JUNE 2021
PAYMENT PLAN USER TESTING
Company: GEICO
Timeframe: 1 week
Role: Sole researcher
Stakeholders: Countrywide Sales, Customer Experience Vertical, Pricing and Product Management
Method: Unmoderated Interviews, A/B Testing
Tools: UserTesting, Venngage
OVERVIEW
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
During the process of purchasing an auto insurance policy online, customers have the option to select from various payment plans. Depending on the plan chosen, the customer could incur installment fees to process the payments. Customer service departments observed frequent inquiries related to these fees and general payment plan confusion following policy purchase.
PROBLEM
Upon reviewing the current auto quote process, the Customer Experience Vertical and Countrywide Sales teams observed a potentially confusing payment plan screen. They hypothesized that a more clear and informative layout could reduce customer confusion and, consequently, the number of service calls following policy purchase.
After discussing the project with a colleague, I offered to test a new design against the existing layout in my spare time.
APPROACH
OBJECTIVEs
Evaluate current and proposed digital displays to understand what components cause confusion for customers as they read through the page
Allow users to compare each display and provide insights as to what might be missing from the proposed display, if anything
Verify that the new process addresses real user problems and provides a solution that encourages users to complete their transaction without intervention
QUESTIONS
Do users prefer the current or proposed installment fee view?
Which layout results in the least customer confusion?
Which layout creates a more confidence-inspiring customer journey?
Which layout allows participants to more quickly find the payment plan option that best fits their particular needs?
PROCESS
usertesting interviews
Participant Criteria
To easily find eligible participants, I screened participants through UserTesting.com using the following criteria:
Currently insured with GEICO for their auto insurance
Primarily responsible for managing their policy
I also divided participants into two income groups to understand whether their opinions were affected by income level:
Group 1: 0 - 60,000 USD per year
Group 2: 61,000+ USD per year
Test details
Using an unmoderated test structure, each participant was first shown the current layout and prompted to review and share their thoughts. Then, they were shown the proposed layout and asked to do the same. Lastly, participants were asked to explain which layout they prefer and which payment plan they would choose. On average, participants spent about 10 minutes on the test.
outcome
findings
Of the 10 participants, all preferred the proposed installment fee design, noting that they appreciated the level of detail in the proposed layout and the transparency of total costs.
Additionally, they validated that the fees were easier to understand on the new design and stated that they would likely choose to pay in full if presented with the proposed design.
I distributed and presented findings through a Venngage visual aid to help guide the page design and emphasize which components were most useful to each layout.
IMPACT
Following my research presentation, stakeholders agreed that the proposed layout would provide a more seamless and transparent customer experience than the existing layout.
Due to shifting strategies, the exact proposed layout was not implemented. However, the takeaways resonated with stakeholders and influenced a spinoff project that occured in the following months. This project resulted in the reduction of payment plan options to promote personalization and transparency while reducing choice overload.
reflection
What I’d Change:
Collaborate with development teams at the beginning of the process to understand system constraints
Remove potential bias by adjusting proposed design payment amount to match the current layout
Test mobile view in addition to desktop view
What went well:
Rapid user insights that allowed stakeholders to refocus on the strategy and implementation
Clear preference for the proposed display validated the initial hypothesis