New Zealand fuel distributor with branded service stations
New Zealand fuel distributor with branded service stations
Oil & Gas
When Z Energy set out to transform their customer experience, they faced a challenge familiar to many established businesses: how to evolve traditional services for an increasingly digital world. With everything from coffee orders to EV charging on their radar, they needed a systematic way to validate decisions and ensure changes would genuinely benefit both customers and business outcomes.
"We realized it wasn't just about creating something we thought looked good," explains Z Energy's Design Lead New Zealand, Byron Thornhill. "We needed evidence-based insights to guide our decision-making."
While Z Energy's research initiatives were complex, Optimal's unified platform made them manageable. "Having everything in one place has been transformational," explains Thornhill. "From running card sorting studies to conducting qualitative research and surveys, the platform lets us seamlessly move between methodologies while keeping all our insights connected and accessible."
This centralized approach has proven particularly valuable for enterprise-wide adoption. "The platform's learning resources - the academy and one-on-ones - make it incredibly straightforward for new team members to get started," notes Thornhill. "At the same time, having all our historical research in one searchable location means insights continue providing value long after the initial project."
The platform's collaborative features have also transformed how research insights influence business decisions. "When we're making decisions about new initiatives now, we can quickly reference past research and share findings across teams," says Thornhill. "It's created a culture of evidence-based decision making that extends beyond just the design team."
Z Energy's journey into electric vehicle solutions exemplifies their commitment to data-led design & innovation. As the mobility landscape evolved, they saw an opportunity to bundle power plans and EV home charging. But first, they needed to understand exactly what their customers wanted.
Using Optimal's platform, they designed an innovative three-part research approach:
The power of interconnected studies proved crucial. "The ability to link different research methodologies helped us gather richer insights more efficiently," notes Thornhill. "We could guide participants through a carefully designed research journey, building our understanding at each step."
The results were illuminating. "What really emerged was customers' desire to understand their environmental impact," notes the design team. "They wanted to know not just about charging, but about using energy sustainably and understanding their grid impact."
This insight led to the development of a comprehensive dashboard that went beyond basic functionality. Through multiple rounds of concept testing and moderated interviews using Optimal's Qualitative Insights tool (formerly known as Reframer), they refined the design to meet both customer needs and business objectives.
What started as a simple question about expanding food service options turned into a masterclass in operational research. Z Energy's investigation into hot pie preordering reveals how deeply customer experience and operational excellence are intertwined.
Thornhill explains: "We wanted to understand not just if customers would buy pies, but how we could deliver an exceptional experience while improving the experience of our site staff."
Their approach combined:
Using Optimal's survey capabilities, the team gathered structured feedback after each scenario test, using Likert scales and open-ended questions to build a comprehensive understanding of both operational challenges and opportunities.
The findings uncovered unexpected complexities. Simple tasks like retrieving pies involved navigating multiple security doors and coordinating with various warming stations. This operational insight proved invaluable, leading to process improvements that benefited both staff and customers.
Throughout these initiatives, Z Energy's commitment to evidence-based design transformed how they approached innovation and optimization. Rather than relying on assumptions, decisions were backed by solid findings and customer insights. Thornhill’s user research directly powered operational excellence and revenue growth:
Revenue & Customer Experience
Operational Excellence
Sustainable Innovation
This transformation showcases how deep user understanding drives both business growth and operational efficiency—turning research excellence into measurable success.
"Optimal's platform has given us the confidence that we're working in the right areas," shares Thornhill. "It's about being effective and making decisions based on evidence, not assumptions."
Today, Z Energy continues to leverage their research approach across new initiatives. The research frameworks developed through these projects have become integral to their decision-making process, ensuring that customer needs remain at the heart of every innovation.
The value of maintaining all research within one platform has proven invaluable. "When new team members join or we're exploring similar initiatives, we can quickly access historical insights," explains Thornhill. "This institutional knowledge has become a competitive advantage, helping us make better decisions faster."
Looking ahead, they're focused on:
Through their partnership with Optimal, Z Energy has established themselves as a leader in customer-centric design and innovation, proving that when user research drives decisions, both business and customer benefit.
"The real power of evidence-based research," concludes Thornhill, "is that it gives you the confidence to move forward, knowing your decisions are grounded in real customer needs and operational realities."
