Client
Toyota
Service
Project lead, Client Relations, Product Management, UX Direction, Creative Direction, User Research
Industry
Automotive
Finished
June 30, 2020
At Saatchi, my role was pivotal in spearheading the UX efforts for Toyota's digital transformation. Entrusted with overseeing a team of 15 UX designers, my primary mission was to bring cohesion and best practices to Toyota's digital ecosystem, focusing on the bottom of the sales funnel experiences encompassing Toyota Financial Services, Toyota SmartPath, and Toyota Owners.
Upon my arrival, I identified a need for a shift from a traditional agency process to a more modern and collaborative approach, essential for product development. Championing efforts to align goals and streamline processes across Project Management, Account Management, Strategy, and the design team, I played a central role in reshaping how we worked and interacted within as a team.
Collaborating closely with our Account Manager, I engaged with the client to introduce and integrate the new process, facilitating their seamless involvement. Overcoming initial challenges with the development partners, I invested time in understanding their goals and frustrations. By aligning our processes with theirs, we achieved increased velocity, improved morale for both our client and the development team, fostering a more collaborative and effective working relationship.
Our design challenge was to enhance the mid-funnel and lower-funnel shopping experience by introducing a real-time inventory feature on Toyota.com. This feature allowed users to save vehicles, payment options, and deals to be shared with the dealership. To seamlessly connect the online and in-dealership experience, we created a tablet app for dealers to pick up shoppers' journeys where they left off online. Workshops involving all stakeholders and user research studies generated valuable insights and validated our hypotheses.
The launched product saw a remarkable decrease in dealership time from around 3 hours to approximately 1 hour, accompanied by a notable 1.8% increase in purchase prices. Post-purchase, users could manage payments and maintenance seamlessly through Toyota Financial Services (TFS) and Toyota Owners, integrating financing, payment, and ownership experiences into the Toyota purchasing ecosystem. This not only enhanced customer retention and satisfaction but also showcased the transformative power of UX in driving tangible business outcomes.
During my time at Saatchi and Saatchi LA, I had the privilege of leaving a lasting digital legacy. Through meticulous attention to detail and a relentless pursuit of innovation, I led the team to transform Toyota's online presence into an engaging, informative, and intuitive platform.
The skills and experiences I gained in this chapter have continued to shape my career. The ability to fuse creativity with functionality, turning complex data into intuitive experiences, and maintaining a user-centric mindset all while increasing demand and revenue—these lessons have been my guiding lights as I ventured into new territories.
But my journey didn't end at Saatchi and Saatchi LA; it was merely the beginning of a lifelong commitment to pushing the boundaries of design and innovation.
