This is how we helped Nikita Hair become new

The challenge - more orders

With over 150 salons, Nikita Hair is one of Europe's largest hairdressing group. But there was a partially unadvised customer who knocked on the door at our house in Increo (then Imbera). Not unlike many of their customers, they knew that something had to be done, but not quite what. And not unlike a neglected hair weld, their mesh solution was ruffled at the edges, somewhat difficult to work with -- and not particularly presentable.

Fortunately, they came to the right people. And immediately we were about to give them a total makeover.

Through several meetings, we agreed on what had to be the main goal: They would have more orders through their website. The problem was that the interface of the current booking system, a third-party solution, did not appear as an integral part of Nikita. It broke with the rest of the overall impression, a bit like a crooked wig.

Everything had to be easier -- and prettier. Fewer steps, less friction. It should be easier to choose, easier to change and easier to order. The cardinal rule was here as otherwise: If you're going to convert better, you need to make the process more seamless.

Here's how we solved it

The first thing we did was remove the third-party system (Hano) from the front-end. Through their API, which we have become familiar with, we were able to ensure that orders came in the same way as before — while creating a completely new interface for the end user. In other words, we took an existing foundation and placed an entirely new user experience on top.

It became a small nut for our skilled UX people: At Nikita you can choose a wide range of different treatments, freely assemble them into packages, and you should be able to choose both the hairdresser and the date. To produce this in a simple way, with as few steps as possible, became both a technical and creative challenge. But we made it happen.

Sharp increase in organic traffic

In addition to tailoring the architecture of the new interface, we also made sure it was all dressed in Nikita's costume. You should never have to leave the Nikita universe to complete your order. The website itself has also been optimized around the main goal of increased conversion, and a button to book an appointment is the first thing you encounter.

We have simplified the experience for mobile users, and made thorough analyses of user statistics in close collaboration with the skilled people of Raise Gruppen (which owns Nikita Hair). The result was, among other things, a Nearly 60% increase in traffic from organic searches. It shows that good craftsmanship works. Especially when performed on top of deep insight.

And although Nikita is extremely pleased with his new self, our work does not stop here. A state of the art web solution must be looked after and nurtured regularly. Kind of like a cool hairstyle.

‍The solution has been developed by Imbera AS which will be merged and fully integrated with Increo from 01.01.2021.