Delivering a great digital customer experience is no easy task. Here’s how KBC Bank Ireland and its Head of Digital Channels, Paul Flynn, set out on a mission to ensure that their customers would get the best possible experience through their website.

“Putting the customer experience at the heart of the plan was my main priority.”

The customer champions

Paul set out on a journey to do this by firstly finding like-minded champions of the customer across the organisation. They were all digital natives, used to online experiences that are fast and easy to use, and would not offer anything less to their customers.

They were creative people and were winning over the hearts and minds of their teams by elevating IT to be about the customer, and making their decisions based on data. People found their approaches fresh and innovative, and he knew that he needed them in my team.

Paul brought them together from across the organisation, from marketing to the legal and data teams — forming an extended team of customer champions. They created a plan to replace the existing website with one that delivers a superior digital experience for their customers.

With help from WONDR (specialists in Digital Product Design) they collected all the information needed for the project and converted stakeholders to collaborators by enlisting them as advisors. WONDR created a beautiful new design language for the website and selected Liferay, a cloud-enabled digital experience platform as the foundation for the new solution.

We listened to what customers wanted

The digital champions took feedback from customers on board when working on the new enhanced site. Customer feedback showed them that the site had too much jargon, used language that did not relate to the customer, calculators were hard to use and finding the information they were after was difficult.

Taking this on board, KBC worked with WONDR to define 8 personas with needs and goals; and offered key insights for each. They then mapped out the steps on the journeys, and designed an experience that would maximise good emotions, eliminate pain points and feel familiar to the customer.

But they wanted more, and found ways for their brand to shine as part of the digital experience. Armed with a powerful new technology, a detailed plan, a compelling vision and lots of excitement, the team went to work.

Making the complex, simple

The customer champions approached the project in a new way . They would work in a real agile way instead to get the project off the ground.

They would deal with complexity and uncertainty by working out the finer details as the project went on and rely on the talent of the team to adapt as needed. They brought in Webtown, a customer-centric software development company.

By putting in the Liferay digital experience platform as a foundation they managed to get a more up-to date starting point for the website development. This offered faster speed, better accessibility and mobile support out of the box.

While rebuilding the calculators on the site using the new design, the team were able to leverage the developer’s experience to reverse-engineer what was there to re-create the calculators in a way that gave the website administrators more control while making the website easier to use for customers.

The customer champions developed new, enterprise-ready ways of working for the development. They brought in cloud-based technology that enabled them to develop safely and release frequently.

Then they introduced better practices for documentation, accessibility and data quality management in the team. This led to a higher quality experience and vastly improved usability, because they continued to improve and iterate on the experience while the project went on. This would also make sure the solution would stand the test of time.

The customer champions had all rallied behind the vision to make decisions based on data and give the customers what they wanted, so were able to take decisive action when needed.

The Outcomes

The new solution was very well received. Customer feedback highlighted that the new experience was really easy to use and helped them make decisions.

30% Conversion Rate Increase
The new website outperformed the old one with a 30% higher conversion rate, so the project paid itself back really quickly.

Call Centre Efficiency
The call centre staff were saving time because customers gave them the right information.

Would you like to see more?

• Visit the KBC website
• Learn more about the development methodology applied by Webtown-group.com/KBC.
• Learn more about LifeRay.

In changing times like today, client retention is more crucial than ever.

ESB Energy saw an opportunity with the company’s rebrand to consolidate three websites, improve the digital experience and increasing conversion rates for EV, B2C and B2B customers.

This was the challenge for Irish electricity giant ESB in the UK market, which provides power to more than 100,000 homes each day in the UK. With 100% renewable electricity, the company offers competitive prices and over 90 years of industry experience. The goal was to launch ESB Energy as a digital-first experience and grow the brand through easy to complete sign up flows.

WONDR focused on planning a design system that could work across all digital touch points. We designed the experience across the product site, acquisition funnels and customer portal across mobile, tablet and desktop.

