A new way to recommend a local, service-based business in your neighborhood.
My Role:
Strategy & Research
Product Design
Marketing
Stage:
Scaleup
Sector:
Technology & Software
Social Media & Online Communities
Local Networking
Community Engagement
Local Business & Services Discovery
Advertising
The Problem:
How do we help Nextdoor users make more informed decisions when selecting local service providers by leveraging location data and visit patterns to build trust?
The Solution:
Create a seamless GPS integration within the Nextdoor platform that visualizes service provider visit history and availability, establishing correlations between recommendation quantity, visit frequency, and current proximity to neighborhoods.
Key Components:
Evidence-Based User Research – Collaborated with product stakeholders to create, deploy, and analyze user behavior trends related to how localized service providers are selected within neighborhoods.
User Story Development – Created comprehensive user stories from both end-user and platform manager perspectives, categorizing them into behavior patterns and ranking MVP needs.
Correlation Hypothesis Testing – Explored and validated the relationship between provider recommendations, neighborhood visit frequency, and current proximity as key trust indicators.
Minimally Invasive UI Integration – Designed thoughtful additions to Nextdoor's existing interface that added valuable location data without disrupting the familiar user experience.
Multi-Faceted Feature Development – Built three distinct components to enhance the service provider selection process:
'Neighbors Served' Indicator displayed alongside the recommendation count
Service History Section on the provider's landing page showing visit patterns
Availability Screen showing projected provider visits to the neighborhood
Integration Prototype
Minimal Integration
Test Parameters
The work behind the work.
User Research
User Stories
Historical and projected provider route (code-named “Publish Local”)
The Results:
Data-Driven Decision Making – Enabled users to make more informed choices about service providers based on tangible location history and availability.
Enhanced Trust Metrics – Successfully created new visual indicators that leverage location data to complement traditional recommendation systems.
Seamless Platform Integration – Developed features that enhanced functionality while respecting Nextdoor's existing UI patterns and user expectations.
Validated Correlation Model – Confirmed the relationship between visit frequency, recommendation quantity, and availability through three separate test phases.
Cross-Company Collaboration – Established a successful integration partnership between Nextdoor and Verizon Location Services, creating a model for future location-based features.