Lincoln Level Advantage

Speed read:
Project snapshot

Transform Your Financial Planning Tool into a High‑Engagement Engine

‍When Lincoln Financial Group needed to turn their under‑performing Level Advantage calculator into a seamless, must‑use experience. Here’s how I drove a 150% jump in engagement:

The Challenge:
Low click‑through rates:
- Target users weren’t finding or completing the tool’s flow.
Confusing experience:
Limiting users to one crediting strategy in Step 1 and a generic “Calculate” CTA stalled progress.

My Solution:
‍Stakeholder & User Research
– In‑depth interviews and analytics review to pinpoint where users dropped off.
‍User Journey Mapping
– Visualized every touchpoint to uncover friction zones.
‍Strategic Redesign
– Contextual Help Text: Guided users step‑by‑step to reduce hesitation.
– CTA Refinement: Swapped “Calculate” for the more compelling “See My Results.”

The Results
- +150% increase in click‑throughs and tool completions
- Faster decision‑making: users grasped the flow at a glance
- Elevated brand trust: a smoother, more gratifying experience for financial professionals and clients
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Role

UX Lead collaborating closely with stakeholders, the mission was to identify and address the factors contributing to low user engagement.
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What prompted the redesign?

Despite its potential, the Lincoln Level Advantage tool was struggling with a low click rate among its target audience.

Project goals

Recognizing the urgency, the project's focal point was to dissect the user journey, uncovering potential stumbling blocks hindering user interaction.

About the experience

Accessible through a public link, the Lincoln Level Advantage tool serves both financial professionals and annuities clients. Users access the tool via the Lincoln Level Advantage Suite or through targeted social media campaigns.

The tool presents users with a series of steps, guiding them through selections and ultimately prompting them to click "calculate." However, usability tests unveiled significant hurdles from the onset, users were often perplexed by the limitation of choosing only one crediting strategy in Step 1. Frustrations persisted into subsequent steps, where users expected instant results upon selection. In response, I meticulously charted user touchpoints, unraveling the journey's pain points. View user touchpoints.

Navigating through challenges

Initially, stakeholders proposed a quick fix, a simple arrow pointing to the "calculate" button. However, after a 60-day trial, it became evident that this did not address the fundamental flow issue. Armed with user testing data, I identified key pain points leading to a more effective solution.

Crafting solutions rooted in user insights

Addressing user pain points, the following changes were implemented:- Help text integration: I strategically placed guidance throughout eah step, ensuring users felt supported and informed- CTA refinement: Recognizing the importance of clear direction, I replaced the generic "Calculate" button with the more enticing "See My Results."

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150% increase in user engagement

Upon launching these enhancements in our pre-production environment and subjecting them to rigorous user testing, the results were nothing short of astounding, a staggering 150% increase in user engagement. Users not only grasped the tool's flow more intuitively but also reported a smoother, more gratifying experience.

Speed read:Project snapshot