content validation : user testing : copywriting
Enhancing a service’s value through clearer content
The Challenge
A major credit reporting bureau was experiencing a high number of support calls from customers of their Identity Monitoring service. These customers were receiving emails alerting them to potential fraud and compromised information. However, they didn’t understand exactly what happened nor what they could do to remedy the situation.
The credit reporting company came to us to help them better understand user needs and for recommendations on revising their email alerts.
One of the validation exercises we created to help users articulate helpful and unclear content
Tests of visual indicators and labels to help users understand the severity of the alert
Synthesis of a subhead label A/B test
Our Approach
A researcher and I first set up a round of interviews to understand users’ experience with the current ID Monitoring service. From the synthesis of these “perception interviews,” we formed experience and editorial principles, which informed my content rewrites. We then followed with a round of content tests and validation to gauge the effectiveness of the updated copy.
At the end of the testing sessions, we had a validated set of content recommendations to hand over to the client’s editorial team. The artifacts I delivered included sample revised email alerts, a template for the new email alert format, and a set of editorial guidelines for the team to follow.
The Team
An experience researcher and a content strategist (yours truly)
Our Approach
We conducted remote testing sessions via Zoom and had participants answer a series of questions and complete the testing activities on individual Miro boards. We provided daily highlights and insights to the client and held two findings readouts: one after the initial perception interview sessions and the final after validation.
My Contributions
Co-create validation tests & activities
Assist with validation sessions & synthesis.
Rewrite notifications based on insight-informed editorial principles, followed by a second round of testing
Created updated alert templates & editorial guidelines
Composed & delivered findings report
We noted keywords used by multiple participants to inform the editorial principles
A sample revised email, which includes concise copy organized to answer key user concerns and written in plain language
An excerpt of an explanatory module we recommended adding to the online notifications to anticipate and answer users' key questions
A sample revised alert with visuals to indicate severity and resources to help users take action
The Results
The engagement ended at deliverable handoff, so we weren’t involved in implementing our recommendations. However, we did see a turnaround of participant sentiment from the first round to the last of the testing sessions.