Challenge

To gain deeper insights into user behavior and validate specific assumptions about their website performance, VWFS partnered with CUX for an expert audit. During the audit, key areas were identified that were holding back user engagement and conversions, such as low visibility of financing tools, inefficient navigation, technical issues with forms, and lack of personalization for business users. These issues made it harder for users to reach the calculator, complete actions, or find relevant financing information.

Goals

• Improve user engagement VWFS focused on optimizing their vehicle financing calculator - a crucial tool in the customer journey. The goal was to ensure that financing options were clearly visible and that users could easily navigate and understand their choices across devices.
• Drive engagement and reduce drop-offs The team aimed to increase interaction with core content like vehicle listings, financing details, and forms. They hoped to reduce friction and improve user flow through the site.
• Support business user needs and improve conversions A key objective was to better serve business users, who represented the majority of the audience. VWFS wanted to tailor the website experience to this group and ensure that relevant tools, such as financing calculators and contact forms, supported conversions through improved clarity and performance.

Our approach

Identifying drop-off points around financing tools

Users had difficulty finding and noticing financing options, particularly because they were not prominently displayed above the fold. Using heatmaps and recordings, CUX identified the issue and recommended layout changes that would bring key product names into clearer view.

Addressing engagement gaps in long car lists

Users were not engaging deeply with pages that featured long lists of car models. CUX advised limiting initial content and helping users navigate more easily to stay in control of their browsing experience.

Uncovering missed opportunities on mobile

On mobile, users often didn’t realize more financing options were available beyond the screen. CUX pointed out the lack of a visual cue and suggested a simple layout fix to help users discover additional offers.

Mapping mismatched user expectations

The “Learn about financing” button was sending users to a generic list of vehicles, not to the financing information they were seeking. CUX flagged this gap and proposed showing expected information when clicking on financing-related buttons to keep users on the conversion path.

Spotting form usability blockers

Technical issues in contact forms, like unmarked required fields and incomplete submissions, were causing frustration and drop-offs. CUX recommended clearer form design and better error feedback to fix these usability problems.

Recognizing gaps in user targeting

The majority of users were business customers, yet the site defaulted to a consumer-first view. CUX’s analysis surfaced this disconnect and informed changes that aligned the calculator interface with actual audience needs.

Clarifying feedback on price filter interactions

Price range changes were not clearly reflected in the user interface, which caused confusion. CUX identified this as a source of frustration and recommended ensuring the changes in the price range were clearly reflected in the user interface.

What our client said

Partnering with CUX has been a game-changer for us. Their expertise in behavioral analytics allowed us to make quick, impactful changes that not only enhanced our user experience but also significantly boosted our key performance metrics. The ongoing mentorship and support from the CUX team have been instrumental in fostering a culture of continuous analytics and improvement within our organization. Their guidance has not only enhanced our customer experience but has also equipped our team with the tools and knowledge to keep optimizing our digital presence. This collaboration has reinforced our commitment to putting the customer at the center of everything we do, and we look forward to continuing this journey of analytics optimization and growth **– Alina Kačanovskaja-Godzik, Digital Marketing Expert at Volkswagen Financial Services **

Impact

Visibility of financing options

VWFS restructured the layout by reducing the number of car rows from two to one and aligning buttons at the bottom of the tiles. This made financial product names more visible and improved the layout’s clarity. As a result, visits to the calculator increased by 7% in May 2024 and by 9% in June 2024, while drop-offs decreased by 8%.

Engagement improvement

To improve engagement on pages with long car model lists, VWFS implemented a “Show More” button, initially displaying 30 models and allowing users to load more on demand. This made the page easier to navigate and helped VWFS collect more meaningful behavioral data. One in five users interacted with the “Show More” button.

Visibility of additional financing options on mobile

On the mobile version of the site, users often missed additional financing options that weren’t visible on screen. VWFS adjusted the tile layout so that a second tile was partially visible, offering a visual hint to scroll or swipe. This small change led to a 34% increase in clicks on the “Go to calculator” button on mobile.

Providing expected financing information

To address misleading pathways, VWFS updated the “Learn about financing” button, which had previously led users to a generic vehicle list. A slide-out module was added to the calculator to display financing information directly, keeping users on the conversion path and allowing more precise behavior analysis.

Improvement of contact forms

After identifying technical issues in the contact forms, VWFS made key usability improvements. They added asterisks to required fields, introduced error messages for incomplete inputs, and removed marketing consents that disrupted flow. These changes led to a 30% increase in form conversion rate, raising it to an average of 0.9%.

Targeting business users

To better serve the majority audience, business users, VWFS introduced a tabbed interface above the calculator with “Client” and “Business” options, defaulting to the business view. This resulted in an 87% increase in business content engagement and a 100% increase in conversion rate for business users.

Price range functionality

VWFS improved the way price range filtering worked. Changes made by users were previously unclear in the interface, leading to confusion. By restructuring the vehicle sorting from most to least expensive within the selected range, they created a more intentional interaction. These changes led to an 8% increase in calculator usage and a 45% increase in leads.