With clarity and a collaborative team approach, we delivered a quote journey with a 95% form completion rate and a customer portal which over 86% of customers used.

Find the detailed cases study for ESB Energy here.

We’re always looking to bring innovation to every collaboration we do through our LAB+ model. Sometimes we use this model to look at emerging technologies or existing ones that need a transformation and imagine what is possible.

We highlighted the ‘Music Industry’ as an example of a sector that has been digitalised to a point where ‘the soul‘ has been lost.

Recently our founder purchased a U2 hoodie as part of the ‘All that you can’t leave behind’ 20th anniversary. The customer journey didn’t deliver an exciting end-to-end fan experience. It followed the usual expected e-Commerce journey, no different to purchasing books or electronics online. It got us thinking that there is a huge opportunity to transform this by creating an immersive experience for bands, teams and sportspeople who have a huge cult following like U2 do.

Out of our internal workshops came the idea ‘U2 By You‘.

We understand the great reach and flexibility digital apps like Spotify bring, however some things have been lost. Our proposition has been designed to bring fans together as a digital community to share experiences, memories, experience exclusive band material and allow them the chance to contribute to a vast neural network of U2 memories from across the globe.

The results of this is an idea that helps to bring a richer experience for loyal fans where they can also watch concerts, listen to the back catalogue, merchandise and tours in a new manner that has never been done before.

We will shortly be sharing the work on our site. You can sign up below to be the first to see this.

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We’re super pumped to be working with PackagePortal, an app that is changing the delivery logistics industry by providing DeFI for delivery data.

Many E-Commerce brands experience difficulty with securing accurate and reliable customer delivery information, this app bridges this gap.

PackagePortal verifies customer delivery data by incentivising them to scan their delivery labels, rate the delivery & earn a reward for doing so in the form of a crypto token called Port. With this token customers are rewarded for sharing their data in a secure and safe manner.

Founded by JG Whitley (CEO) & Gabriel Chaney (CTO), PackagePortal launched in March 2020 with much hype and positive reviews from around the world. WONDR will work with the team to design the customer experience for V2 of the app & beyond.

The aim is to evolve the app to be a richer digital brand experience that will bring new possibilities and features for both the merchant and user in the future. We can already tell you this is going to be a fantastic design that will surprise and delight people.

You can hear more from the PackagePortal founders on the launch, the V2 app and their wider future on the The Zilliqa Observer Fireside chat below.

We’re shortlisted for 2 awards at The Institute of Designers Ireland’s IDI awards 2021.

We were shortlisted for Best Experience Design & Rising Star. The awards showcase the best in Irish design across fashion/textiles, product, digital, visual comms, structures & spaces.

We’re obviously honoured to be shortlisted and we’re looking forward to the awards night itself.

Marketers spend hours trying to grow sales and optimise Google and Facebook ad spends. The solution is Optily, a smart platform that automatically organises and optimises digital advertising campaigns.

To help them launch this innovative new platform, the team at Optily (formally Bionic) tasked WONDR to realise a 360° rebrand, encompassing naming, identity, visual language and digital experience to the US market.

We built a platform by strategically blending user experience and brand storytelling. Turning our attention to the digital experience, we saw an opportunity to take our brand concept of delving deeper and transform it into an engaging, interactive experience.

In addition to product, case study and pricing pages, a robust digital publishing system was incorporated into the website. This provides the brand with an editorialised platform through which to house and share the latest in industry insights and opinions.

Discover more details on the Optily Case Study here.

By putting the user in the centre of the experience to simultaneously increase online revenue by 165%.

At FBD Insurance, Ireland’s largest Irish-owned insurer protecting Irish consumers, farmers, and businesses for over 50 years, they had a specific problem on their site. They wanted to transform the entire digital platform into a core revenue-generating channel that puts customers and their needs at the very centre of the experience.

