MyState Limited (MYS), a non-operating holding Company, is a diversified financial services group listed on the ASX and provides a broad range of financial services through two wholly-owned subsidiaries, MyState Financial (MSF), an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) and Tasmanian Perpetual Trustees (TPT), a trustee and wealth management company.

Headquartered in Tasmania, its diverse business operations cover:

• Banking Services
• Trustee Services
• Wealth Management

The research

As part of the MyState evolution the business needed to improve the online banking and transaction channel MyState.com.au. Additional View had been consulting with MyState for a period of time to optimise the online channel conversion process by applying our unique method of Customer Conversion Architecture.

At the tail end of this process, Additional View were engaged to conduct online qualitative research in the form of a focus group which included wire-frame usability testing. The research methodology was designed to achieve a number of key behavioural objects around the website customer engagement.

In preparation for the research, Additional view worked with MyState to undertake a complete information architecture review. We worked with the online and marketing team to ensure the proposed website not only delivered on the business requirements but also met the needs of each of the target markets. Our process focused on using the online channel to deliver the right information at the right time to facilitate product decision making.

The research project required the testing and evaluation of a set of website wire-frames around the following objectives:

• Navigation structure and presentation of information
• Terminology used in the navigation and key elements on the page
• Information architecture and customer segmentation of information
• Immediate reaction to the overall content layout
• Conversion optimisation to ensure the banking product online applications process was correctly mapped to the target market.
• Testing of the conversion optimisation to ensure it effectively facilitated enquiries, leads, arranging an appointment, or offline contact requests.

Additional View built a comprehensive working wire-frame of the new website to test during the focus group session. By building a prototype based on previous consultancy work undertaken, our objective was to gain immediate top-line feedback from participant interactions and experiences with the wire-frame.

Research method

Our hybrid research process involved inviting 6 to 8 participants to take part in an online focus groups. The session was conducted online using the real-time focus group & website usability technology provided by Group Quality. The session took place in real-time secure environment, where participants logged in to the group from their home computer. Three MyState stakeholders and an Additional View client manager were also invited to observe the sessions. Each of the observers logged into the secure group environment from their own computer at various locations.

The moderator took the participants through a number of usability tasks and discussion topics based around the research objectives. They were presented with the wire-frames and also asked to answer a number of quantitative poll style questions during the group discussion. The live group concluded after 90 minutes and each participants was paid a cash incentive for their time.

Outcomes

The qualitative insights gained from the research group confirmed a number of flagged usability issues. We immediate isolated areas of information and conversion process improvement, and pinpointed customer behaviour which could potentially lead to conversion roadblocks. Internal jargon and complex terminology was questioned by participants, and it was clear that the customers ability to quickly learn the information architecture and page layout would directly influence product choice and online application conversion.

The ability to pre-test the online channel, by delving into the proposed information architecture, layout, language and processes, meant that MyState could make quick and supported decisions about where to invest its resources. Pre-testing well formed ideas and concepts enabled them to effectively reduce the investment risk, and eliminate potential customer dissatisfaction.

StrataGen Systems is a leading provider of mobile data solutions for fleet and mobile workforce management. StrataGen is located in North America (Canada) with high profile customers located throughout the United States.

The StrataGen website had a two main objectives and it was assumed that all website users fall into one of these:

1. Customers who may already be using the company’s systems, software and hardware but are seeking more product information & customer support.
2. Potential customers looking for products and services offered by the company.

Visitors to the website may have been referred by existing customers or have stumbled across the website while searching for a potential service provider.

Research objectives

Additional View were engaged to investigate how effective the website was servicing existing customers and how it could meet the following objectives:

• To be an effective and efficient marketing and sales touch point for potential customers looking for products and services.
• Provide an accessible and usable website which focuses on achieving the companies sales and marketing objectives.
• Provide support information 24 hours a day 7 days a week to assist in customer support inquiries.
• Provide an online customer support services by delivering direct online support functions.

