Strategy & UX Lead
Telstra launched its loyalty program, Telstra Plus, in May 2019. Designed to cultivate customer loyalty, the program incentivises users to consolidate their services with Telstra by rewarding them with points for their spending on mobile, internet, and eligible services.
The program's tiered structure, progressing from Silver to Gold and Platinum, offers escalating benefits in line with customers' tenure and spending. These rewards range from discounts on devices and accessories to exclusive access to entertainment events and partner offers.
The launch of Telstra Plus focussed on the go-to-market value proposition, member tiers and benefits. On joining the team, it was clear that a sense of what was next had yet to be established.
Whist I was involved in the program, I was responsible for the delivery of many pieces of work. In this case study, I will showcase 2 areas: exploring ways to drive member acquisition and engagement.
Aligned the team on delivering personalised experiences for authenticated users, improving engagement across the Telstra Plus platform.
Successfully implemented targeted omni-channel messaging that drove significant member acquisition.
Delivered clearer, more compelling messaging around Telstra Plus tiers, increasing user understanding and engagement.
Contributed to shaping the product roadmap, influencing the strategic direction of the engagement experience.
With the platform launch firmly in place, I was assigned to the program as the UX Design Lead. A visual designer, copywriter and a grad on rotation made up the rest of the design team.
To initiate my tenure and focus the Telstra Plus team on the next phase I conducted workshops to align our overall purpose and establish and prioritise objectives within the program.
The result of the workshops provided the necessary context and background for me and others new to the team, and importantly, highlighted that we direct our focus to member acquisition and engagement as that financial quarter’s mission.
Establishing and prioritising objectives within the program.
I proceeded to map the omni-channel user journeys to evaluate the integration of Telstra Plus into the corporate website, the heritage 24x7 app and the soon-to-be-released My Telstra app.
This included a deep dive into the Telstra ID and Telstra Plus “join” flow for customers signing up for the loyalty program.
Authentication into member sign-up user flow
I then looked at the placement of Telstra Plus within the overall corporate website ecosystem and mapped out the existing Information Architecture to evaluate better integration into Telstra.com.au.
This immersion into the experience ecosystem surfaced several assumptions.
Armed with the insights from the initiation phase the following hypotheses were formulated. These formed the basis of ongoing concept design, content development and usability testing.
Telstra Plus member acquisitions will increase where we can illustrate the benefits of the rewards program by leveraging the customer’s service and spending data to deliver a relevant personalised message.
Existing Telstra Plus members will engage more deeply with the program where they have a clearer view of their spending and how it translates to their member tier, points accrual, redemption store goals, and access to benefits.
I worked with our design team to explore better curation of content by distributing key messages across a number of pages and channels, breaking away from the single marketing landing page construct that had been delivered for launch. In doing so we explored the ability to showcase authenticated customers with a real-time view of the Telstra Plus benefits they could access based on their tenure and spending when browsing products on the website.
Furthermore, I worked with the 24x7 and My Telstra apps Product Owners and UX Designers to drive relevancy in the acquisition and onboarding messaging presented to customers in the apps.
This work was carried out in tandem with the Telstra ID program to drive a more prominent value proposition message for customers signing up for a Telstra ID. Conditional mapping was applied to drive clarity as messaging would evolve as a user stepped through the authentication stages.
Value centric sign-up screen
Multi-factor set-up and authentication
Wireframes and an interactive prototype was compiled to test concepts with Telstra and non-Telstra customers.
I conducted 60-minute semi-structured usability testing sessions with eight participants) to validate our designs. The participants had diverse backgrounds, with the majority having recently signed up to a loyalty program.
The testing was designed to evaluate several key aspects of the proposed updates. The result of the testing identified additional touch points that would drive engagement – these are expanded upon below.
The authenticated Telstra Plus platform was primarily geared toward promoting member benefits. Aside from knowing how many points had been accrued, little information promoted levelling up to the next tier.
During many ideation sessions with the design team and Product Owners, we explored ideas that might motivate members to engage with their membership, redeem points and increase spending.
Features were designed to establish a member dashboard that would allow a member to see:
Conceptual design to illustrate tier allocation based on spend.
Detailed component concepts were then explored and rigorously checked with internal stakeholders to ensure integrity was maintained in light of the applicable business rules.
Whilst supporting the delivery team in defining, designing and releasing features in line with their roadmap, I brought clarity and a longer-term vision for the program with an emphasis on a personalised and engaging experience for prospective and existing Telstra Plus members.
