Tressis

We boosted the online channel by implementing a new strategy for attracting and capturing leads

Client

Tressis

2021

Project

We boosted the online channel by implementing a new strategy for attracting and capturing leads

Context

We carried out an analysis of the brand and digital channels. The problem was not in the web design, but in its digital strategy.

Solution

We redefine the audiences, detect search opportunities, and main positioning pains, create new conversion milestones, propose decision flows by segment, create the visual and verbal narrative, design the illustrations, assemble the mock-up of the public website and the simulators.

What we did

Qualitative analysis, competitive benchmark and relevant players, concept map, SEO/Positioning, redefinition of segments, decision flows, wireframes, design system

Introduction

This type of project is always a challenge. Improving something that works is always more difficult than fixing something that doesn’t. Tressis, a leading independent financial planning and wealth management company, contacted us because they wanted to redesign their website.

Since its beginnings about 20 years ago, the company has been strongly committed to digital. In fact, they were among the first companies to have their own investment platform (back in the year 2000). Wow!

They are also one of the most innovative companies in the sector.

So, when looking at a website refresh, what often appears at first glance to be “a problem” is not a real problem. The real challenges lie beyond what is visible.

When you enter a website, the first things that catch your eye may be the use of color, the typographic style, the layout, the messaging or the hierarchy of information… And these things—while important—are almost never the elements that make the big difference. You need to look beneath the surface.

The plan

So, having done the introduction, let's tell you what we did:

First, we asked Tressis to assign a working team of five people with enough vision and experience to represent the whole company.

And within Mormedi, we formed a team to take on the challenge; a team made up of specialists in information logic and processes, visuals, positioning, technology, and copywriting.

The reason we started this project was to "redesign the website", but the true objectives were more complex: attracting traffic, capturing leads, and improving retention rates.

We also needed to build (in record time) financial planning simulators for the website.

To achieve this, we made a plan. We started by rolling up our sleeves and gaining a deep understanding of the company. We established parallel workstreams for analysis of the performance of the existing website, of the company brand, and of the existing customer research documentation.

What we learned

In terms of the existing website, we analyzed important aspects such as page authority, number of inbound links, organic traffic volume, bounce rates, keyword strategy and semantic universe, and opportunities to make internal links align with search terms. This gave us a clear picture of what was happening: good content, but few visits.

In terms of understanding the company and its brand, we interviewed 14 customers. We wanted to get the broadest possible view of Tressis from different types of customers. These interviews gave us visibility on the company brand, vision, and its people, as well as the company’s strengths, weaknesses, points of differentiation, business processes, products, and audiences.

Finally, in terms of the existing customer research documentation, Tressis had a trove of data that helped us understand what its customers were thinking. The company carries out regular research with users to understand their level of satisfaction and, above all, what needs to improve.

Once we understood everything about the company and its client base, we looked at what was going on in the wider market, looking at good and bad practices and trends, as well as pre-established models or solutions that could be incorporated into the new site.

When looking at digital channels, it is important to know certain things, like how people search, why they abandon certain processes and what motivates them to continue. We have gone from "being digital” to "digital beings”.

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Here comes the design

So, we started designing our funnel for people at each stage, with the required actions or desired outcomes:

  1. Stranger – reassure through reputation
  2. Visitor - inspire
  3. Lead - convert
  4. Loyal customer – encourage prescribing

The design of these steps took into account the best practices we had observed from over 40 different companies across sectors, including: private banking, traditional banking, challenger banks, neobanks, fintechs, investment funds, fund managers / platforms, consulting, insurance and others.

Wow, did we have a lot of good material to work with.

Now that we knew Tressis’—and its customers’—"why", "what", "how" and "when", as well as taking a broad set of inspiration to help us look at how far we could go with the new site, we set out to redefine the customer segments.

In reviewing the sector, we realized that in private banking there is a big focus on numbers, investment, and profitability… and not much on people. And there is not much explanation for the average person. It is a sector that feels like it is for professionals, by professionals.

Opening the field to more people

For this reason, we decided to take a different path; private banking had to be understandable for the majority, accessible, and inclusive. It ought to reach more people. That is why we identified eight customer segments that ought to be addressed, instead of the existing three.

Once we had defined the new segments, we redefined the conversion milestones. Conversion milestones are those objectives and micro-objectives for which certain flows of information on a site are targeted. (For example, on Amazon, a conversion milestone would be to buy an item.) We set about 10 general milestones and 5 specific ones for each customer segment.

In other words, we created paths so that each type of person entering the site would find what they were looking for.

This helped us to keep in mind that the site should respond to the needs of a variety of people, should manage their expectations, and minimize errors. And, of course, the site had to meet Tressis’ business objectives.

Once the segments and conversion milestones had been mapped, we were ready to redesign the decision trees and the web architecture.

In this process, you have to plan for every possibility:

  • Who is the visitor?
  • Do you have a goal (conversion milestone) for them, based on their needs?
  • What should their path be?
  • What if they don’t take it?
  • What if they go a different way?

When building a website, as when building anything, the foundations must be stable. In this case, having clear segments, milestones, and decision trees made it easier for us to create the appropriate web architecture and wireframes.

The concept

And things done right, look right.

When we put the relationship at the center of business, things change, and everything revolves around this. A focus on the relationship leads to better engagement which, in turn, shows us the way that we can improve the relationship.

So, with this in mind, we created a logical information system and translated it into wireframes. Once these were approved, we started to test different visuals.

What should Tressis look like?

We went back to asking, exploring, and testing to find the right messages, types of illustration, types of images, color palette, and typographic system.

Each communication element, each piece, each white space, should reflect the company’s brand values. And they should serve to position the company, too, in people’s minds and for the practical business of SEO.

And, finally, we succeeded in creating a website that would serve as an example of best practice within the sector. A website for learning, for sharing, and exploring. A website that serves Tressis’ clients and potential clients in the best way possible.

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