Using customer-focused research and design to build a self-service online store: a case study

ing customer-focused research and design to build a self-service online store: a case study Case report (821) Total Article Views Authors: Ahmadi MB, Trefzger W, Morey R, Quintas I Published Date February 2013 Volume 2013:3 Pages 21 - 32 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/CER.S34688 Received: 06 June 2012 Accepted: 24 October 2012 Published: 05 February 2013 Michael B Ahmadi,1 William Trefzger,2 Rich Morey,1 Ileana Quintas3 1Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rockville, 2Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Baltimore, 3IQ Solutions, Inc, Rockville, MD, USA Abstract: American government information centers need to be responsive to an increasingly customer driven information environment while ensuring the sustainability of operations. Enhanced self-service options offer one avenue for addressing both of these needs. This article presents a case study of how the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration used extensive stakeholder research and a customer-centric design to reframe its service model by building a self-service online store that integrates access to more than 1300 behavioral health publications previously housed in two separate clearinghouses. The redesigned Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Store offers users a modern e-commerce website that not only helps customers find, order, download, and share products, but also encourages serendipitous content exploration, which has led to increased orders containing both substance abuse and mental health publications.