The Problem
Universal Funding came to JEBCommerce searching for a solution to a paid search issue. “For months our site was producing an increased number of unqualified leads. This was costing us a lot of money.” said Heather Burford, Marketing Manager for Universal Funding. These unqualified leads also cost their team valuable time. In Universal Funding’s case, time was money. The JEBCommerce team needed to figure out why Universal Funding was not producing more qualified leads. To do this we switched our focus from paid search to run a series of user tests to discover why.
The Fix
Through our testing process we discovered the root cause of the problem – users didn’t trust them based on their website. Some said the site reminded them of a less reputable lending company. Others said the site didn’t convey the warm, helpful messages that many of their competitor sites did. After uncovering these issues, we proposed website changes to address them and presented them to the client.
The team made sure to address each of the issues to create a trusted user experience and flow. Simple fixes included adding reviews and business accreditations, but more complex changes included creating an easy to read matrix of services for the homepage and improving website navigation. Based on our testing and experience we expected a healthy improvement in high-quality leads.
A month after changes were made to the site, our analytics team ran a report to record improvements. It’s been only six weeks since the re-launch, but the results were undeniable. While leads remained roughly the same, the number of high-quality leads went up 170%. By altering the site’s perception, an increased number of users felt that Universal Funding was a lender they could trust.
“For months our site was producing an increased number of unqualified leads. This was costing us a lot of money. On top of this, the number of qualified leads was not enough to reach our growth goals. What we love about the team at JEBCommerce is their honest feedback, strategic thinking and proactive approach. They’re always bringing new ideas to the table. But unlike other agencies we’ve worked with in the past, they were able to drive our paid search costs down (by 17%) while increasing high-quality traffic to our site. The user testing project they performed identified changes that needed to be made with our site which has resulted in a much better site, more qualified leads and improved perception in our industry. We highly recommend the team at JEB Commerce to anyone looking to improve their paid search efforts or optimize their site.”
– Heather Burford, Marketing Manager, Universal Funding
The Bottom Line
Universal Funding doesn’t measure success solely by the amount of leads, but rather the number of qualified leads that become booked loans. Your company’s website is often the first contact prospective clients have. User testing allows us to better connect with your potential customers. It took a series of user tests to identify the issues that were keeping Universal Funding’s ideal clients from contacting them for help. We’re glad we were able to help.
