Repositioning a servicing platform into a growth and engagement product

Account Manager is Ford Credit’s self-service platform used by consumer and commercial customers to manage finance agreements.

Originally built to reduce call-centre volume, the experience had become fragmented, difficult to scale, and misaligned with Ford’s move toward a more premium, digitally led customer experience.

This project focused on transforming Account Manager into a modern, scalable product that supports customers throughout their ownership journey, while enabling future growth through renewals, upgrades, and additional services.

Organisation

Ford Credit

Duration

6 Months

In-House Role

Lead Product Designer

The Problem

The existing experience was limiting both customer value and business impact.

Key issues

Outdated experience that no longer matched Ford’s premium positioning
Low engagement outside of payment moments, with most users only returning at end-of-term
Commercial customers underserved, as the product was designed primarily for consumers
Missed growth opportunities, such as renewals and insurance
Fragmented technical architecture, slowing delivery across markets
Inconsistent compliance, including accessibility standards

From a customer perspective, this resulted in confusion and unnecessary calls.

From a business perspective, it limited scalability and revenue growth.

The Opportunity

We saw an opportunity to evolve Account Manager from a servicing tool into a central customer platform that could:

Support customers across the full ownership lifecycle
Encourage engagement beyond payments
Enable new revenue streams (renewals, insurance, upgrades)
Scale efficiently across multiple European markets
Align closely with the Ford brand experience

This became the foundation of Account Manager 2.0.

My Role

I worked as Lead Product Designer embedded within the product and delivery teams, responsible for:

Framing the problem space and defining UX priorities
Leading discovery and experience design
Aligning stakeholders around a shared product vision
Designing scalable patterns for multi-market rollout
Supporting iterative delivery through research and testing

Discovery & Research

Framing the problem

We began by breaking down a broad set of requirements into clear product goals through:

Stakeholder workshops
PRD reviews and clarification sessions
Mapping business objectives to user needs

User insight

To ground decisions in reality, we:

Spoke directly with call-centre agents in Manchester to understand customer pain points
Reviewed call drivers and common failure points
Audited the existing experience end-to-end
Mapped key user journeys across the agreement lifecycle

This highlighted a key insight:

Customers only engaged with Account Manager when something went wrong or when their agreement was ending.

That insight shaped the entire direction of the redesign.

UX Audit

User Flows

Design Strategy

1. Build for engagement, not just servicing

We reframed AM as a dashboard for ownership, not just a utility.

This meant:

Surfacing relevant information earlier in the lifecycle
Making next steps clearer (renewal, settlement, upgrades)
Designing for repeat engagement, not one-off tasks

2. Create a scalable foundation

The product was rebuilt around:

A unified UI architecture
GraphQL-based data access
Shared components across all markets

This allowed:

Faster delivery
Easier experimentation
Consistent experiences across regions

3. Design for multiple customer types

Although initially consumer-focused, we:

Designed a shared core experience
Planned for commercial-specific workflows
Ensured flexibility for future product expansion

Consumer Persona Example

Commercial Persona Example

Initial Wireframes

Key Features & Outcomes

Unified Dashboard

A redesigned entry point that:

Surfaces relevant account information
Supports future modular expansion
Enables experimentation via configurable tiles

Renewals & End-of-Term Journeys

Clear settlement and renewal flows
Reduced reliance on call centres
Integration with valuation and finance tools

Multi-System Integration

Connected:

Finance systems
Renewal platforms
E-signature tools
Trade-in valuation services

This created a seamless end-to-end experience instead of fragmented journeys.

Continuous Feedback Loop

Embedded Medallia feedback at key journey points
Captured qualitative insights in real time
Used findings to prioritise iterations and improvements

New Version

Old Version

Outcome + Impact

Account Manager evolved from a transactional tool into a platform for long-term customer engagement, supporting both operational efficiency and future revenue opportunities.

Engagement

Increased usage beyond end-of-term moments
Higher return frequency across the agreement lifecycle

Platform Growth

Increased EU5 registrations
Improved adoption of self-service features

Delivery Efficiency

Faster feature rollout due to shared architecture
Reduced development overhead
Improved consistency across markets

Compliance & Quality

Alignment with accessibility standards
Improved confidence in regulatory compliance
Stronger brand alignment with Ford’s premium direction

“Dominic played a key role in shaping the direction of Account Manager during a critical period of transformation. He brought clarity to a complex problem space, balanced user needs with technical and commercial constraints, and consistently delivered thoughtful, well-reasoned design solutions. Their ability to work closely with product, engineering, and stakeholders made a real impact on both the quality of the experience and the pace of delivery.”

Karan Chaudhri - Product Director

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