Project Shaping
Context
CARFAX is known for supporting car owners throughout their vehicle’s lifecycle, but one key piece was missing—helping them sell their vehicles faster. This project set out to fill that gap by creating a program that not only streamlined the selling process for car owners but also strengthened partnerships with used car dealerships.
Before we could decide what to build, we needed to understand the mindset and motivations of both sellers and dealerships. My responsibilities included validating the concept, designing a responsive experience, and tracking its success. To do this, I visited multiple dealerships to interview potential partners and identify their must-haves for joining the pilot program. I also conducted phone interviews with car owners and created visual artifacts to effectively communicate the needs and expectations of both groups.
Before we could decide what to build, we needed to understand the mindset and motivations of both sellers and dealerships. My responsibilities included validating the concept, designing a responsive experience, and tracking its success. To do this, I visited multiple dealerships to interview potential partners and identify their must-haves for joining the pilot program. I also conducted phone interviews with car owners and created visual artifacts to effectively communicate the needs and expectations of both groups.
Research
Key questions to answer:
- What do consumers struggle with when selling a car?
- What do dealers struggle with when acquiring cars from consumers?
- Who else has a program like this and what do consumers think about them?
- Would dealerships pay to be a part of a sell my car program from CARFAX?
Car seller journey / CARFAX has an opportunity to leverage data they already have to shorten this whole process
Comparables / Other car-buying programs have a lot of steps. CARFAX's will be much shorter!
Interview quotes about selling and buying cars
Experiments
Concepts
Workflows
Usability Testing
Results / I conducted 10 rounds of research at different stages of the process. While this research helped shape most of the decisions, CARFAX leadership decided to push a few things forward that tested poorly like only showing one dealership at the end of the flow.
Final Designs
Flows
Positive Impact on Partnerships / During the pilot phase, we achieved a 15% increase in initial dealership partnerships. To build on this momentum, our next challenge was to boost lead generation by enhancing the experience for car sellers.
Variable Entry Points / CARFAX’s extensive platform offers a variety of tools, which presented unique opportunities to promote the Sell My Car program. However, it also meant users could enter the flow at different stages, sometimes with information already provided. To improve the experience and boost lead generation, I designed flexible entry points and dynamic flows. These ensured users wouldn’t need to repeat actions, creating a smoother and more efficient journey.
Post-pilot
Analyzing usage
The pilot revealed significant drop-off on several pages within the flow, with not enough users not completing lead submissions. After A/B testing adjustments such as new headlines and reordering steps, I began exploring a more transformative idea. I focused on the pages with the highest drop-off rates and developed an alternative approach that included reimagined copy and a fresh visual style designed to align with a matchmaker model.
Although my recommendations weren’t implemented during my time with the company, the insights and concepts I created laid the groundwork for exploring alternative solutions to increase conversions.
Although my recommendations weren’t implemented during my time with the company, the insights and concepts I created laid the groundwork for exploring alternative solutions to increase conversions.
Adjustment concepts
Landing Page
Contact Info Page / This is where the largest drop-off happens
Dealership Selection / This is was another area for drop-off
Next Steps
Early tests showed that users responded more positively to these improvements compared to the previous experience. I presented this data to stakeholders to make a strong case for implementation. Will these recommendations be adopted? I hope so, but with engineering costs competing against other priorities, it’s hard to say. Fingers crossed! 🤞✨
Backstage
Backstage
Responsibilities
Competitive Analysis
Research & Testing
Content Strategy
Information Architecture
Visual Design
Wireframes
Prototyping
Documentation
Tools
Sketch
InVision
Optimal Workshop
Usertesting.com
JIRA
The Team
Designer (me)
Product Manager (1)
Project Manager (1)
Engineers (13)
