Problem, solved.

Iterative usability testing exercise focused on 2 main areas:
User insights & Prototype testing
leading to some CRAZY ROI!

The Background

As a UX Research Manager at Orange Group, I was responsible for uncovering insights that could transform the customer experience while driving business impact. One of the most pressing challenges we faced was the inefficiency of the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) top-up process.

At the time, millions of PAYG customers relied on in-store transactions, requiring them to visit a store, bank, or supermarket just to recharge their phones. This not only created an unnecessary burden on customers but also tied up store staff, resulting in longer wait times and lost revenue opportunities.

Given the scale of the issue, I initiated a comprehensive UX research study to understand why customers preferred in-store top-ups and how we could introduce a seamless mobile solution.

The Problem

Through contextual inquiries and user interviews, we identified several pain points:

Limited accessibility – Customers lacked an easy way to top up from their phones, forcing them to visit stores.
Complexity of existing digital solutions – Online top-ups required manually entering special characters, making the process cumbersome.
Lack of proactive engagement – Customers often ran out of credit unexpectedly, leading to frustration and emergency store visits.
Financial inefficiencies – Orange was paying a commission (around 3%) on every top-up transaction processed through banks and supermarkets, while online self-service top-ups were commission-free.

These findings highlighted an urgent need for a user-friendly digital alternative that could encourage customers to top up from their mobile devices instead.

The Solution

Based on our research, I helped design and validate a series of improvements that would make mobile top-ups effortless:

Low-credit text alerts – Customers would receive an SMS alert when their balance dropped below a customizable threshold, prompting them to top up before running out of credit.
One-click top-up assistant – We introduced an intuitive mobile-friendly interface that simplified the top-up process, eliminating the need for complex manual entries.
Email receipt option – To build trust and collect valuable customer data, we gave users the choice to receive an email receipt. This resulted in gathering approximately one million email addresses from previously anonymous customers.
Automatic top-up feature – Customers could opt-in for automatic top-ups whenever their balance fell below a set amount, ensuring they never ran out of credit.

By testing these solutions through multiple rounds of usability testing and iterative design, we ensured that the new system was both intuitive and effective.

The Benefits

For customers:

A fast, simple, and discreet way to top up anytime, anywhere.
More control over their account through proactive alerts and automation.
A better digital experience that removed the hassle of store visits.

For Orange Group:

A significant reduction in-store transactions, freeing up staff for higher-value tasks.
An estimated cost savings of £50 million per year by shifting top-ups away from commission-based channels.
A new channel for customer engagement, enabling re-marketing and conversion opportunities through email communications.
Increased traffic to the online portal, fostering a habit of self-service digital interactions.

This study not only improved the everyday experience of PAYG customers but also unlocked new business opportunities, demonstrating the power of UX research in driving both user satisfaction and operational efficiency.

“7,275 million post-paid customers
As many potential Web Portal regular visitors  if redirected elegantly from mobile to Web. ”

Digital
problem
solver…

Let’s get together and talk about your unique challenges – I’m friendly, approachable and love to work with other people to solve digital problems using innovative technology.

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