Membership dashboard
Needs
Increase member awareness about the benefits included with their annual dues payment with conscientious consideration to system limitations, a tight deadline and our relationship with an outside team of developers.
Research
A UX researcher and I interviewed customer service reps to get a sense of member frustrations. We reviewed customer feedback forms to further that understanding. After also speaking directly to current customers to see what pain points they encountered, we reported our findings to the IT team. Members were usually aware of a few of their benefits, but they were surprised to learn there were many they hadn’t redeemed in past years. It was difficult for them to remember every item they were entitled to, even with email reminders. They wanted a regular reminder that wasn’t intrusive or annoying.
Collaboration
& Feasibility
The UX team agreed that personalized indicators within the customers’ website shopping experience would be the best solution. However, the current system’s restraints, the outlined budget allocated and a looming deadline deemed that idea unattainable. After further consideration and continued research, I drew a rough outline of a dashboard solution. As the team and I continued to walk through how it would function, it became clear that this option would work for the immediate need and was something that could be built and later expanded upon to be a more robust solution.
Design
& Prototypes
I first started with white board sketches, reviewing what each benefit box—we called them tiles—would contain. Many of the tiles would hold different information to make it as helpful to the user as possible. Then I created wireframes to walk the Leadership Team and other stakeholders through the solution. Then, after approval, I created a more detailed mock-up for IT to present to the development partner, as they continued to work through what was possible within the time frame available.
Struggles
After the mock-ups were sent to the outside developers, tough decisions had to be made as to the location of the dashboard solution. The dashboard couldn’t be become an interactive part of the transactional journey as we’d hoped; it had to be built on a customer account page instead. Also, many of the tiles could not be built with the full functionality requested. These setbacks have made the dashboard much harder for the users to find. The UX team was concerned about the effectiveness of the solution and we continued to advocate for the users.
Result
The dashboard has become a central location that our emails and other communication avenues can direct members to so they can check benefit availability. This has made it easier to guide members through all their benefits so they know the real value of their membership and they are more likely to renew.