EXPERIMENT 1

Website Visitor Segment Selector

I led the design strategy process and experimentation to help tax professionals identify, learn about and select the right Intuit product for their firm, increasing their confidence while shopping and saving them valuable time.

SITUATION

Online sales of value-priced products declined steadily over the previous five years. Customers weren't able to find the right information on the website. Many were calling sales representatives multiple times with basic questions.

GOALS

Equip prospective customers with the right information at the right time to accelerate purchase decision and transact online without needing to call sales.

Increase online purchase rates of low-volume, value-priced software by 20%, allowing sales representatives to focus on building relationships with larger firms.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

I am
a tax preparer shopping for the best software for me and my firm.

I am trying to
evaluate whether or not ProConnect Tax is the best product for my firm’s unique needs.

But
I am not able to quickly understand the full value of ProConnect Tax and how to use it

Because
there is a lack of information and guidance upon signing up for the first time.

I feel
confused and unsure that ProConnect Tax is what my firm needs.

ASSUMPTIONS

Prospective customers are confused by too many product choices and price points.

Prospects can't easily differentiate products in our portfolio.

HYPOTHESIS

If website visitors tell us two important details about their firm, we can quickly provide a product recommendation to boost their confidence about what's right for them without calling sales, and drive a 20% increase in online purchases

OUR PROCESS

We began by evaluating our current first-time use experience against competitive software, then we looked outside the professional tax industry to other B2B and B2C onboarding flows. We also explored how native mobile applications and console games leveraged hints and tips, tutorials, and explicit instructions to help users and gamers familiarize themselves with the nuances of each experience.

Once the team aligned on strategies to test, I led the research effort from start to finish. I identified and scheduled tax professionals, designed and developed several prototypes, and ran the in-person and remote experiments. We were eager to hear from two different prospect pools to uncover additional insights: pros who had never used the software before, plus from those who tried it in the past, but had not signed up and logged in within a year.

Segment selector experience A

Segment selector experience B

Recommendation page provocations

Product details page

OUTCOMES

Throughout the experiment, we learned pros were happy to identify themselves in exchange for a faster, focused shopping experience. Most preferred the single-click grid interaction model for it's clarity and simplicity over the form-based input method. And the new product details page answered nearly every question they had prior to purchase.

We launched the enhancements in two phases: product details pages first to reduce shopper confusion and call volume to sales; followed by introducing the segment selector second to increase confidence while shopping and speed to purchase decision.

PRODUCT DETAIL PAGE RESULTS

+84%

Online conversion rate increase when shoppers visited a new product detail page

SEGMENT SELECTOR INITIAL RESULTS

+1440%

Online conversion rate increase when shoppers engaged with the segment selector and received a product recommendation

Special thanks to Amber Zable, the talented Group Marketing Manager and my partner on this work, for her deep commitment to customer obsession and driving multiple workstreams to increase online sales.

EXPERIMENT 2

Professional Tax Software Onboarding

I led the design strategy process and experimentation to help tax professionals more effectively evaluate ProConnect Tax, Intuit’s cloud-based professional tax product.

SITUATION

Marketing efforts to drive customer leads and software trials were working. But potential customers trying ProConnect Tax for the first time were struggling to grasp the unique qualities of the software and how it compared to competitive tools. So we prioritized a plan to improve the product trial experience to increase the conversion rate.

GOALS

Answer key shopper questions within the trial experience, reducing sales and technical support calls from non-customers by 10%.

100% of shoppers engage with at least one learning action, a proven leading indicator toward purchase.

Increase the try-to-buy rate by 50%.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

I am
an accounting and tax professional in-charge of researching professional tax preparation software.

I am trying to
evaluate whether or not ProConnect Tax is the best product for my firm’s unique needs.

But
I am not able to quickly understand the full value of ProConnect Tax and how to use it

Because
there is a lack of information and guidance upon signing up for the first time.

I feel
confused and unsure that ProConnect Tax is what my firm needs.

IDEAL STATE

In a perfect world
using ProConnect Tax for the first time is a simple and delightful experience, tailored to my firm’s unique needs.

The biggest benefit to me is
I clearly understand how it will work best for me and my firm.

Which makes me feel
excited and confident I’ve found the right product and I’m ready to take the next step toward buying it.

ASSUMPTIONS

Professionals see tax software like cars, they know how to drive but each car is a little different. They just want to see how ProConnect Tax is different than their current software.

Accountants want to be guided through the software the first time they use it.

HYPOTHESIS

By providing the right guided experience for first-time users of ProConnect Tax, we can increase shopper understanding and confidence, and improve conversion rates by 50%.

OUR PROCESS

We began by evaluating our current first-time use experience against competitive software, then we looked outside the professional tax industry to other B2B and B2C onboarding flows. We also explored how native mobile applications and console games leveraged hints and tips, tutorials, and explicit instructions to help users and gamers familiarize themselves with the nuances of each experience.

Once the team aligned on strategies to test, I led the research effort from start to finish. I identified and scheduled tax professionals, designed and developed several prototypes, and ran the in-person and remote experiments. We were eager to hear from two different prospect pools to uncover additional insights: pros who had never used the software before, plus from those who tried it in the past, but had not signed up and logged in within a year.

Prototypes to collect customer feedback

Welcome screen experience informed by experimentation feedback and learning

Product onboarding video carousel highlighting key product differentiators

OUTCOMES

We learned so many great lessons on this project. While we assumed pros just wanted to “test drive” the software, how they wanted to learn about ProConnect Tax varied. Some wanted to watch one or more training videos before starting a return. Others liked the helpful tool tips where the product was different from the tools they currently used. A few didn’t want any help at all. And absolutely no one liked the idea of a tour guide.

Special thanks to Faiz Zuberi and Aladrian Goods for their great work during months of experimentation and design implementation. It was a joy to work closely with potential customers to hear their thoughts and feelings, and watch their behavior as they examined our ideas. Their feedback and input was instrumental in shaping important improvements for all professionals trying to decide if ProConnect Tax was the best choice for their firm.