This document describes a case study where Capital One redesigned their online account opening experience for small business owners to make it clearer and more human. The completion rate increased from 26% to 92% after applying principles of conversation design. A cross-functional team conducted research, wrote sample conversations, and overhauled the wording, flow and context provided. Feedback from small business owners was positive and indicated the new language was easy to understand and friendly. The redesigned experience reduced completion times and allowed customers to progress at their own pace.

1. DESIGN THE
CONVERSATION:
A CASE STUDY ON MAKING A
DIGITAL BANKING EXPERIENCE
CLEAR AND HUMAN
Sara Zailskas Walsh
sara.walsh@capitalone.com
J. Boye Aarhus November 2016

2. My background
2
JOURNALISM
B2B
ASSOCIATION
B2C
USER EXPERIENCE
PRODUCT DESIGN
ECOMMERCE
PRINT, DIGITAL
TRAVEL
CHICAGOAN AT HEART …
NOW IN SAN FRANCISCO

4. ”
At Capital One, we say we
design conversations that
solve customer problems.

5. ”
We’re on a mission to
change banking for good.

6. ”
We bring simplicity,
humanity, and ingenuity
to banking by putting the
customer first.

7. ”
We design conversations
that are clear and
relevant.

8. Every conversation is guided by 3 pillars.
8
”
We apply 3 pillars when
designing what to say, to
whom, when, and how.
Natural
Language
1
2
3
Use Case
Relevant Context

9. ”
The approach works.
In this case, we took a
26% completion rate to
92% by designing the
conversation.

10. ”
That’s what we’re going to talk
about today:
How we used conversation
design in the online account
opening experience
for small-business owners.

11. ”
It was not meeting our goals.

12. I’m a small business owner trying to open a checking
account online. I need to provide information to open my
account, but I can’t because:
- The words aren’t clear to me.
- I don’t have context to answer questions.
- I’m not sure what I need to apply.
This makes me feel frustrated. It also wastes my time.
CUSTOMER PROBLEM

13. ”
In one question, we
asked customers to select
their industry from a drop-
down list.

14. ”
Each took 4 minutes
on average to do so.

15. ”
The “beneficial owners”
section had a high
abandon rate.

16. ”
(“Beneficial owners” is a
made-up term.)

17. ”
Customers described our
experience as “fine,”
“frustrating,” and “what I’d
expect from a bank.”

18. ”
We had to do something.

19. The turnaround
CONVERSATIONAL DESIGN TO THE RESCUE

20. ”
Tip:
Involve all disciplines.

21. We put a team together.
21
All disciplines represented. I led activities to understand what “every single word” should be.
1
Simon
Design Lead
1 1
11
17
Helen
UX Researcher
1Sara
Sr. Content
Strategist
Kevin
Front-End
Developer &
Prototyper
Paul
Sr. Interaction
Designer
2
Nick & Kyo
Visual Design
x4
Product
Owners
2
Engineering
Leads
1
Brand
Partners
3
Customer
Support
3
Legal,
Compliance
& Risk
Work PartnersDesigners

23. ”
Tip:
Do your research.

24. Discovery activities
24
๏ Benchmark research
๏ Competitive research
๏ Conversation bubbles!
๏ Customer interviews
๏ Banker interviews
๏ Journey maps
๏ Concept research
๏ Content research
๏ Internal interviews

25. ”
Tip:
Write the conversation.

26. Why writing the
conversation works
26
๏ Spot gaps in your knowledge
๏ Discover use cases
๏ Identify product ideas
๏ Create actual copy you can use
๏ Capture guidelines that naturally surface
Look at the conversation you wrote:

27. QUICK PRACTICE
SESSION

28. How to kick off a project to design the conversation
๏Pair up!
๏Write what a conversation would sound like between a customer who’s
comparing mobile phones and the store selling the phones.
๏Capture how you’d say it in person; use human language.

29. I’m a busy person who isn’t a tech geek, and I need to buy
a new smartphone, but I can’t because there are so many
devices, i’m not sure which to choose.
This makes me feel intimidated and disappointed in
myself that I keep procrastinating.
CUSTOMER PROBLEM

30. THE QUESTION:
What would a conversation sound like between a
customer shopping for a new mobile phone and the
store selling the phones?

31. 5 MINUTES

32. Quick analysis of our conversations
*If you’re interested in running this activity yourself, be sure to check out my workshop slides from this conference.
๏ What did you like?
๏ What didn’t you like?
๏ Can you spot ideas?
๏ Can you spot actual copy?
What did we uncover in 5 minutes?

33. ”
We created a strategy for
a completely overhauled
first-time experience.

34. ”
But we had to
compromise for the
short-term.

35. Our strategy for 3 months design, 3 months build
35
๏ Overhaul the copy.
๏ Keep the current flow — and the same order of steps.
๏ Overhaul design in the two most troublesome parts: “beneficial
owners” and the industry question.
๏ Update communications such as emails.

36. Our conversation
BEFORE AND AFTER

37. ”
Tip:
Find someone who “gets it”
and speaks with customers
every day.
Consult regularly!

38. — Jose, my banker buddy
“I wouldn’t say it that way.
Instead, try this …”
“My parents — they’re
immigrant small-business
owners — wouldn’t understand
that. It’s too much slang.”

39. ”
Tip:
Simplify choices as you
would in conversation.

40. Before

41. After

42. ”
Tip:
Explain why we’re asking
for information.

43. Before

44. After

45. ”
Tip:
Use the natural order of
conversation to inform
your design.

46. Before

47. After*
* We partially met this goal
with this release.

48. ”
Tip:
Prepare the customer for
what’s ahead.

49. Before

50. After

51. ”
Tip:
Explain how a decision
affects them.

52. Before

53. After

54. ”
Tip:
Give relevant context.

55. Before

56. After

57. ”
Tip:
Assume good intent.

58. Before

59. After

60. ”
Tip:
Treat a customer well
even when it’s not a good
match.

61. Before

62. After

63. ”
Tip:
Talk to customers — and
share the research.

64. 70
words
182
words
total
70
words

65. Initial (directional) results
3 WEEKS AFTER LAUNCH …

66. ”
The customers who spent 4
minutes on 1 question?
Now they spend
4 minutes on the entire page
(the longest form).

67. ”
People can complete and
move through the application
when they’re ready.

68. ”
Our words are working.

69. ”
“I think the words … are very
simple, very basic, not too
detailed. It’s very clean-cut and
dry. The language is crisp, to-the-
point. … I understood all of it.”
— Beth*, a small-business owner who reviewed copy only before launch

70. ”
“It sounds pretty straightforward,
understandable, personable.”
— Beth*, a small-business owner who reviewed copy only before launch

71. ”
“It’s pretty self-explanatory. There
wasn’t anything that I wonder
what this means.
When I read it, I understood it.”
— Cary*, a small-business owner who reviewed copy only before launch

72. ”
“It’s personal, friendly.”
— Beth*, a small-business owner who reviewed copy only before launch

73. ”
Tip:
There are no magic
words.

74. Fun facts
74
๏ Discovery, planning, designing, building and testing took 8 months.
๏ We’re continuing to release additional parts of the experience to make it
easier for people to make their first deposit.
๏ We’ll be applying a larger strategy not shared here to all our products in
2017 because of work on this project.

75. types of SBs w/
end2end enrollment
new reusable UI
components
unique screens
in 90 days
10 120+ 36+

76. ”
Questions?

77. CONTACT
AND FIND ME
+1 415-470-3259
sara.walsh@capitalone.com
Like what you see?
We’re hiring in the UK.