CASE STUDY

Simplifying 401(k) options for small businesses

UX STRATEGYSOFTWARE DEVELOPMENTWEBSITE ANALYTICS STRATEGY

The Challenge

Saving for retirement isn’t always easy. Many American workers haven’t saved a fraction of what they would need to retire comfortably, and more than 5 million U.S. employers — many of which are small businesses — don’t currently offer a retirement plan. Principal Financial Group® recognized the need for a simple, affordable, entirely online 401(k) option for small businesses that didn’t require the aid of a financial advisor.

Together, with Ubiquity Retirement + Savings®, they hoped to create a first-of-its-kind solution that would be a true disruptor. And to bring Simply Retirement by Principal® to market, they not only needed a website with an interactive planning tool, but a plan to launch it during a global pandemic.

OUR
APPROACH

Principal® tapped into our specialties for a solution that was tailored to two different audiences: small business owners and their financial professionals. The bar was high. They wanted a revolutionary user experience with seamless ease from start to finish, knowing the user experience (UX) would be critical to the product’s success or failure. With that in mind, we built the prospect and customer experience from the ground up — designing every aspect for simplicity. Our focus was on creating a clean, modern solution with user-friendly tools in keeping with the human-centered approach of the Principal® brand.

Principal Approach 1
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The Solution

As a new solution to the market, Simply Retirement by Principal® required a significant development effort that went far beyond a website. We worked with Principal® and Ubiquity developers and integrated with each company’s application program interface (API) to create a simple, seamless process for users to create a 401(k) plan proposal and submit it for purchase.

The application was built using React and Ruby on Rails, integrating with various APIs and Pardot to create additional customer relationship management (CRM) functionalities. Our team also created a Google Data Studio reporting tool that would allow Principal to easily view all metrics to date. Additionally, we engaged a variety of user groups to test the website and give feedback to help tailor the content effectively.

Meanwhile, our partner, Performance Marketing, developed the product messaging — creating a distinct personality for the product within the overall Principal brand — and coordinated a go-to-market plan for the launch of the new website.

TECHNOLOGIES

React
Ruby on Rails
Google Data Studio

SERVICES

UX Strategy
Software development
Website analytics strategy

PROJECT
OUTCOME

Simply Retirement by Principal® launched in the summer of 2020 with an initial focus on financial professionals. By the end of the year, sales were up 50 percent — with additional small business marketing efforts and new site enhancements to help financial professionals sell Simply Retirement by Principal® on the horizon.

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