Product Pilots: Group Support
Exploring ways to access Weight Watchers guided group support, my product manager and I began a series of pilots using digital tools as an alternative to in person meetings. After our initial research observing user interaction, we ran pilots where a Weight Watchers leader connected with members in 2 different digital mediums.
The first pilot featured the leader in a popular weightwatchers.com community tool for 2 weeks. During scheduled hours she posted answers to members’ motivation and program questions. The second pilot was a small weekly online meeting group consisting of 7 people and the leader for 4 weeks. Each week, a topic was presented along with discussion via Google Hangouts. Members were encouraged to interact with the leader and each other outside of the meeting.
What we learned was encouraging. Users in the community tool were looking for guidance on how to use the plan. About 50% of questions were program related, 40% were tech/website and about 10% food. Participants in the online group meeting attended the hangout all 4 weeks, and nearly half achieved weigh loss at the end. Comments included liking the group communication and the accountability of checking in with the leader. As a result, digital group support was put on the 2015-2016 road map for future development.
