The task was to produce a dedicated online sales system to support the developer’s unique business model.
Introduction
miastologia is a Polish start-up with a plan to revolutionize the housing construction industry in Europe. How? By selling apartments as products. Through the Internet.
miastologia’s innovative business model is based on these three basic assumptions:
miastologia’s innovative business model is based on these three basic assumptions:
A product instead of a service
miastologia has designed and put on offer only two types of apartment: “m-2” (32 m2) and “m-4” (64 m2). Thanks to this, the apartments can be sold as products.
No traditional sales office
By moving the business to the Internet, the developer was able to leave out the large team that would be responsible for direct customer service.
Scalability of the business
Thanks to the digital transformation, the developer is able to maintain operational costs at a relatively low level, thereby offering high-quality construction at a reasonable price.
The apartments by Chmielna Street
problem
Starting with a sociological analysis of contemporary lifestyles, miastologia has been able to develop an original concept for apartments which would be better designed, cost less and – most importantly for modern consumers – be ready for changes. Thanks to a modular design, the apartments built by the developer will be able to, for example, be divided or merged depending on the changing needs of the residents.
Miastologia’s offer is highly innovative at the technological and communication level. Obviously, there was no ready-made solution from the e-commerce category which could be applied to miastologia available on the market. The only option was, therefore, to create a system 100% adjusted to the client’s business model.
DESIGN
The project included a set of information sites, a dynamic sales panel with a CMS module, and a CRM system allowing the developer to communicate with clients.
We put special emphasis on the platform’s security and the responsiveness of the user interface. It had to be adjusted for mobile devices and needed to be well thought through in the smallest detail in order to resolve any doubts the clients may have. During the design works, we used multiple web technologies, including Ruby on Rails, AngularJS, HTML5, CSS3, JS, RWD. We also integrated the platform design with popular marketing tools such as MailChimp, Slack, and SMSAPI.
In accordance with the three basic assumptions, we worked very closely with both the client and branding agency throughout the entire process.
In accordance with the three basic assumptions, we worked very closely with both the client and branding agency throughout the entire process.
effects
During 14 months of work, we created an innovative platform allowing comprehensive management of investments (more than 250 apartments in total). The system has already passed the test drive: selling 33 apartments by Dąbrowskiego Street in Kraków took just 4 minutes and was handled by one person on the client’s side, meaning a significant reduction in operating expenses.
The system is fully scaled, thanks to which in future it can be adapted to service housing developments the developer will build in other cities or countries.
Location
Kraków, PL
Team
+ RIOT: digital designer, back-end developers, front-end developer, scrum master
+ mstlg: product owner, copywriter, architect, 3D generalist
+ Studio Otwarte: branding, key visual
Timeline
January 2015 → March 2016
Workflow
project executed in accordance with the Scrum (agile) methodology, weekly iterations, frequent personal meetings with the client + remote collaboration in the Podio project management system
Toolkit
Photoshop, Illustrator, Sketch, Axure, Invision, SVG, RWD, HTML5, CSS3, SASS, jQuery, AngularJS, Snap.svg, Ruby (Ruby on Rails), PostgreSQL, Redis, Amazon Web Services, Phussion Passenger, Nginx, SSL, Mandrill, Mailchimp, SMSAPI, Git, Github, Podio
