Problem
DIRECTV had two care plans, DIRECTV Protection Plan, or DPP, which only covered items connected to the set-top-box. Protection Plan Premier, or PPP, covered all electronics besides cell phones. Internally, DIRECTV saw PPP as the more valuable plan for customers. The Design Thinking team was asked by the CARE team, who managed the plans to investigate the large discrepancy between customers signed up for DPP (54% of customers) and PPP (3.5% of customers).
Process
Research
We utilized a User-Centered approach to explore how we could improve PPP to be more desirable for our customers. We went in-home with 11 users to gather as much information as we could, as well as talked with stakeholders, agents, and technicians from across the company. Using the information we collected, we created a Journey Map to help identify opportunity areas to be further explored.
Guadalupe was a prime example of a PPP supporter. After experiencing a positive experience having a television replaced, she talked up the program to everyone she knew. When customers got value out of the plan, they often became advocates. Conversely, data showed users were quick to cut out PPP if they had not made any claims.
One of the issues we found was a general lack of awareness of PPP. Ron had signed up for DPP to avoid the cost of a service call. When we asked him about PPP, he had never heard of it, but was extremely interested and asked us to leave information behind with him. This led us to identify marketing as a potential opportunity area.
We tested sacrificial prototypes of various marketing campaigns, with the goal of drawing more awareness to the program. One of the prototypes we tested was a motion graphic video that explained the difference between the plans. The video was exploring whether changing the form in which information was presented helped retention with our customers.
Outcomes
- The last 6 weeks of my internship coincided with the first 6 weeks of this 12 week project. The entire first half was reserved for research and definition of the problem.
- We started to identify opportunity areas, including lack-of-awareness and value without a claim.
- While the animated video was helpful for some customers, the fast format of the information proved troublesome for others.
- AT&T and DIRECTV merged over the 12 weeks I was interning. The project was ultimately scraped after the CARE team was absorbed by AT&T's insurance plans.