Today’s Finance tools are more robust
SECONDARY FINDINGS
According to a survey for Credit.com, 27% of Americans Don’t Think They Need a Budget. More than 80% of individuals aged 50 and older said they don’t see the need, and just over half of those aged 18 to 34 said the same.
in 2019, The JPMorgan Chase Institute also reported that Inconsistent or unpredictable swings in families’ income and expenses make it difficult to plan spending, pay down debt, or determine how much to save.
There’s overwhelming evidence in the reports that suggest that people of all ages are not discipline enough to budget on their own, and that they find it difficult to calculate spending on a consistent basis. For individuals that are planning ahead for their retirement or saving goals, they are in search of budgeting tools that are trusted, effective and easy to use.
Quicken’s Customer base
Quicken’s core customers come from majority middle to high income and are at an age where they have enough savings to put into retirement. They share a sense of urgency when choosing a finance tool that are easy-to-use, trusted, and gets the job done.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
When we compare some the most popular platforms in the financial sector, we realized that in order to receive the financial report/feedback, there’s an overwhelming amount of information that the user needs to complete beforehand. This was an arduous task and Quicken saw the opportunity to optimize the solution for their new calculator.
While there are no clear cut “winners”, our stakeholders stressed the importance of speed and real-time results. By comparing 3 popular finance calculators in Nerdwallet, Charles Schwab, and Smart Assets, out team anonymously selected the Nerdwallet’s user interface as the most intriguing and easy to use.
How can we refine our calculator?
By simplify the form fields, it will reduce the fatigue in completing the calculation form.
Provide Real-time visual response that feels personalized to increase engagement factor.
With helpful feedback and tips, our tool can build customer trust and the likelihood of them choosing Quicken products.
From concept to ideation
Similar to Nerdwallet’s calculator, our concept was to maximize the space by using accordion drawers to create the multi-step form. Working with the Technology Director, we aligned on using React JS visualization library for two reasons:
To give users real-time responses and ensuring optimal performance in speed.
To reduce the development level of effort, the UI would work seamlessly in the react JS.
Outcome
After meeting with key stakeholders from marketing, technology, and engineering, our team were aligned on the final solution. As an introductory tool for existing and new clients, Quicken’s new calculator would be far superior to the competitors and a clear winner from a user engagement perspective. The calculator was a welcoming success to help strengthen Quicken’s customer base and help them track of their retirement savings without the concerns of adware and poor usability.