Customer Journey Optimization

The GT School EdTech program faced bottlenecks in the student journey. While the company was transitioning to a new, AI-powered personalized program that wasn’t yet ready for launch, the focus shifted to retaining existing users. Efforts were directed toward optimizing the original program with quick, impactful improvements to enhance the user experience. 

The project focused on reducing student wait times after submitting tests and tasks to improve retention rates. To achieve this, we aimed to identify key pain points by mapping the student journey and highlighting stages with the longest delays, frequent issues, and manual processes that required streamlining.

The customer journey optimization followed these key stages:

1. Mentor, CSM, & SME Chats: Gained firsthand insights into the student journey by engaging with employees who had the most interactions with students.
2. Student Journey Mapping: Visualized the entire student journey on a Miro board, identifying key touchpoints and tasks involving SMEs, CSMs, students, mentors, and product teams.
3. Prioritizing Pain Points: Identified bottlenecks and critical pain points across all mapped processes.
4. Process Optimization: Developed action plans to address the three most crucial pain points with quick, high-impact solutions.
5. Team Enablement: Created SOPs and knowledge bases to empower teams to adopt new processes seamlessly.
6. Launch & Tracking: Defined KPIs to measure the post-integration impact, focusing on improving response times and overall student satisfaction. 

As the project owner, I led the initiative from start to finish. I managed all stages, including journey mapping, pain point identification, action plan development, and implementation. I collaborated with key stakeholders and cross-functional teams to execute impactful improvements while ensuring alignment with the ongoing development of the AI-powered program.

Response times for complex tests were reduced to 24 hours, compared to a previous undefined standard that often exceeded 36-48 hours. This was achieved through:

• Establishing clear response guidelines and SOPs.
• Creating semi-automated files and shared knowledge bases for best practices.
• Assigning dedicated personnel to handle escalations efficiently.

The faster response times reduced customer claims and improved student satisfaction and retention. This allowed mentors and customer success teams to focus more on launching the new EdTech program. Additionally, satisfied students later became advocates for the new program, strengthening its reputation.