For Unum's voluntary benefits platform, should we emphasize adding new product categories or enhancing user experience and self-service features?

Introduction

For Unum's voluntary benefits platform, we're facing a critical trade-off between expanding our product offerings and enhancing the user experience. This decision will significantly impact our market position, user satisfaction, and long-term growth. I'll analyze this trade-off by examining our current product, identifying key metrics, designing experiments, and providing a data-driven recommendation.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Based on recent market trends, I'm thinking our competitors might be rapidly expanding their product offerings. Could you share insights on how our current product mix compares to the market leaders?

Why it matters: Helps assess the urgency of adding new categories Expected answer: We're lagging in 2-3 key product areas Impact on approach: Would prioritize new product categories if confirmed

• Considering our user base, I'm assuming we have a mix of tech-savvy and traditional users. Can you provide a breakdown of our user demographics and their typical interaction patterns with the platform?

Why it matters: Informs the potential impact of UX improvements Expected answer: 60% traditional users, 40% tech-savvy Impact on approach: Would lean towards UX enhancements if traditional users dominate

• Looking at our technical infrastructure, I'm wondering about our platform's scalability. How easily can we integrate new product categories without major backend overhauls?

Why it matters: Determines feasibility and timeline for adding new products Expected answer: Moderate effort required for integration Impact on approach: Would influence the speed at which we could roll out new categories

• Regarding our current team structure, I'm curious about our UX and product development capacities. Do we have dedicated teams for both areas, or would this require resource reallocation?

Why it matters: Affects our ability to execute on either option effectively Expected answer: Stronger UX team, limited product development resources Impact on approach: Might favor UX enhancements if product development resources are constrained

• Considering our business goals, I'm thinking this decision might impact our Q4 targets. How critical is short-term revenue growth versus long-term user retention in our current strategy?

Why it matters: Aligns the decision with overall business objectives Expected answer: Balanced focus, slight lean towards long-term retention Impact on approach: Would influence the weighting of short-term vs. long-term impacts in the decision