Berkshire Life Case Study
Industry: Disability Insurance
Site: http://www.berkshirelife.com
Description: Created Berkshire Life's online presence to forge a strong emotional connection with each of its target audiences, provide a user-friendly environment and drive key messages for one of the largest disability insurance providers in the nation.
Client Quote
"I'm confident in saying that, by executing Ceonex's plan, we have accomplished our goals... sales leads have more than doubled... In short, I would choose to entrust the production of any of our future web projects to Ceonex"
John Broderick,
Creative Director,
Berkshire Life
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Solution
User paths
The best websites entice users to explore, and multiple user paths make exploration easier and more likely to occur. User paths consider not only multiple routes through the site, but also consider what visitors are looking for and how they will find it.
Careful planning and mapping of user maps was done for the Berkshire Life site in order to provide a usable interface and to allow Ceonex to anticipate user needs. To address user needs, we planned for audience development tools to aid in the conversion process.
Users typically scan pages quickly and rely upon standard visual cues to decide where to click. Because searching for information can quickly become a frustrating task, multiple user paths increase the chance that visitors will find the link they want in a minimum of time. For example, a visitor may get to the Personal DI section from the home page by clicking on the navigation in the main image area or through the Personal DI display section underneath. Chances are, a personal disability insurance prospect will easily find one or the other link and quickly head to the relevant page.
By considering diverse user levels and proposing a variety of user tasks, it is possible to anticipate the needs of many users. Mapping out user paths can reveal the need for audience development tools; in the example user path we see the need for a quick contact form on every page:
| This user path for the Berkshire Life site reveals the need for a quick contact form | |
|---|---|
| User | 40+ male veterinarian (prospective business insurance policyholder). |
| Level | Moderately experienced user. Uses Internet 1-2 hours per day on cable modem from home. Has used Internet at this level for 2+ years, with prior experience with occasional surfing. Familiar with standard navigational schemes and is generally successful at performing basic tasks on a website. |
| Purpose | To find out if disability insurance only covers a complete inability to work. User knows a former colleague with a severe rotator cuff injury which left him unable to perform surgery, but able to work in retail management at an extremely reduced income. User started thinking about what would happen to him and his family if he had a similar injury. |
| Path | User searches for "disability insurance" on Google and finds Berkshire Life on the first page of hits. He clicks on that result and enters the site via the main page. After scanning the main page briefly he sees a blue bar titled "Business DI" and an accompanying photo of a doctor, with whom he identifies as being similar to a veterinarian. Clicking the blue bar, he enters the Business Disability Insurance section of the site, and is oriented by seeing the same photo of the doctor at the top of the page, as well as a general color theme that matches the blue bar he clicked. He scans the variety of products and then scans the introductory text, which includes the phrase "own occupation," which sounds like it would cover a case similar to his colleague's. He clicks a product, "Voluntary Income Protection" and does not see any more text addressing his question. Then he sees a "Quick contact" form on the right side, fills out his name and e-mail address, and asks for clarification on his question. |
User paths help plan for a site that entices users to explore and provides a highly usable interface to navigate - thus contributing to a pleasant user experience and increased customer conversion.
