THE TEAM

In our project, I lead as the Principal UI and UX Designer, fully integrated with an agile Scrum Development team for streamlined collaboration and rapid design iteration. Our team is further supported by two content strategists and one UX strategist, all contributing on a part-time basis. The content strategists enhance the project with their expertise in messaging and information architecture, ensuring our designs are both engaging and communicative. The part-time UX strategist's role is vital in guiding our overall user experience strategy, aligning our design efforts with the broader business objectives and user needs. This diverse team setup allows for a multifaceted approach to our projects, driving efficiency and high-quality outcomes.

 

THE CHALLENGE: NOTHING STAYS THE SAME

The challenge we faced was significant: navigating the dynamic and often unpredictable changes in our customers' lives, such as career transitions, marriages, home purchases, and growing families. In the fast-paced world of consumer finance, failing to adapt to these shifts can lead to customers feeling disconnected from their financial products, potentially leading to the cancellation of their accounts.

Our mission was to proactively address this by enhancing the customer experience. We aimed to do this by simplifying and enriching the process of accessing card upgrades and credit line increases, thereby aligning our services more closely with the evolving needs and aspirations of our customers. This task was not just about responding to changes, but about anticipating and leading the way in offering relevant, personalized financial solutions.

 
 

THE APPROACH: ACTIVATING FEEDBACK LOOPS

Before implementing new solutions, we needed to first explore why existing customers weren’t taking advantage of upgrade offers already on the table. This meant interviewing phone agents, analyzing call logs, and conducting empathy interviews to identify customer insights and attitudes toward upgrades.

We then created a mission statement to stay in sync with customer perspectives—and staged frequent customer checkpoints to ensure we fully addressed each concern. Once our conscience was clear in terms of true customer service, we worked with an engineering team to take our local web environment through code production.

 

THE INSIGHTS: CHOICE IS THE BEST REWARD

One of the key insights under my guidance was recognizing the value of choice in customer satisfaction. I directed the team to rethink our approach to card upgrades, emphasizing the importance of offering a sense of freedom and personalization. This meant moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach to providing options that catered to individual customer preferences and lifestyles.

 
“Wait? Are you telling me that I don’t get a choice now? It feels such an obvious need that I should be able to choose the card I want. I am glad you recommend the best card that helps me, but i better damn well be able to choose it amongst a crowd.”
— Customer
 
 

THE ACTION: LET CUSTOMERS DRIVE

Under my leadership, we developed a user-friendly interface that transformed the upgrade process. My vision was to create an experience that empowered customers, making them feel that they were making an informed, voluntary decision rather than undergoing a mandatory process. This interface was designed to be intuitive, welcoming, and reflective of the diverse needs of our customer base.

 

THE RESULT: QUICK WINS

The implementation of this strategy, driven by my leadership, yielded significant results. We saw a 15% increase in card upgrades and an 8-point improvement in Net Promoter Scores related to card services. Additionally, feedback from our call center agents, which I regularly reviewed, indicated a marked increase in customer satisfaction. These results not only affirmed the effectiveness of our customer-centric approach but also highlighted my ability to lead the team towards achieving significant business goals, enhancing Capital One's market position while solidifying customer trust and loyalty.

To comply with non-disclosure agreements and client confidentiality, some information in these case studies are modified or omitted.

“Tommy has been a great help in designing our new Card Upgrades experience. He is extremely creative and passionate about getting a great end product out the door for the user. Tommy did a great job of leading a group; I think one of his key strengths is relating to people well in person. Tommy thinks very big picture in terms of design and isn’t afraid to push the envelope beyond what is strictly necessary. He is up for a challenge to the status quo and voices his opinions very clearly. I was impressed with his willingness to go through multiple iterations of minor tweaks patiently and fully think through any customer reaction.”
— Rachel R, Product Manager
“I’ve gotten the chance to work with Tommy on Card Upgrade over the past few months, and simply put, I couldn’t have asked for someone better to work with. It’s been an absolute pleasure for me. Tommy excels at fostering collaboration and innovation. This was evident early on when he ran a week-long design sprint. Everything was meticulously planned to optimize our time together as a product, design and brand team, but it was organized in such a way as to not stunt creativity and discussion, bur rather promote them. This design sprint also had a huge impact on the project. As a collective team, we were able to come to agreements on and a plan for an MVP while identifying and pushing for more even more customer-friendly features that we plan to pursue down the road.

I don’t think this product would be in as good of shape, as impactful and resonating to customers, with as quick a turnaround if Tommy wasn’t spearheading the design effort. And his embracing of Content Strategy, being content-first, and belief in our pillars (natural language; contextually relevant; use-case specific) has made him an ideal partner for me and (I’m sure) any of my teammates.”
— Raj S, Content Strategist