AUTO NAVIGATOR LEADS
SUMMARY
In 2023 the Auto Navigator business began a major push to prioritize connections between consumers and dealers across the experience. Strategically, the business wanted to attract and engage way more customers, connect way more customers to dealers, deliver more high-quality leads to the dealership, and create more choices for connections through a personalized shopping experience.
Delivering on such an open-ended ask allowed the team to think big, understand our customers, and identify key areas of the experience that would facilitate meaningful connections.
With that in mind, the team set out to create a more modern, digital experience that bridged the gap between Auto Navigator customers and the dealership, and bring the product into a new era.
MY ROLE
I was the lead designer on the project involved in all phases from concept to delivery.
SKILLS
Concept Ideation & Sketching
Design Research
Design Strategy
IA & Wireframing
Visual Design
KEY OBJECTIVES
Bridge the gap between the Auto Navigator and dealership experience
Build trust between consumers and dealers
Create a personalized, more modern, digital experience that meets the mental model of today’s consumer
Create an autonomous experience that gives the customer control of their engagement and information sharing
SOLUTION
The team took a human centered approach to the initiative that went through concept ideation, customer research, quick win design updates, feature updates, and A/B testing to reach its final destination; a Message Center experience inside of Auto Navigator.
CONCEPT IDEATION
The first phase of this initiative was all about blue sky concept ideation. Truing back to our key objectives, we thought critically about moments in the experience that could benefit from connecting with the dealer, with a specific focus on chat and messaging. We also considered ways to enhance the current state design to create a more personalized experience that meets customer expectations around visual and functional patterns.
CUSTOMER RESEARCH
SUMMARY
In order to bring our concepts and ideas to life, we first had to talk to customers to better understand the landscape, starting with the basics of communication. We needed to know how people engage with dealerships throughout their car-buying journey, identifying preferences, pain points, struggles, and successes. We also wanted to know how customers generally engage with businesses in the digital space in order to support some of the hypotheses associated with our concepts. Understanding these key areas would ultimately help drive future designs.
SOLUTION
We leveraged our “Always-On” testing platform to run weekly tests throughout the life of the project. For this specific research, we used UserTesting.com to run empathy tests with people who recently purchased a vehicle.
MY ROLE
I collaborated with our Research and Product teams to set up the testing structure and create moderation guides for the interviews
I participated in testing sessions as an observer / note taker, to generate in-depth synthesis for the team
I worked with the team to apply research findings to the overall product and design strategy
THEMES
The car-buying journey is non-linear, and people choose to engage with the dealership when they feel comfortable doing so
Most customers are comfortable sharing minimal amount of contact information, and will share more as the journey progresses
All customers expect communication options, specifically chat, messages, text and phone calls.
NEXT STEPS
How might we update the current experience to facilitate connections
Explore an updated chat/message experience inside of Auto Navigator
HMW get customers to connect at ‘the right moment’
HMW minimize the amount of information shared with dealerships
QUICK WINS
The old Dealer Details component on the Vehicle Detail Page was outdated and needed a couple minor updates in order to be visually consistent with common patterns that exist today. Slight adjustments to the imagery, iconography, function, and color simplified the component in order to drive engagement.
MESSAGE THE DEALER
SUMMARY
We knew that customers want to engage with dealers on their own terms, and that progressively sharing their information was extremely important. The (then current) Check Availability feature did not support adding a message and required customers to share all of their pre-qualification information with the dealer. Check Availability had a negative perception with customers, most feeling it would lead to bombardment from calls, texts and emails for the foreseeable future.
To evolve this experience, we created Message the Dealer. Similar to Check Availability, this feature allowed customers to contact the dealership about a vehicle, though it minimized the amount of information the customer was required to share and allowed them to include a message. The dealer would then reach out to the customer via their preferred method of contact.
MY ROLE
I built and delivered all designs for Message the Dealer
I was involved with usability for the new feature, leveraging our “Always On” testing platform”
While the engineering team built the feature, I was there for Visual QA
Applied learnings from the production A/B test to design strategy and future state work
USABILITY TESTING THEMES
Customers liked providing minimal contact information when reaching out to the dealership
Customers wanted to contact the dealership before going in person
Some customers still prefer to call ahead and talk to dealers
Customers wanted to send messages to the dealer
Message the Dealer was meeting customer expectations
Customers liked the exposed form - more opportunities to engage
PRODUCTION A/B TEST RESULTS:
When the CTA was Message the Dealer:
Modal submission increased by 65%
73% of leads had a message
When the CTA was Check Availability:
Modal submission rate decreased by 26%
48% of leads had a message
Overall results
96% of Message Dealer leads had a message
WHAT WE LEARNED & NEXT STEPS
People love sending messages
Customers want to Check Availability
Messaging doesn’t have to be the star of the show. Customers want a balance between vehicle and dealer information.
The Check Availability experience must evolve to seamlessly incorporate a message feature
MESSAGE CENTER
SUMMARY
The team’s work on the Auto Navigator Leads initiative was beginning to produce tremendous value and meaningful results for our customers and business alike. However, there was still more work to be done. The evolution of Check Availability was just the tip of the iceberg. We knew we could provide our customers even more value inside of Auto Navigator.
Continuing our mission to create a more modern, digital experience that bridged the gap between Auto Navigator customers and the dealership, we began working on Message Center, a fully integrated communication hub for customers to engage with dealerships inside Auto Navigator.
MY ROLE
Collaborated with Product to align Design Strategy and PRD documentation throughout the life of the feature
Created high level Information Architecture that outlined entry points and basic interactions for Message Center MVP
Designed wireframes to drive conversations, alignment, and strategy within the cross-functional team and leadership
Leveraged Message Dealer A/B test results to evolve the Check Availability experience to facilitate Message Center
Delivered designs for MVP Message Center experience
SOLUTION
Leveraging the results of the Message the Dealer production A/B test, the team evolved Check Availability to facilitate a Message Center experience from the Vehicle Details Page. In parallel, we continued pushing the ideation stage of Message Center. The wireframing exercises considered many ideal or future state interactions ultimately allowing us to narrow down as we moved to a realistic MVP state.
RESULTS
The team delivered v1 of Message Center in Q3 of 2024, and the feature is being released sometime in Q4.