What we did for StrataGen Systems

Additional View worked with StrataGen to identify suitable customers to take part in an online user experience online focus group. Once the participants were identified Additional View managed the client through the recruitment process, which involved a unique method of email screening, customer recruitment and phone contact.

While the respondents were being confirmed we developed the online discussion plan which included both qualitative and quantative questions. The discussion plan was promptly delivered to the StrataGen systems marketing executive for approval. The discussion, plan once signed off by the client, was loaded into the Additional View software.

Participants for the group were located in several time zones which meant that from Australia we coordinated everyone so the study was conducted in US and North America business hours. The client remained in Canada and the AdditionalView moderator at the time was located in a Melbourne hotel room in Australia.

The study required each of participant to log into the virtual online focus group room. Typically an online user experience focus group will consist of eight participants. This is the optimal size to achieve a quality discussion and meaningful user experience data. The study was conducted over an 80 minute period, while the client provided feedback during the discussion.

The Research included general discussion questions which you would find in traditional focus groups, however, the Additional View online focus group tool also allows us to assign a number of tasks to each of the respondents.

The respondents were asked to go to the StrataGen website and complete a number of tasks, such as find particular information. After the tasks were completed the moderator asked each respondent to complete a number of questions to measure the user experience satisfaction level. We also measured the time it took for each individual to complete the usability task and under what circumstances they were unable to complete. The online focus group study also included a number of typical quantitative research questions delivered to participants during the live group discussion.

The results

Once the user experience online focus group study was concluded, the respondents logged out of the virtual environment and Additional View went about compiling the results. The verbatim and quantitative data was available and accessible online within a few hours with the results presented based on the group timeline and discussion plan.

Additional View were able to discuss the results with the client and the client was in a position to begin making immediate improvements to the website and online strategy.

The qualitative and quantitative data gained from this study could only have been achieved by the client if they had brought all customers into a central location which would have incurred transit, accommodation and subsequent carbon costs.

With the data the client was able to:

• Identify key website areas which required immediate attention
• Test and validate proposed online strategy
• Discover the online do’s and don’t when it comes to the existing customer service
• Discover new customer needs which could be incorporated into customer management strategy
• Develop a set of website marketing benchmarks based on a qualitative and quantative data

Additional View completed a 2 part online focus group and usability research projects for Tasmania Energy retailer Aurora Energy.

The research problem was to find out why customers were not using all the services on the companies website, and gauge opinion and attitudes towards the information.

The study focused on two segments of the market, small to medium size businesses and residential customers. Each of the groups lasted for approximately 90 minutes and there were 6 to 8 participants, 4 observers and 1 moderator in each group.

First round of online focus groups

The objective of the first round of online focus group was to identifying the immediate consumer website access issues. This was done by eliciting opinion, feedback and participants completing a series of website usability tasks.  Participants within the groups were presented with usability tasks, images, survey questions and discussion topics.

The immediate results of the first round of online focus groups revealed complex industry jargon, disjointed information and confusing content structure. The internal processes of the business were taken into account during the research analysis and it became evident conflicting needs of internal stakeholders had inadvertently caused the online channel to become internally focused.

Additional view delivered a series of recommendations to address the issues and also assisted in managing the changes required to remedy the current situation.

Second round of online focus groups

The objective of the second round of online focus groups was to measure the effectiveness of proposed changes to address issues uncovered durring the first round of online focus groups.

By focusing the discussion guide on a set of detailed website wireframes the client was able to capture immediate feedback on proposed solutions. The online focus group research method allowed us to A/B split test alternative changes to the structure, information architecture and language of the website before the client invested further resources in the online channel.

Online focus group project outcomes

Additional View took the results from both studies and combined them with data obtained from visitor tracking, content audits, industry benchmarking, and desktop research and advised on a set of guidelines to achieve both consumer goals and stakeholder needs.

With this information and knowledge the client was able to move forward and confidently invest in the development of the online channel. The result was a new website which met the needs of the consumer and all the stakeholders within the organisation.