Seriously Transformed
The client: A leading US satellite-radio and online-radio broadcasting company
The challenge: To design a help-center website that provides users with information quickly, thereby reducing the volume of calls and chats the client receives
Our approach: Leverage data to focus the site design on logical navigation, the taxonomy of help articles, and an intuitive user experience so that users’ questions could be answered without having to call in
Insight: Human-centered design not only creates a better user experience, but also aids product profitability
Setting the stage
The client launched its help center in 2008 to provide information on subscriptions, radio signals, billing and more. The radio and streaming giant asked us to reimagine their help-center site to quickly and easily guide customers to answers, thereby reducing the call and chat inflow to their help-center team.
We engaged a global, cross-functional team to provide the design, business-logic and knowledge-management-software expertise to deliver a solution.
We conducted a current state assessment by interviewing key stakeholders to understand the client’s strengths and areas for growth, ran analytics on the cost of incoming calls and chats to see where savings could be made, and conducted a technology assessment.
Our team utilized data sources from multiple customer touchpoints and key stakeholder interviews and then determined areas of improvement for the client’s knowledge management (KM) experience.
Getting the band together
As a global organization with dedicated design and technology groups, the EY team utilized resources throughout our robust network of specialties to provide leading-practice offerings. We formed a cross-functional team with skill sets from the following groups:
- EY Design Studio New York (EYDS NY)
- EY Design Studio Argentina
- EY Business Design
- EY Pegasystems
EYDS NY led the effort with help from our design studio colleagues in Argentina, who provided expertise in user experience and functional web design. Members of the EY Business Design group supported the work with strategy analysis and financial models.
However, the stars of the show were EY digital experience, data platforming and copywriting professionals who worked closely with the client’s call-center resources to understand the current platform and where it could grow.
All the bells and whistles
We reviewed the content, CX, UX and technology of the client’s help center to understand where we could enhance its user experience.
Here is how we did it:
- Current state assessment: Identified listener needs and trends. Aligned key areas of functionality improvement. Provided viewpoint on the current technology stack. Developed comprehensive list of KM enhancements.
- Content and CX assessment: Analyzed customer data from call center, chat, SEO and website sentiment. Categorized data into journey moments. Aligned on topic areas to address.
- UX assessment: Reviewed usability of navigation, landing pages, search articles, and terminology. Determined areas that could be streamlined and organized to provide a clear and fast process for users to find answers to common questions.
- Technology assessment: Analyzed knowledge-management-software capabilities and discovered room to improve on reporting and employee access, editing and reviewing.
The debut
We created a three-part roadmap to define what the client needed to change over specific time horizons. We also identified and executed on foundational recommendations, including:
- A new home page that enhances search capabilities to allow customers to find the content they are looking for, regardless of spelling errors or synonym searches
- Article retagging and a new taxonomy structure that is in line with customer verbiage and search data
- Intuitive visual flows that are eye-catching and provide a logical path for customers to find data
Our takeaways
Leveraging cross-functional teams, we were able to tap into business intelligence, user experience and design, finance, and technology knowledge across the EY organization to create a truly transformed user experience for the client’s satellite-radio and online-radio customers, in addition to significantly reducing help-center costs by lowering call and chat volumes.
