Target audience

Small business owners (less than 100 employees) who are prospective Verizon customers.

Business Goal

To gain new subscribers by selling 5G internet service in a digital channel.

User Goal

To easily purchase fast and reliable internet service that fits the needs of the business.

Outcome

After a successful launch, sales have continued to grow as the team optimizes the flow.

Requirements gathering and discovery

As we kicked off the project, a flow diagram and wireframes were shared with us by another team of designers who had done some initial definition and discovery work. We spent time gathering requirements from our stakeholders, validating the initial flow, and talking to subject matter experts about the technically detailed process of qualifying for 5G internet service. We also coordinated discovery studies with our UX research team to learn about users’ expectations and needs while shopping for internet service, and looked at existing ordering flow patterns found elsewhere in the Verizon ecosystem along with competitive and analogous experiences.

Discovery study goal

To gather foundational-level information of users’ needs: to learn how they would approach the purchase of 5G internet and how they understood the service’s benefits and limitations.

Key findings

• Whether purchasing traditional internet services or 5G Fixed Wireless Internet, participants searched for value and right fit, not specific technology.
• The speed and reliability of 5G Internet piqued participant interest but some were uncertain about how it could benefit their specific type of business.
• When purchasing internet, most participants preferred a combination of self-service online and speaking with a customer representative.

Experience opportunities and screen design

We used the insights from the discovery research study to guide the design and worked closely with a copy writer to make the content approachable and clear. It was important to illustrate relatable use cases to help users differentiate the plans and choose the best speed for their needs. And due to the strict requirements to qualify for 5G service, we took care to help set expectations and be transparent about the process.

All of the pieces came together as we applied the Verizon Design System to build the screens, reviewed everything with the legal team, and began grooming the user stories with our business and engineering partners.

MVP launch

We had daily grooming sessions with our business and engineering partners to prepare for the launch of the new ordering flow. We helped check the functionality, content, and visual design in the testing environment and tracked bugs and fixes after launch.

MVP usability study

The timeline was really tight for this project, so we conducted a usability study with the launch of the MVP. We got a lot of great feedback and immediately began iterating to improve the experience.

Study goals

To assess if users could complete the 5G ordering flow, determine any friction points and why they occurred, and to uncover any comprehension gaps.

Key findings

• The tone of voice used to outline the 5G requirements made some users feel like the setup process would be tedious
• Users noted that selecting a plan was straightforward, but scrolling horizontally to view the plans within a carousel made it difficult to compare them
• After submitting their cart, users lacked clarity on their upcoming interaction with a customer representative

Eliminating the call to a customer representative

After launching the MVP we began working on automating the full lower funnel in order to cut out the need for a phone call to complete the order. One of the big tasks covered on the call was a more detailed interview with a solutions engineer to confirm the viability of service within the office space.

To prepare for the digitization of the questionnaire, we conducted interviews with technicians to better understand the questions that needed to be asked to customers and why. We then came up with three digital questionnaire concepts to test with users.

Concept study goal

To learn users’ comprehension of the experience and preference of design and placement of the questionnaire.

Key findings

• Users preferred a continuous scroll of all questions so they could see the feedback of their previous answers
• Users preferred the placement of the questionnaire to be in the beginning of the experience to ensure that they wouldn’t spend too much time shopping if their office space was not qualified

Learning and iterating

Since our initial launch in March 2021 and transition to full automation in June of that year, the team has continued to iterate on the design and the technology has continued to evolve. There is now a new 5G internet offering that allows the customer to plug in a router for service that does not require professional installation, alleviating many of the painpoints of the initial offering. Fixed wireless internet is considered one of Verizon’s most promising areas for growth.