Helping American Standard's New Faucet Make a Splash

When American Standard planned to introduce an innovative, high-end touchless kitchen faucet, they realized that to ensure the best possible customer experience and guard their brand reputation, they needed to provide DIY installers with proper guidance to connect and set up their new faucets. Given the sophistication of the technology and the premium price point, American Standard knew that customers would have high expectations, and improper installations could cause malfunctions that would dampen customer satisfaction.

To help them better understand the DIY installation process and learn how customers would approach installing the new faucet, they partnered with 360 Market Reach to (now Leger) conduct a series of in-depth video IHUTs covering installation, performance, and usage over time.

We identified individuals who were shopping for high-end kitchen faucets, and who found the touchless feature appealing. We further honed in on those households whose kitchen layouts could accommodate the new faucet’s size and structure. We then mailed each of them the faucet to install and use.

We had participants film a series of in-depth videos covering key parts of the process, including reading the instructions, installing the new faucet, trial after installation, and any modifications they made to the installation. We then had them record their reactions after using the faucet for one week, and again after two weeks.

Based on the videos, we worked with the American Standard product development team to refine their installation instructions to ensure success for DIY installers. This included  particular focus on one procedure that initially seemed quite simple but many participants found challenging, and an explanation of how to install one key part that was often “left over” in the installation videos we reviewed.

Our research also revealed insights about how people use touchless faucets in their homes, giving American Standard a first-hand view of some touchless mishaps. This informed new innovations in future generations of American Standard products, while providing some humorous moments for the American Standard product development team.

We not only helped American Standard enjoy a successful launch of their new faucet, we also provided valuable learnings to help them design more user-friendly products in the future.