Clarence Health

Clarence Health is a conversation-based digital ally that reduces the complexities of daily living, supports individualized care plans and extends clinical, family and caretaker efforts.

Through qualitative interviews with potential members and caregivers, we focused on four key research areas, including:

Understanding the desired balance between healthcare and non-healthcare features.

Understanding how to drive long-term engagement.

Defining the dual needs of members and caregivers.

Inspiring a future vision for Clarence.

Uncovering the needs—now and in the future

To design a product members would love to adopt, Clarence Health needed to understand their members’ evolving needs in healthcare and the complexities of their daily lives. Through 30 in-person interviews and usability sessions, we explored what life looks like for this population today, how it’s changed over the years, and how it may continue to change.

These insights enabled Clarence to strategically position their product within the daily lives of members—identifying high-impact touchpoints and delivering meaningful value while minimizing friction.

Identifying usability friction and mental models shaped by tech experiences

We tested early versions of the Clarence mobile app—designed for voice interaction— to identify common usability pitfalls. While some learnings were universal, others were shaped by the adults’ familiarity with existing voice assistant tools.

By understanding these mental models, Clarence can design with familiarity in mind or offer users additional support, reducing the friction of first-time use.

Understanding caregiver needs and when to engage

With caregivers, we explored pain points across the caregiving journey. We learned that by the time a caregiver steps in, the needs of the potential member are often acute, making the introduction of a new tool more difficult.

This shined a light on the need for the product to become part of a member’s daily routine.

Clarifying the path to adoption and ongoing engagement

Our research showed that adoption wasn’t just about features. It was about timing and trust. We uncovered key drivers that would influence willingness to adopt and helped lay the groundwork for refinements to messaging, onboarding, and positioning strategies that would resonate with both members and caregivers.

ZoCo identified key personas most likely to engage with Clarence Health, along with the features that would resonate with them.

ZoCo helped shape a future-facing product strategy built on empathy and clarity.

Clarence has a confident path forward, grounded in deep insights from the people they serve. By gaining additional understanding of the needs of two distinct audiences, they’re positioned to grow a product that not only drives measurable improvements in health outcomes but also resonates from day one. With strategy shaped by real human perspectives, they’re ready to further spark adoption, communicate meaningful value, and foster long-term engagement—ultimately supporting a member’s well-being across their experience of aging and managing chronic conditions.

ZoCo has developed a stellar reputation over the years and it is well earned. When I first engaged with their team, my company had a pretty good sense of where our services were headed, but we were looking for an independent, third-party view of our services that was centered on future members. In addition, we were looking to develop a better understanding of what alterations to our current product roadmap may accelerate our journey. The project was an exceptional blend of well structured feedback from potential members as well as helpful guidance in understanding what matters the most to this group of adults.

Andy Lozier, Founder & CEO

Designing for the future of chronic condition management or aging? Clarence is already there. Learn more here.

What we delivered to Clarence Health:

Generative User Research

Strategic Recommendations

Concept Testing

Ideation & Strategy Workshop

Proto-personas

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