Reducing Support Load with Smarter Onboarding UX

Transforming churn into retention through a timely, transparent renewal flow.

Outcome

Fewer billing-related complaints

Less pressure on the customer service team

40% fewer support tickets during onboarding

Index

The Challenge: Reducing Uncertainty in Onboarding

The context

Switching to a new landline and internet provider often meant weeks of uncertainty. Customers signed a contract but had no visibility on when the line would be activated or what the first bill would look like.

The challenge

This lack of clarity created frustration, generated a high volume of support calls, and weakened trust at the very start of the customer relationship. Virgin Media wanted to transform this silent waiting period into a transparent, supportive onboarding experience.

My role

As Lead Product Designer at CI&T, I co-directed UX the design of the full onboarding flow. I was responsible for turning strategy into a mobile-first, self-service dashboard, fully owning the UI design, defining visual hierarchy and components, and ensuring alignment with Virgin Media’s digital design system.

Research & Insights: Understanding the Rationale

Mapping the journey

We analysed the end-to-end onboarding flow—from contract signing to the first bill. We identified key “pain points” where customers felt most anxious:

silence between confirmation and engineer visit,
uncertainty about costs and billing start dates,
lack of clear next steps while waiting.

User sentiment analysis

Interviews and customer service data confirmed a core insight: frustration wasn’t caused only by delays, but by silence. Users didn’t just want updates; they needed reassurance, transparency, and a sense of control.

Design & Implementation: From Principles to Validation

Principi di design

We translated these insights into design requirements: make progress visible, explain costs upfront, reduce unnecessary contacts, and keep customers engaged during downtime.

Key modules of the dashboard:

Dynamic timeline — auto-updating with backend data, showing each milestone from order to activation.
Billing preview — transparent cost breakdown to prevent “first bill shock.”
Gamified rewards — lightweight actions (e.g. download the app, watch a welcome video) unlocked small discounts.
Focused FAQs — a compact section addressing top concerns to reduce support dependency.

Prototyping & validation

We created and tested prototypes through A/B interviews, refining visual hierarchy, language, and flows to ensure customers could find what they needed fast, without cognitive overload.

Impact & Outcomes: What Changed for Customers and Business

User experience impact

The onboarding dashboard turned frustration into trust. Customers could track progress, anticipate their first bill, and feel reassured throughout the process.