Tenet EV Auto Financing Product | Robbie Schweidler

Key results

• Increased loan origination volume month-over-month through UX, UI, and product design iterations.
• Improved design & engineering maturity by introducing new processes and efficiencies.
• UX improvements reduced the time to reach a pre-approval from approximately 14 minutes to under 8 minutes.

Overview

I joined Tenet as the first design hire to lead product design and build out their core experience for electric vehicle financing in the United States.
The company had a basic auto loan application product in the market, attracting a small number of customers.

The team

Approximately 12 people spanning engineering, product, operations, marketing, finance, risk & compliance. I was the first design hire.

My role: Design Lead

Oversee design across the company, its products, and experiences — lead design and evolve the core UX of Tenet's EV auto finance application to improve conversion and customer experience.

I challenged previous practices, helped define new working processes, started cross-functional collaboration between design and other departments, and raised the design standards and quality to improve UI and brand design.

I partnered with the marketing team to develop Tenet's brand, website, content strategy, and visuals to build customer trust and education in the growing electric vehicle financing space.

Setting up for success

Design System

Problem: Little to no design consistency. The engineering team rebuilds the same components whenever implementing designs.
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‍Strategy & approach: Establish an atomic design system of reusable styles and components.

Execution: Figma Design System of reusable styles, components, and variants to boost UX and design consistency.
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‍Results: Engineering and design velocity increased, establishing UX and UI consistency.

Processes and workflows

Problem: Engineering-led solutions and siloed product decision-making. Miscommunication on deadlines, deliverables, and scope.
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‍Strategy & approach: The design team joins engineering Stand-up, Kanban, and Sprint Planning. Improve QA and hand-off process.

Execution: I added all design tasks to the engineering sprints and restructured Figma files to align with sprint deliverables, making it easier for engineers to find the latest designs. I also facilitated meetings for design kick-off and hand-off meetings to increase collaboration by documenting decisions, rationale, and knowledge sharing via looms, write-ups, and Slack updates.
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‍Results: Earned trust and respect from the engineering team, improved the team's ways of working and collaboration, and increased overall development velocity.

User research and feedback

Problem: Fast-paced development is used as a reasonable excuse for not conducting enough user research.
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‍Strategy & approach: Show the value of customer feedback to gain insights. Start small with qualitative interviews with existing and new users on areas of the product where internal opinions were divided or conflicting.
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‍Execution: I interviewed current customers and the target user demographic with small cohorts of 5 to 8 people, asking them to share their experiences and impressions of the application flow and website.

‍Results: I uncovered immediate insights into conversion drop-offs, customer education, tone & copy, branding, and product marketing design. These insights were gained from user interviews, observing customers use the application, analyzing click-through rates and heatmaps on Full Story, and cross-referencing all insights with Sigma funnel data.

Customer reviews, Full Story sessions, and Sigma dashboard data

Vehicle images

Problem: Inconsistent and often incorrect images were displayed on the website and within the loan application. The existing vehicle image API's accuracy could have been better and lacked development customization.
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Strategy & approach: I researched and evaluated alternative vehicle image providers and reviewed the cost of the current API service that was not up to the standards I'd expect to see as a customer looking to secure a new vehicle loan.
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Execution: I guided the team toward implementing a new vehicle image API that would include the latest electric vehicles with more image angles and color options.

‍Results: The application and website displayed the correct vehicles with branded Tenet license plates. This was a huge visual design improvement! I negotiated a 50% discount for the first six months of the contract with the new API provider, Imagin.Studio, to align with Tenet's budget and usage rates as we scaled up the product and website's unique visitor volume.

Upgrading to Imagin Studio Vehicle image API

Product Design: Loan Application

Fully digital financing application

Customers begin at the Tenet website or through a digital advertising campaign. The application starts with vehicle selection, inputting the financed amount details, and account sign-up, allowing the Customer Success team to re-target users if they abandon later in the process.
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Next, the customer fills out the details needed to generate their loan preapproval, including their personal information and consent for a soft credit check. The credit check doesn't impact their score but enables Tenet to check their eligibility for preapproval. If the customer is preapproved, they are presented with loan offers that they can customize. After selecting an offer, they reach the dashboard that facilitates document upload and verification checks before funding can occur.
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Once funding is complete, the customer's application transitions to a servicing and loan management experience where they can view their payments and loan details.

