Research project:
Part Payments
Summary
NetOnNet had interest in raising the amount of part payments, but didn’t know a whole lot about their customer’s attitudes and experiences of this kind of payment method. And that’s how this research project was initiated.
The methods
A total of 7 interviews was held with interviewees that represented our main target group. The requirement was that each interviewee had to have started a part payment within the last year.
The interviews was conducted an semi-structured manner, because of the advantages it gives you to have both structure and some leeway for adding and/or changing questions based on how the conversation is developing. Each interview lasted for about 30-60 minutes.
By using thematic analysis, the data was then analyzed, sorted and summarised into visual representaions that could be shared within the whole organisation.
The problem
Stakeholders in the organization began to understand that the best way to increase part payments, was to ask the UX-team to conduct qualitative research in order to understand how to to lower the customers’ threshold to make a decision about choosing part payment as their payment method.
The outcome
1) All of the insights presented in visual models that represented customers’ mental models of part payments.
2) A few changes to the already existent customer journey map to help the organisation grasp where the largest pain points are.
2) A list of intiatives that UX recommended we tackle in order to make the part payment user experience better.
The process
1. Planning & strategy
First, to make sure we were on the same wavelength as the client about deliverables and scope of the research project, we started by filling in a matrix together (it’s the blue/green one).
Before the project had even started, the client had thankfully made a customer journey map which enabled us discuss what the client themselves hypothized was the biggest pain points. While the project went on, we got new insights. and the customer journey map was gradually refined and improved.
2. Define target group
No one within the organisation knew a whole lot about the target group when we started, so we barely had an obvious proto persona to begin with. What we did know was that part payments are usually made when products cost at least a couple of thousand SEK. We therefore decided to only recruite people who’d made a part payment during the last 12 months on NetOnNet.
3. Prepare interviews
Description: The interviews was prepared in a few steps:
a) Defining what questions we wanted answered
b) Brainstorming questions
c) Sorting questions into groups and themes
d) Adding any themes or questions that are missing
e) Doing a pilot test on a colleague outside of the UX team
f) Make final adjustments to the script
Over arching questions we wanted answered was (for example):
Why did the customers decide to make a part payment?
What factors plays a part in the decision?
Are there any common themes or denominators that arises when customers talks about part payments?
What are the customer’s attitude towards part payments?
4. Conduct interviews.
Number of interviews: 7
Length: 30-45 min
Type: Remote
Technique: Semi-structured
Target group: Have chosen part payment as payment method within the last year
5. Data anlysis.
Method: Transcription, thematic analysis
By transcribing the interviews allowed for breaking up each sentence into their smallest chunk of data, and writing each piece of information on a post it-note. This is where the thematic analysis began, starting with grouping the post it’s into overarching groups, finding common denominators and themes, until we could no longer find any new sub groups of information.
6. Gather and visualize insights
This step included 4 steps:
a) Connecting themes from the analysis into actual insights, for example:
Trust is influenced by:
1) Information tranparency
2) Clarity
3) Information availability
4) The sellers reputation/reviews
5) An unbiased and fair payee
Economical safety is influenced by:
1 The will to be debt free
2) How much of an overview the customer have over their economy
3) Being able to plan the own economy freely
4) Economical freedom of choice
5) Feeling in control over current/upcoming expenses
b) Making visual models of what matters to the customer when making the decision
c) Insights about what NetOnNet can do to help/nudge the customer
d) Why customers make part payments, and why they don’t.
7. Define future project areas and intiatives
One important insight was there was a large pit fall in between the purchase on NetOnNet and the day that the first invoice from Resurs arrived. Thanks to the customer journey map & the research we made, we identified possible ways to bridge this gap.
Other proposed initiatives were based on the 10 factors that influence the customers’ trust and economical safety, however I can’t go into great detail about that here because of confidentiality reasons.
.
Click the picture to expand.
Above: A part of the thematic analysis, but blurred because of confidentiality reasons.