We brought all aspects of our work together through the user interface design. We were careful not to let the visual design affect the highly attuned customer journeys and UX design.

To reflect FBD’s compelling brand positioning of ‘Protection, it’s in our nature’. We integrated a publishing platform. This enabled FBD to share helpful claims advice, safety initiatives and community programs.

WONDR’s strategy and process directly led to significant increased conversions and renewals, including a 164% increase in new business policies sold online, among others.

By auditing, benchmarking and prototyping, we developed a best-in-class user experience roadmap.

Do you want to know more details? Read our Case Study here.

Prior to joining WONDR, Sinéad was Head of Customer Operational Excellence in CarTrawler. There, she led multiple teams responsible for customer experience, project management and business process improvement.

Sinéad’s industry background began in design and technology, before moving into the project and operational management side of things.

Why WONDR? 

Sinéad’s main passion always remained with her foundations in design and technology, which is what brought her to WONDR. “I was at a crossroads in my career. I knew Operations and Project management were still in my future, but I really missed working with creative people, especially with designers and developers”.

“It was also important to me to move to a company that made a difference to the community. While WONDR is an extremely ambitious practice, there is a strong sense of community and social responsibility. Our values are Clarity and Bravery.

These are ever-present in the team’s approach and are visible in the span of clients we have. It’s how we collaborate with and support them to deliver successful products and projects”

Operations in a Creative Environment…

The role of Director of Operations in WONDR is to oversee the day to day operational running of the business and contribute to the development and future growth through Strategy and Vision. Sinéad works closely with each team member but particularly with the Project, Product and Creative Directors in the business.

Over the last 12 months, WONDR has experienced high growth levels which are set to continue, meaning the team is expanding.

Working with the team we have systemised all parts of the WONDR business; set in place scalable processes to respond to our growth while maintaining the delivery of creative and innovative solutions for our clients.”

Cultural Changes of moving to WONDR…

“WONDR is Ireland’s top digital product practice. It has a very unique mix of culture, passion and talent, making it a really exciting place to work. No day is the same for the Director of Operations here!  Since I joined in January, we have launched a new banking social network in Barcelona, called 11Onze, the new ESB International website and an award winning website for Likha Aesthetic Clinic.” One of the biggest changes for Sinéad when joining WONDR was the move from corporate to agency.

“The difference? Pretty much everything. The pace, culture and the day-to-day tasks. Things happen slowly on the corporate side. WONDR is a fun, fast-paced environment, with plenty of opportunities to collaborate and continuously learn. Decisions come quickly which can be really rewarding.”

“Also being part of a small business, everyone has a role to play and you can see immediately what you contribute and what your value is.”

What’s next for WONDR?

“We have some really exciting projects in the pipeline that we look forward to sharing. For now the next big challenge for WONDR operations as with many businesses, is the return to the office. The pandemic has changed the way people work, perhaps forever.”

WONDR has been named as the Best Digital Product Agency Ireland 🇮🇪 by the global Prestige Awards programme 21/22.

The Prestige Awards recognise small and medium-sized businesses that have proven to be the best in their market over the past 12 months.

The judging panel selects the winners from over 1,448 entrants based on the businesses who can demonstrate the most in service excellence, quality of the service provided, innovative practices, ethical or sustainable methods of working, as well as consistency in performance.

Our site ‘Seven Years of WONDR‘ won a global award for ‘Site of the Day‘ from the CSSDesignAwards, a platform that recognises the best in design and development from around the world.

To celebrate our seventh year we designed a bespoke digital experience utilising beautiful 3D work that works seamlessly from mobile through to larger screens. In this experience, you get to visit 7 different stories that reflect on what we have achieved as a team and where we are going next.

You view a short video preview below & visit the site.

As well as winning the ‘Site of the Day‘ Award from CSSDA, it also picked up a ‘Mobile Excellence’ award & honourable mention from Awwwards.