Guiding users to choose the right TurboTax DIY products with the reimagined upsell flow
OVERVIEW
I worked on improving the in-product upsell flows to reduce drop-off rate and increase customer satisfaction rate by providing guidance and clarity with an in-app product choosing tool.
May - Aug 2022
UX Design
Visual Design
User Research
Usability Testing
Visual Design
User Research
Usability Testing
Product Designer (me)
Senior Product Designer
UX Writer
Product Manager
Senior Product Designer
UX Writer
Product Manager
PROBLEM
As a TurboTax user who is trying to file my taxes, I keep getting asked to pay more for my return which makes me feel confused and frustrated
We received a higher number of calls from users complaining about TurboTax’s product pricing and upsell screens than usual, and a higher drop-off rate from users when faced with upsell.
Findings
More users chose the wrong TurboTax product for their tax situation in 2022.
Multiple upsells are caused by choosing an incorrect product for your tax situation. We found that 45% of users who experience multiple upsells abandon their TurboTax return. That’s close to 150,000 users in 2022.
Users chose the wrong products because they don't know the differences between TurboTax product offerings
When users fill in a new tax condition that are not covered by their chosen TurboTax product, an upsell flow will be triggered.
TurboTax Free only covers simple tax situation and isn’t suitable for most users. Multiple upsells happen the most on this product line.
Returning users often start with the product they used in the previous year, but most users are unaware that TurboTax changed their product offerings in 2022
What are the major painpoints?
Cognitive overload
The product information accordions are confusing and visually cluttered on mobile interface. Users only care about perks/benefits that directly align with their needs, but this information is not highlighted properly.
Users don't understand why they're being upsold to
Users are just told to upgrade without being explained why. The recommended product upsell is also not customized to the user's tax situations, leading to confusion.
Misleading upsell messages
The first upsell that users encounter can be dismissed, making it look optional instead of a requirement to proceed with their tax file.
The goals and problem statements
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Optimize for mobile with minimal and transparent design
Guide users early
Rightsizing users to the right product as early as possible prevent multiple upsells down the road.
Transparency builds trust
Users should have a clear expectations of how our upsells work and help them make an educated decision.
Simple and minimal
It is imperative for us that we educate users about our product offerings without overwhelming them.
KPIs
What success looks like
Do users understand which TurboTax product they need and why?
Drop-off rate and locations
DESIGN PROCESS
Solutions explorations
“What if we present the upsell experience in the onboarding process? Like an online test format, like a personality test?”
Previously, the users need to choose a product first to experience upsell and get rightsized to the right product. With this design, we are combining the two flows, reducing the number of upsells that users encounter.
Feedback and challenges
The IKEA Effect
Users are more likely to upgrade when they see upsell in the middle of the filing process. Showing an upsell that is hard to skip may risk early abandonment.
Visual indicators are too distracting
Some of our user testing participants go as far as clearing the input field to avoid the visual indicators, putting them at risk for tax evasion.
An undiscovered technical constraint
We found that users need to choose a product before we can even show a product choosing tool. We have to work around this constraint.
final design
The brand new help-me-choose tool that guide and educate users on TurboTax's offerings
Feature highlights:
We automatically put users on the free tier of the product so users don't have to choose a product first to use the product choosing tool.
The perks and benefits inside the product card adjusts based on the tax situation submitted by the users.
To educate users what triggers the upsell and why the upsold product is the best for them
Stronger and clearer recommendation
Recommendation message stays within users' sight even when they are exploring other TurboTax products.
what's next?
Designing for user behaviors
In our user observation session, I noticed that users removed certain items from their claims in hopes of getting further price reduction and filed without claiming. This action will result in inaccurate tax filing, and I would love to work on improving this user experience!
LEARNINGs
I learned to prototype without permission and to keep critique sessions productive
I learn that the best way to communicate my ideas is by visually demonstrating it! Prototyping early also jump starts conversations, showing my bright-eyed intern proactiveness within the team, hehe.
However, due to the complexity of the product, I needed to ensure that I am designing with as much technical constraints knowledge I could get. At Intuit, I worked collaboratively with people from different functions to have a better understanding of why a certain design decision was made, how complicated it is to implement a design, and to make sure that I am on the right track to our ideal product.
Thanks for the fun internship term, Intuit team! Hope our paths cross again in the future :)
