Unlocking Digital Success: PwC Transforms User Journeys with Optimal
Second-largest professional services network in the world
PwC, a global leader in professional services, has successfully integrated Optimal's platform into their client service offerings to transform digital experiences across finance, insurance, and public sector organizations. PwC helps clients like Astro, MetLife, and the National MS Society create more intuitive navigation systems for customer-facing interfaces while also optimizing internal platforms.
Digital Experience Hurdles
PwC identified several common challenges faced by their diverse clientele:
- Websites and apps that were too complicated and hard to use
- Too much content that wasn't organized in a user-friendly way
- Company jargon that confused customers
- Product and design decisions based on opinions rather than actual user data
- Both customer-facing websites and employee tools needed user experience improvements
Evidence-Based Methodology
PwC implemented Optimal's comprehensive platform as part of their UX strategy for their clients to address specific navigation and usability challenges:
- Card Sorting: Deployed to understand how users naturally categorize and organize information, revealing mental models that inform intuitive menu structures
- Tree Testing: Conducted to assess how successfully users can navigate through proposed site structures to complete key tasks
- Hybrid Researcsh: Combined methodologies to validate findings and create comprehensive user experience insights
Sector-Specific Success Stories
Financial Services: Streamlining Complex Product Navigation
When working with Astro, PwC faced the challenge of organizing numerous financial products and services in a way that made sense to their diverse customer base. Using Optimal's card sorting capabilities, PwC researchers gathered insights from over 200 participants representing different customer segments. The research revealed significant disconnects between how the organization categorized its offerings internally versus how customers naturally grouped these services.
By implementing a revised navigation structure based on these findings, PwC helped Astro achieve a 28% improvement in self-service task completion rates and reduced support calls related to website navigation by 17% within three months of launch.
Insurance Industry: Redesigning the Customer Portal Experience
For MetLife, PwC undertook a comprehensive redesign of their customer portal with the goal of improving policy management and claims processes. Through multiple rounds of tree testing using Optimal's platform, PwC's UX team identified critical usability issues in their proposed navigation structure.
The research highlighted specific terminology confusion around policy documents and benefits information. By revising labels and restructuring the information architecture based on research findings, PwC created a more intuitive portal that reduced customer confusion. Post-implementation metrics showed a 32% increase in digital self-service adoption and significantly higher customer satisfaction scores.
Public Sector: Creating Accessible Resource Navigation
The National MS Society engaged PwC to organize their extensive educational resources, support services, and fundraising information in a way that served multiple audience needs—from newly diagnosed patients to long-term supporters and healthcare professionals.
Utilizing Optimal's card sorting tools, PwC collected insights from diverse stakeholder groups. The findings revealed distinct mental models across different user types, informing a flexible navigation system that adapted to user needs. The research-driven redesign resulted in a 41% increase in resource access by first-time visitors and improved engagement with support services.
Internal Systems: Optimizing Employee Experience
Beyond customer-facing applications, PwC also applied Optimal's research methodologies to enhance clients' internal systems. Card sorting and tree testing for intranet and HR platforms revealed significant opportunities to align these systems with actual employee workflows rather than organizational structures.
These internal improvements resulted in measurable efficiency gains, with employees reporting 25% faster access to frequently needed information and resources, ultimately supporting better service delivery to external customers.
Strategic Consulting Advantages
PwC's strategic implementation of Optimal's research platform has delivered several key benefits:
- Evidence-Based Consultation: Moving clients beyond opinion-based design to user-validated structures
- Cost Efficiency: Identifying and fixing navigation issues before expensive implementation phases
- Cross-Functional Alignment: Creating shared understanding between client marketing, IT, and business units
- Continuous Improvement Framework: Establishing baselines and metrics for ongoing optimization
- Balanced Organizational and User Needs: Reconciling internal business requirements with user expectations
Quantifiable Client Results
By systematically applying card sorting and tree testing methodologies through Optimal's platform, PwC has transformed how they deliver digital experience consulting services. The data-driven approach has allowed them to help clients create navigation systems that align with user expectations while still meeting business objectives.
The result is a significant enhancement in clients' digital self-service capabilities, improved user satisfaction, and more efficient operations—all supported by concrete research evidence rather than assumptions. As digital touchpoints continue to be critical competitive differentiators, PwC has established itself as a trusted partner in creating exceptional user experiences backed by robust research methodologies.
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