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Problem:

Primerica’s client portal struggled with low user satisfaction and a high volume of support tickets. Users found the interface unintuitive, workflows inefficient, and critical features hard to access. These challenges resulted in a subpar user experience and decreased agent productivity.

Research Goals

1. Improve user satisfaction metrics by addressing usability pain points.

2. Reduce support ticket volumes by streamlining workflows and enhancing self-service tools.

3. Empower agents and clients with an intuitive portal experience that aligns with business objectives.

Process

1. Stakeholder Alignment

   • Engaged key stakeholders to define measurable objectives, focusing on improving satisfaction scores and reducing support dependency.

2. Research Planning

   • Established clear research objectives and framed key questions around usability and user behavior.

   • Chose moderated and unmoderated usability testing, surveys, and feedback loops as primary methods.

3. Participant Recruitment

   • Collaborated with internal teams to recruit a diverse sample of users, including clients and agents, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of user needs.

4. Data Collection

   • Usability Testing: Conducted moderated sessions to observe navigation and workflow efficiency in real time.

   • Surveys: Distributed surveys to capture user preferences, pain points, and satisfaction levels.

   • Unmoderated Testing: Utilized remote tools to gather insights on user interactions in their natural environments.

5. Data Synthesis

   • Analyzed qualitative data using affinity mapping to identify themes in user challenges.

   • Created user personas and journey maps to visualize key touchpoints and areas for improvement.

6. Design Collaboration

   • Partnered with designers to develop prototypes addressing navigation and workflow issues.

   • Iteratively tested prototypes with users to refine designs and improve usability.

7. Development Handoff and QA

   • Coordinated with development teams to ensure research findings were implemented effectively.

   • Conducted QA testing and accessibility audits to confirm compliance with WCAG standards.

8. Post-Launch Monitoring

   • Used analytics tools to track engagement and satisfaction metrics.

   • Gathered ongoing user feedback to inform future improvements.

Findings

1. Cumbersome Navigation

   • Users found the navigation overly complex, with critical features buried deep within menus. Additionally, the platform lacked essential features, requiring users to spend extra time searching for tools or information.

2. Complex or Missing Workflows

   • Workflows for key account management tasks, such as updating banking information or changing beneficiaries, were either missing or overly complicated. This led to frequent user frustration and an increase in support calls.

3. Lack of Resources

   • The platform lacked adequate resources, such as FAQs, tooltips, or guides, leaving users uncertain about how to complete tasks independently. As a result, users frequently contacted agents for support with even simple tasks.

4. Limited Access to Financial Products

   • Users expressed dissatisfaction with the inability to view or manage all their financial products within a single, unified platform. This limitation caused inefficiencies and hindered overall usability.

5. Overreliance on Phone Support

   • In the absence of self-service tools or integrated messaging features, users relied heavily on phone calls to agents for resolving issues. This overreliance added to agent workloads and negatively impacted user satisfaction.

Recommendations

1. Link Client Products Seamlessly

   • Create a unified system that integrates all client financial products under a single access point, enabling users to view and manage their accounts effortlessly.

2. Streamline Client Onboarding

   • Redesign the onboarding process to improve clarity and reduce time, ensuring new users can quickly familiarize themselves with the portal's features and tools.

3. Simplify Navigation

   • Introduce an intuitive menu structure with prominent CTAs for frequently used features, such as account summaries and payments.

4. Enhance Workflows

   • Redesign workflows for common tasks, including changing beneficiaries, updating banking information, and making payments. Streamline these processes by reducing unnecessary steps, providing guided instructions, and ensuring users can complete tasks efficiently without technical hurdles.

5. Strengthen Self-Service Tools

   • Add in-app tooltips, FAQs, and a help center to address common user queries and reduce reliance on support teams.

6. Integrated Messaging System

   • Enable clients to message their assigned agent directly through the portal, fostering seamless communication and faster resolution of inquiries. This feature ensures a personalized support experience while enhancing overall user satisfaction.

Impact

• User Satisfaction: Scores increased by 70%.

• Support Ticket Reduction: Call volumes dropped by 50%, reducing strain on customer service.

• Agent Productivity: Improved by 25%, with faster task completion times.

• Portal Engagement: Grew by 60%, reflecting better usability and feature discoverability.

• Onboarding: Client onboarding time reduced by 40%, ensuring a smoother transition into the platform.