UX flow of Tenet's EV auto loan application design

Two-week sprints: Idea generation, research & planning, prototyping, testing, design and launch.

Together with the team, we shipped UX, design, and engineering iterations, improving the customer experience with every two-week sprint cycle. Week-over-week, we saw an uptick in conversion, funded loans, and positive customer reviews. Product experimentation continued throughout 2023 to optimize the funnel, operational processes, and visual design quality.

Design iteration 'Offer cards'

Loan application add-on extras design for EV Home Charger and Installation

Design iteration: EV Charger and Home Installation

Design iteration: Vehicle and Loan details

Key results

• Increased monthly loan origination volume through UX and design iterations, helping to increase month-over-month volume by approximately 300%.
• Improved design & engineering maturity by introducing new processes and efficiencies.
• UX improvements reduced the time to reach a pre-approval from approximately 14 minutes to under 8 minutes.

Funded loans and happy customers

Super fast and simple! I reached out to support to get clarification on a couple documents required and received a response immediately. Within 48 hours, my loan was funded and ready to go.

Edgar Avetisyan

Beyond impressed with Tenet and in particular Diego Fuentes Gonzalez who assisted me with the financing of my new Tesla. Hands down the easiest, fastest, most efficient financing of a car that I have ever experienced. I submitted my application, had the approval and wire initiated within 24 hrs and just drove off the lot with my new tesla. Highly recommend.

Robin Merrill

I had excellent experience with Tenet Energy Financing. Right from the application process, approvals, funding and final delivery, the process was simple and seamlessly done by the Tenet team. They kept me informed on status until the vehicle was ready for pick-up. Excellent job Tenet Team - thank you.

Sunhil Bhojwani

I can't say it enough! Truly painless lending process! The people I interacted with were very helpful and knowledgeable. I was in a bit of a time crunch and Tenet moved quickly to make sure I was financed for my dream car. Thank you Tenet!

Brad Gouvea

Awesome experience, great customer facing app and webpage. Great technology and a great way to keep payment lower with deferred payments. Able to fund my Tesla in 24 hours. Thanks Tenet team!

Matt Tolley

I had the wonderful pleasure of refinancing my Tesla with Tenet. I was able to save $130 per month on this process as Tenet had the best rates on the market. They specialize on EVs and support the transition to a sustainable future. Definitely give them a look to see how you can buy or refinance your current loan for an EV.

John Stringer

I had an exceptional experience with Tenet Energy and their finance products! They truly offer something unique and innovative in the world of EV financing. From the moment I contacted them, I knew I was dealing with a company that understands their customers' needs.

One of the standout features of Tenet Energy is their deferred loan system for EVs. This system allowed me to make the most of my tax credit by immediately putting it towards the loan. It's a game-changer! Not only did I get to enjoy driving my new electric vehicle, but I also had peace of mind knowing that I was making the most financially responsible decision possible.

The whole process was smooth and hassle-free, thanks to their knowledgeable and friendly staff. They patiently answered all my questions, guided me through the application, and made sure I had a clear understanding of the terms.

I couldn't be happier with my decision to choose Tenet Energy for financing my EV. Not only am I helping the environment, but I'm also saving money in the long run. If you're in the market for an electric vehicle and need financing, I highly recommend giving Tenet Energy a call. Their unique deferred loan system is a true game-changer, and their customer service is top-notch!

Thank you, Tenet Energy, for providing such an amazing experience! I'll definitely be recommending your services to all my friends and family.

Joe Cartaya

Absolutely love! Can’t say enough about how good my experience was!

Paulina Kay

Easy onboarding and the results speak for themselves - my monthly payments are 12% lower thanks to Tenet. 10/10 would use again for my next EV.

Matthew Rizman

Electric vehicle financing application design

Setting up for success

Product Design: Loan Application

Key results