MY APPROACH
The new app was designed to highlight the positive aspects of being a T-Mobile customer.
Instead of focusing solely on resolving account or device issues, the app would serve as the primary channel for engaging customers at every stage of their journey.
Successful engagements would foster trust and build long-term customer relationships—boosting brand loyalty, excitement, and advocacy.
CUSTOMER DATA SHOWED US THAT THE APP MAINLY SUPPORTED THE PAINFUL ASPECTS OF OWNING A MOBILE PHONE.
PROJECT GOAL
Launch a T-Mobile flagship app that worked for iPhone users.
MY ROLE: STRATEGY & UX DESIGN DIRECTOR
-
Product strategy & design vision
-
Insights Director over all UXR: quantitative + qualitative
-
Design deliverables: strategy, UX, visuals, content
-
Led executive design reviews
-
Stakeholder engagement: Director & VP level
-
Led agency and internal teams
T-MOBILE FLAGSHIP APP
RESULTS: 3 YEARS AFTER LAUNCH
-
4.8 stars, 2.4 Million ratings
-
40% increase in availability
-
Launched asynchronous messaging functionality for Team of Experts, which was credited for:
-
37% fewer calls to care - postpaid customers
-
26% reduction in overall cost to serve
-
60% increase in NPS
-
39% decrease in post-paid churn
-
RESULTS: 1 YEAR AFTER LAUNCH
-
23 Million Downloads
-
4.8 stars in Apple App Store - 500,000 ratings
-
110% increase in completed bill payments
T-Mobile's app has a 1.2 Star rating in the Apple App Store. It's decrepit and unusable.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
BACKGROUND
We had over 20 million iPhone users, yet only a few hundred thousand app downloads and an App Store rating of 1.2 Stars. This presented a massive opportunity to engage and serve our customer base, with the experiences that they deserved.
It was also a chance to drive significant financial impact for the company through reduced calls to care, lower churn, and increased upselling and cross-selling.
For a company that prided itself on being "Customer Obsessed", this was a golden opportunity to prove it.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
The category was lacking. There was definitely room to create the best-in-class, industry-defining approach.
We needed to shift the existing customer mindset of: “just call 611 and find out everything you need to know” Most wireless customers still managed their accounts from a desktop computer or by calling to speak to a customer service agent. Yet, mobile phones had already become the primary access point to the internet.
HOW WE DID IT.
Gaining alignment on the experience strategy and overall conceptual structure took us three months. We conducted multiple research efforts with T-Mobile customers. We spent a lot of time looking at the other companies' apps both in and outside the wireless category, examining travel, financial, social, and commerce industry apps.
Then came three months of concept design for the various high-level sections of the app (Home Page, Account, Billing, Shopping, Navigation, etc.). We designed multiple concepts. We took screenshots, loaded them on our phones, and reviewed them daily. We built mobile prototypes and used them all the time. We continued testing with customers every week.
The detailed design phase involved many of the same activities, spread across multiple teams working for six months until we had a product ready for launch.
I ran and participated in hundreds of hours of working sessions, led executive presentations, worked with all levels of product managers and developers day in and day out building relationships and trust for our team.
Did we get everything that we wanted? Of course not. Did we have fun? Hell yes! Did we launch an app that has a positive impact on the millions of users and drives millions of dollars a year into the business? Yes, we did!