Increasing Client Retention at The Financial Therapy Clinical Institute
Tl;dr: I was hired by a financial therapy start-up to increase client retention through data-driven actionable insights and to establish an initial company-wide UX research practice. By analyzing existing user data, improving existing data collection methods (1 longitudinal quantitative UX survey) and establishing novel data collection points at crucial user touchpoints (2 mixed method UX surveys and longitudinal interviews), I discovered ways to streamline the user onboarding process, standardize workflows, and better tailor marketing materials to audiences that engage with FTCI's services the most. The implementation of my recommendations resulted in a 196.14% increase in average monthly paid client sessions ($1,228 average income increase per month) and the establishment of company-wide standardized research practices including a remote workflow to streamline client contact points and ensure completion of user surveys, the incorporation of regular data collection points to continuously monitor process performance, and the application of a journey map and service blueprint in business decision-making and strategic planning. ​​​​
Project Background and Goals
The Financial Therapy Clinical Institute (FTCI) is a start-up offering virtual collaborative financial therapy, financial counseling, and financial planning services to individuals, couples, and families. FTCI also sells online trainings to professionals in these fields. Six months into their launch, client retention beyond the onboarding process was low, clinicians were frustrated by a clunky onboarding process, data tracking of business processes was non-existent, no UX artifacts or strategic plans were being used to make business decisions, and there was no standardized workflow to ensure that clients were contacted at critical touchpoints or were completing required tasks.
I was hired as a solo UX researcher with the goals of:
-
Increasing client retention and revenue from client sessions and professional trainings
-
Establishing an initial research practice with minimum research quality standards.
Challenges
-
No established research practice or client tracking tools in place
-
Low UX research maturity and limited research experience among FTCI team members
-
No available funds for user data collection or research tools
-
Pressure to increase revenue quickly to keep the business afloat
-
Multifaceted business services tailored to non-professionals (individuals, couples, and families) and 3 distinct professional groups (financial therapists, financial planners, and financial counselors)
Illustration of FTCI Journey Map created using ChatGPT
Analyses used: Descriptive statistics
Software used: Google Forms, Google Sheets, Microsoft Office, Simple Practice, Thinkific, Canva, ChatGPT
Research Methods
-
I pulled and analyzed existing quantitative client data from SimplePractice (an online client tracking tool) using descriptive statistics to assess at what point clients were discontinuing services, as well as:
-
# of monthly sessions per month and per professional
-
# of total running sessions per client
-
# clients who hit retention point (2 sessions with 1 professional)
-
How initial reach-outs heard about FTCI
-
# of consultation calls resulting from initial reach-outs
-
Outcome of consultation calls (e.g., initiated services, dropped)
-
Completion of exit survey and longitudinal user survey at 3 time points to assess client outcomes
-
-
I revised an existing Google Forms quantitative user survey to collect client data at 3 time points (upon sign-up, at termination, and 3 months post-termination) to assess impact of FTCI services on client outcomes (e.g., financial anxiety, money behaviors)
-
I co-created and launched qualitative exit survey in SimplePractice to collect user feedback on experience with clinical services at termination
-
I created and launched a quantitative user survey to collect user data after purchasing FTCI training courses (e.g., how did you hear about course, what motivated you to take it, what field/profession are you in?)
-
I created a service blueprint and journey map to identify critical user touchpoints and inform business decisions (illustrated left & included below)
-
I co-created a remote workflow with a client services tracking tool to ensure that FTCI was contacting clients at each critical touchpoint in the service blueprint
-
I established a UX research practice with minimum quality research standards, research tracking tools, tailored task management system, and standardized research operation procedures that can be easily followed by current and future FTCI team members
Crucial Findings
-
Most clients were not continuing services past completing the 4 required unpaid onboarding sessions (1 with each clinician and 1 with the team)
-
Most potential clients heard about FTCI clinical services through a referral from another financial or mental health professional
-
Most training course purchasers heard about the course via LinkedIn and professional Facebook groups
-
Clients were not completing the user survey assessing client outcomes, FTCI was not reminding clients to take the survey, and FTCI was not tracking whether clients took the survey at established time points
-
FTCI was not soliciting client feedback on experience with clinical services
FTCI Journey Map
FTCI Service Blueprint
My Recommendations
Based on these findings, I recommended that FTCI:
-
Remove the clunky onboarding process and get clients started immediately with paid sessions with the professionals of their choice
-
Implement a remote workflow with a tracking system to ensure that clients are being contacted at critical touchpoints and are completing required user surveys
-
Prioritize marketing FTCI clinical and training services to financial and mental health professionals via LinkedIn and Facebook groups
-
Build in qualitative and quantitative opportunities for user feedback naturally throughout client services
Impact
After just 4 months, the implementation of my recommendations resulted in a 196.14% increase in average monthly paid client sessions ($1,228 average income increase per month) as well as the establishment of company-wide standardized research practices, including:
-
The integration of a remote workflow to streamline client contact points and ensure completion of client tasks
-
The operationalization and incorporation of regular data collection points to continuously monitor process performance, including 3 mixed method online user surveys and 1 longitudinal interview
-
The application of 1 journey map and 1 service blueprint in business decision-making and strategic planning.
My Learnings
1. Utilizing UX research to make business decisions can have significant impact, especially for small businesses! In this case, the extra $1,228 in average monthly income made the difference between being profitable and being in the hole each month.
2. Entrepreneurs and clinicians likely need guidance on how to collect and analyze the data they need to make business decisions. UX researchers can help set up research practices that these professionals can use long after the researcher is gone.
3. Journey maps and service blueprints can help business owners step out of the nitty gritty day-to-day stressors of entrepreneurship and help them see the bigger picture of where their efforts should be focused to be most successful.
4. There are LOTS of ways to collect data that can inform business decisions without spending a penny. UX researchers can help entrepreneurs take stock of the data they already have and identify additional opportunities for user feedback that occur naturally through the user journey.