to get through to the different chair lifts.
From first hand experiences with this process of online purchasing and interacting with kiosks, I feel that it's the far simpler method of getting a ticket/pass; resulting in a smoother, more user friendly experience. By popularizing this method of purchase Boreal can utilize these self service kiosks to eliminate the need to wait in line to buy tickets. This will be especially effective in these current conditions, due to the pandemic human interaction should be limited and people should not have to be packed together standing in long ticket lines. Another thing I noticed from my experiences was that the resort had inconsistent signage throughout the area, from the parking lot to the chair lifts. Having a clear graphic system in terms of wayfinding signage is important to guide people through the space to get them where they need to go. To address the real world conditions we're facing today there should also be signage incorporated that encourages practicing social distancing within the resort, especially on chair lifts.
Aspects of Boreal's user experience that stood out to me in their existing brand included their current color scheme as well as their graphic logo, something I think can be expanded on within this redesigned touchpoint journey.
Triads is a user experience focused research exercise that helps to explore the identity of a product or service, starting with simple word listing. Some word trios I came up with that best reflect the Boreal experience include: