Ongoing Research Program Case Study:
39 Findings in 72 Hours: UX Audit to Reduce Channel-Switching
A Fortune 500 financial services company faced a costly problem: customers were bailing on digital channels at the entry points for 2 products. Marketade led a rapid UX review across 4 channels and delivered actionable findings within 3 days.
Challenge: Customers Abandoning Digital Channels at Product Entry Points
One of our favorite things about ongoing user research programs is the opportunity to periodically work on small, quick-turnaround projects.
One of our longest-running retainer clients is a top U.S. financial services company. A while back, a design leader called us with an urgent request. For 2 of their products, a large number of customers were starting in a digital channel but then calling to ask questions or complete their tasks over the phone.
Furthermore, many of these digital dropoffs were happening at entry points into the digital product flows or other early steps in digital channels. From public website pages to entry pages in the mobile app, customers were bailing before getting a real chance to complete their tasks online.
The metrics made clear that high percentages of customers were switching channels. And since self-service was a big cost-saver for this company, these metrics drew the attention of senior management.
The design leader’s team had an opportunity to make quick improvements to drive more self-service, but it was a small window that was fast approaching. Based on the release schedule, the team needed findings and recommendations within 3 days.
Approach: Lightweight Heuristic UX Review
Most of our projects include some type of qualitative user research. Given the fast turnaround time on this project, we did not have time to recruit and conduct sessions. Our best option was a heuristic review — or what we often call an expert review or UX audit.
We assigned 2 researchers to the project and they jumped into action. Here are the steps we followed:
- On a quick kickoff call, the design leader shared the rough scope. They wanted us to review 4 digital channels that served as entry points for these products; specifically, they wanted us to evaluate copy, flows, and page layouts.
- We gained access to necessary test accounts and captured relevant screenshots from the 4 channels. Somewhere were standalone pages or sections of pages; others were multi-page flows.
- Our 2 researchers independently conducted a heuristic evaluation of the pages and flows. They wrote out problem findings, annotated screenshots to provide more detail, and generated solution recommendations.
- The 2 researchers compared their findings and solution ideas and collaborated to create a document with a single set of findings and recommendations.
- They organized the findings across 4 dimensions: product, channel, flow/section, and page. They also prioritized each finding by assigning a 1-5 score.
Outcome: Just-in-Time Findings & Future Research
We began work on this project on a Wednesday morning. Less than 3 days later, on Friday afternoon, we delivered a report containing:
- Findings: 39 total problem findings — 26 for one of the products, 13 for the other. Nearly every finding included a link to an annotated screenshot.
- Prioritization: 8 high-priority findings (scores of 4 or 5), 9 medium-priority (score of 3), and 13 low-priority (scores of 1 or 2).
- Organization: By channel — 10 mobile app findings, 11 from the public website, 16 from web applications, and 2 across all channels. Additional categorization across 8 unique flows and sections.
- Recommendations: 42 solution recommendations, about 1 per problem.
The design leader was thrilled with the findings and even happier with the quick turnaround that allowed his team to act on the top recommendations.
There was a bigger outcome from this project: by showing how many problems existed just around the entry points for these products, this audit also planted the seeds for additional research. Not long after this project, senior management requested a more comprehensive evaluation of all digital channels for one of these products. With that mixed-methods research project, we expanded beyond entry points and conducted a holistic review of the online and offline customer experience. The result was a major KPI improvement and executive praise.
About the Project
- Industry: Financial Services
- Platforms: Mobile app, web applications, public website
- Audience type: Consumers
- Specific audiences: Customers of 2 products
- Methods: Heuristic (expert) evaluation
- Stakeholder teams: Design; product
- Organization size: Over 20,000 employees
More Case Studies
UX Audit for Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute
The marketing team at this national nonprofit was eager to increase B2B leads for its enterprise training service. With the help of our UX and content audit recommendations, they saw a 100% increase in leads and a 500% lift in hand-raisers.
How Holistic User Research Helped Remove Self-Service Barriers
Facing silos and a “stuck” KPI, a company embraces collaborative research, mixed methods, and rapid experimentation — and turns executive scrutiny into praise.