Funeral Cost Estimator
My Role
UX Research, Product vision and thinking, Design and Testing, Prototype building
Timeline
On and off from 2021 to 2022 (6 months)
Team
1 Product Manager
1 Illustrator
2 Engineers
Background
Funerals are a huge undertaking that not many are prepared to handle. Not only are people dealing with loss, but they are also expected to plan for a complex service, usually in a short timeframe. One of the biggest pain points people deal with cost: both understanding what to pay for at all and also, how to pay for it.
The current product Precoa offers is a quiz that allows users to answer questions based on what they want/need for their funeral (or a loved one’s funeral). At the end of the quiz, they are given a cost estimate and our put in Precoa’s lead pool, but aren’t helped beyond that in actual pre-planning.
Problem
Precoa needs to improve this quiz and actually use the data to help families pay for their funeral or start preplanning. How might we provide accurate funeral estimates and help families take the next step in preplanning their funeral?
The Solution
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Data Driven
Based on thoughtful research, which included split testing the previous version to test all new ideas, we created an informed and data backed new design. We pivoted and remained flexible with the design so we could adjust based on what we were seeing in our testing.
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User Focused
Along with an overhaul of the design, bringing it up to speed with modern competitors, we created a simplified and shorter user journey to improve the overall experience. To better humanize the quiz, we removed colder copy and introduced a guide that responds accordingly to each answer.
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Product Pivots
To better meet the user wherever they are in their funeral journey, we now offer specific pathways for whatever they request help with: preneed planning, immediate need services, and/or just information. The product itself got a few major upgrades, including a new hybrid product that gets coverage options to all families, including those that are out of area for our standard insurance product.
Want more details? See in depth project breakdown below.
Research Constraints
Due to the nature of this industry and the potential emotional stress it could cost our users to discuss their needs, our main research method would not involve 1:1 user interviews.
Therefore, the research plan will consist of:
parallel and direct competitor industries explored
screen recording analysis
interviews with Precoa agents (who speak to users)
VWO split testing
Parallel Industries Explored
With limited direct competitors, I looked at parallel industries that had similar purchase flows and emotional themes.
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Wedding Industry
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Mental Wellness products
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Insurance products
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Custom car designing
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Beauty Industry
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Weight Loss products
Screen Recording Observations
Using tools like SmartLook and VWO, I looked through hundreds of user screen recordings from the current website and learned more about the bounce patterns.
Users want to edit their answers
Users try to go back or click their final selections, sometimes rage clicking to try and get somewhere else.
Journey is long and users rush the end
Users start to answer questions quicker towards the end, mostly skipping to the next questions or bouncing.
Users are hesitant to provide personal information
Users will bounce or seriously hesitate when they reach the form fill, especially before answering quiz questions.
Major User Needs
Design Solutions
Humanizing Guide
Using affirmations after each question, the guide helps ground the quiz and remind users we are here to help them. It focuses on the emotional journey of the user and helps them through it.
Include the “why” behind our data collection
Users were getting hung up on the standard form, which asked for their personal information. By adding context and saying why we ask, we help provide trust. Also, instead of one chunk of forms, we broke them up in logical areas.
Shorten the Journey
By studying the previous iterations buckets, I determined that there were a few questions that were unnecessary. I removed those and working with the product team and copywriter, we came up with a simpler flow.
Give more control
Studying screen recordings showed that users attempted to back track after getting to the estimate page in hopes of adjusting their answers. I decided to bring them that control on the final screen, allowing them to adjust their budget and selections.
Modern Interface and Illustrations
The previous illustrations were busy and outdated. I chose a simpler style, focusing on a bright color to indicate selections.
Prototype
Once all screens were created and the major user flows were established, I created a clickable prototype for testing. This was shared with stakeholders and adjusted based on feedback.
Results
Conversion rate up (13.2%)
Increased completion of the quiz and form fills, resulting in more leads making it to the final estimate page
Average monthly visitors (3033)
Huge visitor volume increase since March 2022 due to partnership.
Drop off rate down (38.3%)
Drop off down 25% from prior iteration
Next Steps
Test new iteration
We will continue using our VWO services to run A/B split tests on the quiz flows, constantly improving where we can. We’ll use the data to
Improve illustrations
Our illustrations currently have some inconsistent line work, so I will be working with our graphic designer to customize and improve those.
Explore product options
My research showed that more users want to be able to plan and purchase a funeral online. By removing the agent and funeral home, we can allow this checkout process. It is something I will continue to research and understand.
Retrospective
This project put me in front of many different stakeholders and helped me learn that the business itself is another user I am always needing to design for. I found balance in making sure I was designing for the user needs, but also the specific needs of the funeral home, our internal agents, and others.
Making funeral pre-planning understandable and actionable for families is a worthy challenge I was happy to help with. This product is not only helping a user plan their own funeral, but our service impacts their entire family and network of loved ones.
