It’s the time of year when thoughts turn to doing the annual spring clean, whether it’s housework, decluttering or house maintenance like cleaning gutters or getting the boiler serviced. And time when our work on our award-winning, new Worcester Bosch Professional native mobile app really comes into its own. Find out more...
We were absolutely delighted when the Professional App won a prestigious BIMA Award in the highly competitive Digital Product Build Category at the end of 2024. The award celebrated the delivery of a cutting-edge mobile experience for Worcester Bosch installers that achieved a remarkable 46-point NPS score increase compared to the original mobile app it replaced.
Our Worcester Bosch client said of the new native app:
"Our Worcester Bosch Professional app plays a key role in improving our customers' lives and making working with us an effortless experience. That’s why it was important for us to continuously invest in ensuring it remains industry-leading and provides an excellent customer experience. We were confident that the final build would meet users' needs and receive positive feedback after its release."
So, why was the new app needed?
In recent years, the boiler and water heating sector, in which Worcester Bosch is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers, had seen multiple new market entrants targeting installers to promote their products to consumer and commercial customers.
To maintain its top position, Worcester Bosch identified the need to revamp its native mobile Professional App, the main gateway for installers to keep a track of sales leads, boiler repair requests, plus register new products and guarantees. Worcester Bosch’s user research with installers had found that the old app wasn’t the effective tool they wanted to support their day-to-day workflows and help improve customer satisfaction.
Building and delivering a fast, performant native app that fulfils on user needs and desired features and functionality – set out by a robust Discovery and Design work by partners 383 Project – is hard enough. But the Professional app had an additional – and critical - technical challenge.
A truly business-pivotal application
The app was part of Worcester Bosch’s large, complex digital ecosystem, all built on the Laravel Framework in one large monolithic codebase that had expanded tactically in-line with business requirements over the past decade. The ecosystem encompasses multiple websites, portals, and applications providing business-critical information and services across their complex operations.
This meant that there were numerous interlinked dependencies in the ecosystem that all needed to work in harmony. If any part of the app build missed a dependency, or the code had not been tested thoroughly, the app simply wouldn't function and would result in installers not being able to do their job. Leaving them, their businesses and Worcester Bosch itself facing significant financial and reputational implications.
How we met the challenge for the new native app
To meet these user and technical challenges head on needed a truly meticulous attention to detail in the build, fuelled by a truly Agile development approach that prioritised rigorous technical and user testing. And supported throughout by regular communication and collaboration between CACI Digital Experience’s cross-functional team of React Native and Laravel PHP developers, QA experts, product and project managers, and Worcester Bosch and 383 Project team members around progress and alignment with the design work.
After an intense 3-month build process, and a further two-week testing phase with selected installers to drive further UX refinements and functionality improvements, the new Professional App launched successfully with no technical or user hitches.
The app boasted a host of features unique in the installer marketplace: a centralised hub for managing sales leads and fast-tracking enquiries, free-to-use scheduling software for small businesses, a checker allowing installers to use serial numbers to quickly see if a product is under guarantee and a product finder for any Worcester Bosch product manufactured after 1997, helping with parts enquiries and pre-sales activities.
Achieving its objectives - and delighting users
The launch of the app in October 2023 was a resounding success and testament to the collaborative, user-centred approach taken by the entire team. The app exceeded its download target of 10,000 downloads in the first six months and achieved a remarkable NPS score jump of +46 from the previous app, going from an average of -17 to +29.
As you would imagine from the improved NPS score, user feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with installers praising the app for its ease of use and functionality. Previous app users stating: “it makes life a lot easier for registrations” and “really simple to use and now works for me”. With new users finding it an “Easy app, easy to use”.
And the proof of the pudding is in the eating: over 80% of app users remain active more than six months after downloading the new version.
In addition to its user-centred commercial success, the native mobile app also met Worcester Bosch’s sustainability aims and CACI Digital Experience's deep commitment to sustainable web design principles and our ISO 14001 accreditation for Environmental Management Systems. The team focusing on content footprint reduction, designing for 'less is more' in collaboration with 383 Project, and relentless technical and asset optimisation, that helped deliver an environmentally friendly app with brilliant performance. So it was incredibly gratifying for the new Professional app to also be recognised by BIMA in its annual awards.
Chris Lewis, CACI’s Principal Client Partner for Worcester Bosch, says of the award win:
"The BIMA Award win is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and collaborative spirit of the CACI Digital Experience and Worcester Bosch teams, along with the invaluable contributions of 383 Project. The Professional app is a powerful example of how a user-centric approach and a commitment to technical excellence can deliver a truly transformative digital product that maximises business impact, while minimising its impact on the environment."
If you’re interested in building or renewing a native mobile app in Native React, Vue.JS or Google’s Flutter with complex integrations to help drive customer satisfaction and business growth, get in touch today to see how our team of human-centred design and development experts can help.
