Virgin Media Business — Serviceability Checker

Enhancing the eCommerce Journey to Boost Conversion & Elevate User Satisfaction

The Brief

Virgin Media Business identified inefficiencies in its eCommerce process, particularly its serviceability checker. The tool, which verifies whether a user’s address is eligible for services, suffered from poor user engagement:

• Only 20% of users utilised the serviceability checker.
• 42% of users abandoned the process midway.

Key issues included:

• Lack of an address lookup tool, leading to erroneous results.
• Suggested products were irrelevant to the user’s initial selection, focusing heavily on broadband regardless of user intent.
• The checker operated in isolation, failing to pass meaningful data into the system.

The hypothesis was that integrating the serviceability checker seamlessly into the purchase journey would reduce barriers to checkout, improve user experience, and increase conversion rates.

The Solution

Integrated Design Approach

The redesigned serviceability checker was integrated into the relevant product pages, ensuring a user-centric flow from inquiry to purchase.

Key Features & Improvements

1. Enhanced Data Collection: Reduced minimum data entry requirements to just the postcode for initial checks. Introduced an address lookup tool to minimise errors.
2. Personalised Responses: Tailored results to align with the user’s product selection. Intelligent interpretation of results to suggest appropriate services and promote ease of installation.
3. User-Friendly Feedback: Developed detailed “what-if” scenarios for all breakpoints (e.g., happy, unhappy on-net, unhappy off-net) and ensured clear, actionable responses for each scenario.
4. Data Integration For Follow-Up: Enabled results to be saved with optional user details (e.g., email, name, company phone number) and opened opportunities for further interaction by collecting reasons for inquiry.
5. Empowered User Experience: Focused on making users feel in control by eliminating perceived commitment during the process. Addressed complex installation cases with appropriate messaging to manage expectations.

Hi-Fidelity Designs

• Default View: Clean, intuitive interface for initial postcode entry.
• Address Lookup: Simplified process for selecting and confirming user addresses.
• Feedback Scenarios: Developed positive (happy) and pessimistic (unhappy on-net/off-net) feedback paths to guide user decisions effectively.

Fig 1.1 — VMB serviceability checker: default view.

Fig 1.2— VMB serviceability checker: address lookup.

Fig 2.1 — VMB serviceability checker: happy.

Fig 2.2 — VMB serviceability checker: unhappy on-net.

Fig 2.3— VMB serviceability checker: unhappy off-net.

The Result

The development team successfully integrated the redesigned serviceability checker into Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), a content management system, and across relevant product pages, ensuring a seamless user experience.

Enhanced targeting, user engagement, and data collection capabilities resulted in:

• Higher targeted sales.
• Improved conversion rates.
• Increased actionable sales lead data.

Recognition

The Virgin Media Business serviceability checker significantly improved the platform, winning the prestigious B2B Site of the Year Award and being recognised for impacting user engagement and conversion rates.