Zumper Translator: Product Proposal Case Study
By Anthony Milne
Case Study Contents:
- Problem Space
- Solution: Zumper Translator
- High Fidelity Wireframes
- Feature Benefits
- Conclusion
Problem Space:
Research
Online apartment listing site that connects landlords with high-quality potential tenants.
Zumper’s mission is to make renting an apartment:
- “As easy as booking a hotel”
- “The Airbnb for one-year leasing”
- “A one-stop-shop”
Zumper’s Community Values: Inclusive, Safe, Respectful
Listings are organized by neighborhood, which can be searched by map or curated newsfeed. Renters fill out financial profiles to attach to their inquiries directly to brokers, property managers, and landlords through the website and app.
- In 2019, 67 million people used Zumper to find, list, or rent properties in the U.S. and Canada. The CEO, Anthemos Georgiades, expects that number to climb to 80 million this year, stating that the company helps advertise more than 1 million listings a month.
- Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, online video tours are up 300%. Renters are interested in novel ways to reduce or even eliminate personal contact anytime during the rental process.
In my research about the problem space, I gained a stronger understanding of the Renter’s journey and opportunities for improvement. I found potential variability in the renter’s experience understanding and navigating the rental application, credit score, and documentation process. I decided to continue investigating factors that could influence renter’s satisfaction with Zumper in the application, credit, and documentation process.
Factors influencing renter’s satisfaction during the rental process:
- Understanding of credit scores, lease contracts, and other legal documents
- Cultural or language barriers
- Simplicity and brevity of application process
Research Data & Statistics
Zumper’s current primary target users are Millennials.
- 23.4% of US citizens are between the ages of 18 and 34 (Millenials)
- 24.6% of US citizens speak a language other than English at home
Zumper’s target users are Millennials, and an increasing number of Millennials in the US do not speak English as the primary lanaguage in their home
Based on Zumper’s 2020 migration report, the two most popular outbound cities are:
- Los Angeles, accumulating 8.6% of all searches
- New York City, accumulating 8.5% of all searches
76.4% of citizens in Los Angeles and 58.1% of citizens in New York City are Millennials.
Approximately 1 in 5 households in the US do not speak English at home.
Competitive Analysis and Differentiation
Zillow, Airbnb, and Craigslist are three primary competitors to Zumper. Zillow is the largest online real estate website. Their primary focus is real estate not renting, but they are beginning to expand their rental area. Airbnb deals with more vacation-style, short term rentals, and they do not have a prominent long rental function. Craigslist is a website that also represents goods and services, but its rental features are not popular in New York City and Los Angeles markets. It also does not handle credit reports or rental contracts. None of these platforms focus specifically and exclusively on the renter and the landlord, nor do they offer the end-to-end rental capabilities of Zumper. Zumper differentiates itself as it:
- Helps people in all steps of the renting process, making it a true “end-to-end” marketplace and a “one-stop rental site.”
- Offers renters the ability to find, apply for, and then book an apartment. Renters can also digitally pay their rent to their landlord.
- Helps small landlords and multifamily properties with things like finding tenants, marketing, and collecting rent.
The Problem
Because 90% of Zumper users find Zumper organically, increasing the ability to find and retain users is paramount. Companies are in a race to find and represent current renters and grow their user base. Zumper wants to access more potential renters to their sites and offer more differentiated services that maintain the company's mission of one-stop rental shopping.
Non-English speakers and immigrants also face unique hurdles in accessing credit due to the limited information available in their primary language.
Zumper’s target user base are Millennials, and an increasing number of Millennials do not speak English as their primary language at home. In keeping with Zumper’s community values, I have decided to continue to investigate how to increase inclusivity for ESL (English as a Second Language) users during the rental process.
How might we increase Zumper’s diversity of renters by overcoming lanague barriers?
Evaluating Potential Solutions
- Bring or supply an external translator to walk users through the listings and application process.
- Users access secondary, online translator applications.
- Integrate translation features into Zumper to provide users with a translated copy of the application and legal documentation.
Solution 1 is not feasible for the large user base of Zumper and requires more employees. Solution 2 includes applications like Google Translate and browser translator extensions, which are often unreliable in providing an accurate, nuanced translation. Therefore, Solution 3 was further investigated.
Solution: Zumper Translator
Zumper Translator automatically translates listing data, contracts, leasing agreements, and credit check information into other languages, such as Spanish or Chinese. This unique feature will ease the difficulty of a language barrier in markets where Zumper currently has a strong foothold.
Users can indicate their preferred language, which will translate Zumper’s website and provide a copy of the renter's Credit Score, Rental Application, and leasing contract translated into their preferred language.
Additionally, it will aid smaller Landlords with language barrier issues and help make their properties more attractive to a broader pool of renters. It will also quicken the transaction as the ESL (English as a Second Language) user will not need to find outside translation services on contracts, etc. Finally, Zumper Translator complements Zumper’s current ability to gain users organically and opens up services to a broader, more diverse population. This feature also allows Zumper to level the playing field for ESL users
I decided to design my feature for a desktop because 74% of renters are utilizing their desktop to search for an apartment.
Low Fidelity Drawing Mock-Ups
High Fidelity Wireframes
Provide renters with an extra copy of their Rental Application and Credit Score if they indicate a preferred, native language in the Rental Application modal. This makes the application and documentation much more accessible and intuitive for non-native English speaking users.
- Information describing what occurs when users indicate a language preference. The blue color, text, and design is consistent with other description boxes in other Rental Application sections.
- Call-to-action to add a preferred language.
- Textbox to input preferred language.
4. Suggested languages that are available in Zumper Translator.
5. Added Lanague Preference option in account dropdown for quick access to Account Settings.
6. Directs the user to About Me in Account Settings. The description of the Preferred Language translation feature is provided.
7. User changes preferred language to Spanish.
8. Zumper’s homepage is automatically translated to the preferred language and will now provide copies of the credit report, rental application, lease contracts, and other legal documentation in Spanish.
Feature Benefits
Brand Differentiation/ Perception
Users will have more trust in and respect for Zumper if they are able to review content in their native language. Zumper’s willingness to translate this content demonstrates to the user that they are valued despite the language barrier. This feature sets Zumper apart from the competition and sets a standard for quality and inclusive services that competitors will have to match.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Boost
Better optimization of search engines as they provide localized results in a different language. This ability may rank Zumper higher in the search engine if Zumper provides a version of the content in the search user’s native language. The translated content is full of SEO-rich keywords that help users find Zumper when they are searching in their preferred language.
Increased User Acquisition
ESL users will understand the content more clearly and are more likely to use a website that is simple for them to understand. Additionally, it saves the renter and the landlord time if contracts and credit checks are also translated. This removes the delay needed by ESL renters to find a translator to understand what they are committing to. Using translation features also removes another barrier of use, thereby opening up Zumper services to more potential users. Word of mouth between the ESL community should also drive traffic.
Conclusion
A translation feature on Zumper’s website adds an additional way to connect with new users and continue to be a “one-stop-shop” for all renters and landlords. The ESL user gains trust in Zumper and feels valued, and ESL users understand the content better, so they can have more efficient and effective transactions. This feature also assists landlords and marketing professionals who rent to ESL tenants. Additionally, an SEO boost in the native language search may increase traffic to the site. Finally, no other rental companies are offering this service, further differentiating Zumper. Zumper is able to level the playing field for ESL users and opens up its services to a broader more diverse population. Moving forward, I would like to validate my assumptions and designs with user-research and testing.
