SmartBiz | Enhancing Pre-Qualification Error
THE PROJECT
When a borrower attempts to get pre-qualified but we do not have proper information to properly perform soft-credit pull, we present an ambiguous error message.
This does not provide borrowers and internal account managers with the necessary context to properly resolve it.
MY ROLE
I worked closely with Product, Engineering, Funding Operations, Data Analytics teams on discovery, research to understand painpoints and opportunity to resolve errors and reduce business cost.
SmartBiz is a lending marketplace that works small businesses, offering SBA loans, term loans, lines of credit and alternative financing through a network of bank partners and help increase approval rates by matching small businesses with the right funding option.
Previously, borrowers encountered unclear and discouraging feedback when they are unable to continue during the prequalification process. The Product and Design team’s objective was to investigate ways to acknowledge the problem, show empathy towards the user, and guide them through the process.
The goal was to communicate clearly what the error is.
I collaborated with the Engineering teams to investigate data originating from Experian to categorize the specific error types. With that information, we are able to identify issues such as frozen or locked that borrower can self-service and continue with the prequalification process.
Investing time to improve customer experience CX can help businesses reduce costs by empowering borrower to self-serve and minimize the need for customer support.
The result was reduced number of sofl-credit pull per unique borrower— there were less repeated clicks from rage clicks or additional attempts.
We made significant impact on the reducing business overhead: 33% decrease in unnecessary Experian pull, and 91% drop in product support requests per week.
On the borrower application, this enhancement reduced drop-offs before prequalification to 85%.
