Intuit Named to Fast Company’s Top 10 Companies in Design List for 2017
February 17 2017 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
How an Army of Employees and a Man Named
Abraham Led to Honor
The road to Intuit’s award for innovative design may have begun
on the streets of San Diego.
That’s where an army of TurboTax employees fanned out a little
over three years ago to speak first-hand with folks on their turf –
practically walking in their shoes to learn more about their lives
and gain greater insights into how to make it easier to prepare
taxes.
That was just the first step in an ongoing effort to make
TurboTax even more user friendly and delightful to use – an effort
recognized this week with Intuit being named No. 4 on Fast
Company’s list of the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Design
for 2017. This award represents the focus and commitment Intuit has
as a customer-centric, design-driven, technology company, and that
the collective efforts of designers and the product management and
engineering partners, that make drop dead simple, beautiful
products for some 40 million customers.
The Fast Company list is based on reporters’ surveys of
thousands of enterprises across the globe to identify the most
notable innovations of the year and trace the impact of those
initiatives on business, industry, and the larger culture.
“This honor from Fast Company recognizes our years-long efforts
to build great design into an already beloved product,” said Kurt
Walecki, Intuit’s vice president of design who headed up the
program. “Great design and product creation starts with getting to
know your customers, up close and personal, on a face-to-face
basis. You learn what they love, the problems they have, and gain
insights into how Intuit can solve these problems well and help
make their lives better.”
Getting to know customers is nothing new for Intuit. Since its
founding 34 years ago, the company has conducted “follow me home”
visits with thousands of people. Since Intuit’s inception, the
company has developed numerous tools and methods to understand
people and customers better in all contexts and objectively.
The TurboTax street campaign introduced employees to Abraham, a
26-year-old man working three jobs and trying to save enough money
to move out of his parents’ house and get married. Despite living
paycheck-to-paycheck, he had no problem spending several hundred
dollars a year to have someone prepare his taxes.
“Abraham became our model customer – our True North, if you
will,” said Walecki. “He reminded us that life is what’s important
– not taxes. So our products should be focused on life events.
We’ve always been good about design thinking. This led us to think
more about design doing, thinking first about customers and how
they think and respond while using our products, rather than the
business.”
That brought end-to-end changes in the TurboTax product –
everything from the look and feel of the product to the wording and
number of questions being asked. The product went from
one-size-fits-all to a more personalized approach, eliminating
questions that weren’t relevant.
Language itself became friendlier, taking a cue from online
games and encouraging taxpayers when they completed a task, with
phrases such as “Great job,” or showing empathy when asking for
information about the death of a family member.
The efforts have paid off. Over the past two tax seasons, the
number of TurboTax Online customers has increased 27 percent, while
the product’s share of online tax preparation grew approximately
five points to help increase the total TurboTax share of DIY tax
prep to 66 percent. The do-it-yourself category is growing by 11
percent, with TurboTax earning high customer satisfaction ratings,
as measured by Net Promoter Scores.
“The 'customer-first' approach applies to all Intuit products,”
Walecki said. “For TurboTax, it means continuing to seek and listen
to the Abrahams of the world and give them a product that meets
their unique needs. Our ultimate goal is to have customers use our
products and believe that it was designed specifically for them.
That’s what innovative design is all about.”
About Intuit
Intuit Inc. creates business and financial management solutions
that simplify the business of life for small businesses, consumers
and accounting professionals.
Its flagship products and services include QuickBooks® and
TurboTax®, which make it easier to manage small businesses
and tax preparation and filing. Mint.com provides a fresh,
easy and intelligent way for people to manage their money, while
Intuit's ProConnect brand portfolio includes ProConnect Tax
Online, ProSeries® and Lacerte®, the company's leading
tax preparation offerings for professional accountants.
Founded in 1983, Intuit had revenue of $4.7 billion in its
fiscal year 2016. The company has approximately 7,900 employees
with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United
Kingdom, India and other locations. More information can be found
at www.intuit.com.
About Fast Company
Fast Company is the world’s leading progressive business media
brand, with a unique editorial focus on innovation in technology,
ethical economics, leadership, and design. Headquartered in New
York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, one
of the U.S.’s leading media companies.
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Intuit Inc.Kali Fry, 650-944-3036kali_fry@intuit.com
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