RAC Digital Best Practice Guide

“Take a risk and keep testing, because what works today won’t work tomorrow, but what worked yesterday may work again.” - Amrita Sahasrabudhe

The digital world is constantly evolving and shapes the way in which consumers are now interacting with products. This guide is by no way the be all and end all for all systems, software and journeys, but it does display our own digital learnings behind our direct RAC website and those of our partners. DIGITAL BEST PRACTICE GUIDE 2017

The simple use of iconography, tables and colours can go much further than you think when displaying product information and options to visitors. Each section of this guide aims to enhance your direct site content and more importantly your quote and buy journey.

CONTENTS

Cover level tables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Iconography Hidden content Hero imagery Simple text Mobile Size matters Forms Optimisation Direct website Digital support

COVER LEVEL TABLES

Using a table to display the RAC cover levels is one of the best methods. Users are familiar with comparison tables on the aggregators and expect to see some level of side-by-side product comparison.

COVER LEVEL TABLES... When using a table, there are some rules of thumb. Firstly, only use a table if you have two or more cover levels. Secondly, use a simple colour palette to enhance the options to show differentiation. Thirdly, use a design that shows the user the selection they’ve made. Lastly, the less text the better.

1

ICONOGRAPHY

The use of iconography is growing faster than people can update their sites to keep up. It’s being used as a way of displaying the same content, but without the need for text. Where a sentence may have explained a section of the journey needing selection, this is now done using a simple, well designed icon.

ICONOGRAPHY... The use of icons helps to draw people’s attention to a product or service. For example, our icon for At Home cover is a simple garage. It incorporates our brand colour palette and signifies exactly what it’s meant to without the need for explanation. Icons are also the best suited to the mobile world a that’s where they came from. There’s a reverse design phenomenon happening, whereby mobile devices are shaping the look and feel of all sites.

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HIDDEN CONTENT

Again this is something that has developed from the world of mobile. The use of the infamous ‘i’ to hide text that either provides more information or compliant wording that otherwise makes the page too fussy.

HIDDEN CONTENT... Other methods for hiding important text that adds clarification for the user are hover over boxes and collapsible banners. The use of all or some of these design features allows for a cleaner look, creating less confusion and allowing customers to make an informed decision with clear, concise information.

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HERO IMAGERY

High quality imagery is a controversial topic between web designers and developers. This is primarily down to the size they have to be to ensure the pixel quality remains the same as in design stage. But the fact remains the same, imagery can be the best way to evoke more of a personal connection to a product than an icon and table can.

HERO IMAGERY... We have a broad range of strong hero imagery with vans, weather types, breakdown scenarios and settings. We also have a team that can manipulate the original raw files to match the tone and brand colours to that of yours. The use of compelling imagery and sensible design can be a winning formula for a practical, efficient journey that stands out from others.

4

SIMPLE TEXT

For the areas that need larger amounts of text, less is more. Even though it’s hard to cut down important or compliant text, it’s a huge part of ensuring people don’t get bogged down and drop out. Simple sentences and simple words are key. If customers understand the product, they’re more likely to buy it.

SIMPLE TEXT... Don’t be afraid to make the text more casual too, if that fits in with your brand. One of the mistakes that people make is having a great looking site, but dull content. The words need to be engaging as well as informative. Be clever with the space you have at your disposal. Move all imperative text to somewhere other than making it the the main focal point of the page.

5

MOBILE

The mobile world is taking over. More and more people are buying via mobile devices and are used to doing so due to the rise of the apps. This produces issues for websites that use tables and hero imagery. Everything that needs to be included from a product information perspective and wording to remain compliant is suddenly hard to squeeze into a much smaller space.

MOBILE... The key here is to use a mixture of the elements discussed on previous pages. Hidden text, icons and simpler wording can add up to the perfect formula for creating a great looking mobile journey. Remember that there is bound to be more scrolling, so use this to your advantage and don’t cram too much into the screen for each section. Of course you have to be careful as too much scrolling and people will get frustrated.

6

SIZE MATTERS

We have the mobile world to thank once again for the new influx of designs that incorporate larger text with bigger, bolder form boxes. There seems to be a real need for text and fields to be more obvious, bigger and more prominent. Essentially there are two ways to think about an audience. One, they’re regular users of new technology with cutting edge digital UI and UX such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube etc. and will instantly get how to use hamburger menus and settings cogs. Two, they’re new to the digital world and need everything spelling out to them.

SIZE MATTERS... The answer, simply use a great mix of the two. Use new style icons, features and trends, but have them explained. Create a hints and tips guide for first-time visitors like they have on software. A quick tour, that can be followed by newcomers, or instantly exited by savvy surfers.

7

FORMS

Input forms are an absolute necessity for selling. They collect all the information you need to deduce whether or not the person can have the cover/service and what the cost will be. But there is a death-by-form issue with some sites. Either they don’t remember your information, or there are far too many fields that are unnecessary for actually producing a quote.

FORMS... The best way is to group the information into separate sections and windows to allow for a break between each set of data. Also, the more you can do to make the form filling easier the better. Using simple UI features like automatic tabbing when putting in dates, saves seconds but makes the user feel happy that they aren’t doing all the legwork. Simple fixes like this can reduce your overall drop-out rate.

8

OPTIMISATION

In the digital world, optimisation is king. Think of it like a recipe for a cake, all the ingredients compliment each other well, but there’s room for improvement. So you tinker with the amounts of each element until you get the perfect result. All along running taste tests to ensure you’re on the right track.

OPTIMISATION... You can use everything from A/B testing to user feedback sessions to make sure your site is performing at its best. Don’t be afraid to change things based on the data in front of you. There are some that don’t want to change things even though they have tested other UI features that perform better, because they worry that the conversion rates could slip. Ultimately, continuous improvement is always the way forward and taking slight calculated risks comes with the territory.

9

DIRECT WEBSITE IMPROVEMENT

The direct website for most companies gets a little lost. With the new age of aggregators leading to landing pages and massive get a quote buttons that thrust you straight into the sales journey, there’s little time to focus on the actual website. But make it a good one and people will interact.

DIRECT WEBSITE IMPROVEMENT... The best way to do this is to create engaging content. Blogs, product information and hints and tips are all recipes for success in this area. Teaser paragraphs to tempt you in to read more about products and give you more time with a visitor that may lead to a customer. The art of this comes down to making it interesting and not too long. If you have a copywriter then put them to work, they’ll surely thank you for letting them get all creative in a world that’s considered beige.

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OUR DIGITAL SUPPORT FOR YOU

We can assist with enhancements to your quote and buy journeys, SEO, social media and direct sites. Our marketing team comprises UI and UX professionals with experience and knowledge you can draw on.

OUR DIGITAL SUPPORT FOR YOU... Our process for working with you is based on 6 fundamental steps.

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Proposal for change

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Review of the existing

Agree changes

Ready to collaborate? GO

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Make changes

Re-assess

RUN

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Analysis & data share

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“It’s much easier to double your business by doubling your conversion rate than by doubling your traffic.” - Jeff Eisenberg