Rahi Shah
Verizon
AI-Powered Service Recommender Tool
CX Design
SMB Sales
AI-Integration
Enhanced Verizon's in-store experience for small business customers by recommending personalised services using an AI-powered iPad tool.
Role
Timeline
Team
Customer Experience Designer
8 Months
4 designers, 2 sales manager, 2 AI engineers, 1 project manager
What I did
- Led user interviews with sales reps
- Created product flows
- Design system optimisation
- Usability Testing with store managers & sales reps
- Prototyping
IMPACT OF THE PROJECT ??
🕚
Time to serve a business customer reduced from 52 minutes to just 10–15 minutes.
🌟
Received a NPS (Net promotor score) of 72
👩🏻💻
Boosted product awareness for sales reps and customers.
📈
Increased sales for Verizon Business by 35% (projected)
PROBLEM OVERVIEW
Imagine you walk into a Verizon store, ready to set up your new business for success.
"
You walk in with a checklist: internet, Google Workspace, security, and tools to grow your business, expecting expert guidance tailored to your business.
Instead, after waiting nearly an hour, the rep hands you a basic internet and mobile plan, no deeper questions, no broader solutions.
You leave with just a piece of what you needed and more vendors to track down.
🤷🏻♀️ 👉🏻 This was the experience for many small business customers, leaving with generic solutions, despite Verizon’s vast suite of services. !!!
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
To understand why this gap existed, we went straight to the source.
Average length of a sales conversation in-store is 52 mins
68% of sales reps feel unprepared to support business needs
Only 1 in 4 business customers meet a Business Account Manager on their first visit
Interviewed users and observed sales reps in action at Verizon retail stores across Indiana.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
How might we help Verizon sales reps effectively recommend all relevant solutions to small business customers to meet their needs?
PROJECT GOALS
With the challenges defined, I aligned around the project goals set by the client to drive impact
Reduce in-store time for customers
Increase Verizon sales
Increase cross-selling opportunities
THE PROPOSED SOLUTION
An iPad tool to support sales representatives in collecting business customer needs during in-store interactions and instantly provide personalised service recommendations tailored to each business customer’s unique needs.
The iPad experience is broken into four key phases.
Each phase is built to streamline the sales process, help reps gather the right information, and deliver personalized recommendations with confidence.
Customer Onboarding
-
Collects basic business info (name, phone, industry)
-
AI checks for existing customer records
-
Speeds up initial data entry
Understanding the Business
-
Simple, structured key questions (team size, work style)
-
Captures key context to align service recommendations
-
Ensures no critical business detail is missed
Exploring Verizon Services
-
Helps reps walk through each service options
-
Suggests targeted follow up questions
-
Captures customer preferences tied to specific needs
AI-Powered Recommendations
-
AI suggests tailored services and packages
-
Includes relevant offers and promos
-
Saves selections and customer history
WHAT PROCESS LED ME TO THIS SOLUTION?
Initiated with competitor research and in-store interviews to uncover key pain points.
Concluded with usability testing and role plays to validate and refine the solution.
IDENTIFYING GAPS IN THE EXISTING DISCOVERY PROCESS
To understand the pain points in the current in-store discovery experience and get first-hand insights, I interviewed and observed sales representatives, business customers, and account managers to uncover where reps were getting stuck, what information was being missed, and how business needs were slipping through the cracks.
👩🏻💻
20+ Interviews
Semi-Structured
👀
6 hours
In-store Observation
🔍
16+
Research Papers
🌐
12+
Competitive Analysis
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
To broaden my perspective, I explored how Verizon’s competitors approach business sales
To better understand where Verizon stood, I stepped into competitor stores and studied their strategy for guiding small business customers at every touchpoint.
I looked at how they approach business sales, how fast they move, how smart their tools are, and how they guide decisions.
INSIGHTS FROM INTERVIEW AND OBSERVATION
As I listened, observed, and asked questions inside Verizon stores, patterns began to emerge, pain points that consistently slowed down the experience for both sales reps and business customers. These weren’t isolated issues, they were systemic gaps that shaped every business interaction.
#1 Lengthy discovery process
#2 Limited product knowledge
#3 Limited Availabilty of Business Represetatives
AFFINITY MAPPING
With all the raw insights in front of us, it was time to make sense of the data collected
I and my team used affinity mapping, grouping similar observations and recurring pain points. This helped us uncover patterns, align on emerging themes, and gain clarity on both our design direction and goals moving forward.
DEFINING DESIGN GOALS
With clear insights and patterns in hand, I translated our findings into actionable design goals.
#1 Reduce interaction time
#2 Provide guided support
#3 Preserve human connection
FROM IDEAS TO EARLY CONCEPTS
With our design goals in place, we moved into ideation phase, bringing the team together for brainstorming and sketching sessions.
I and my team began with paper wireframes to rapidly explore ideas, encouraging open collaboration and capturing diverse perspectives that helped shape a shared design direction.
We then transitioned into low-fidelity wireframes to visualize how the tool might look and function. This helped us test early concepts, gather feedback from stakeholders, and make informed decisions, without getting lost in visual details too soon.
ADAPTING THE DESIGN SYSTEM FOR IPAD
Before finalising the designs, I expanded on Verizon’s design system to suit the iPad experience. Missing components were custom-built, and existing styles were adapted for touch interactions. A reusable component library ensured consistency and made future updates more efficient.
FINAL DESIGN
VALIDATING THE DESIGNS
To ensure the designs were practical and effective, I conducted usability tests
11
Think-aloud sessions
with sales and business representatives
2
Concept Testings
with Verizon Stakeholders
THIS IS WHAT USERS HAD TO SAY :)
Using this product, I can keep the conversation with customers completely natural it doesn't feel forced at all
This system is way better than what we currently have it’s more intuitive and much easier to use.
-Sr. Director, Sales
-Sales Rep, Carmel Store
What did they like?
Smooth Experience
Easy to use without loosing natural conversation flow
Clear Product Info
Helped reps explain services with confidence
Call & Send to MSA
Sped up handoffs and reduced repetitive steps.
FAQ Section
Quick access to answers without breaking the flow.
What can be improved?
Use Verizon Terms
Improves clarity and aligns the tool with internal language reps are familiar with.
Add More Questions
To capture deeper customer insights
AI Tool Integration
For more dynamic & smarter suggestions, using existing customer data.
Cross-Selling Support
Enabled reps to suggest more than internet & devices.
TAKEAWAYS AS A DESIGNER
-
End-to-End Product Thinking
Gained a clear understanding of the full design process, from research to delivery.
-
Designing AI with a Human-First Lens
Learned how to build AI-assisted tools that enhance, not replace, human interaction.
-
Real-World Customer Experience Design
Applied design decisions in a live business context, balancing user needs and operational goals.
-
Ground-Level Insight Gathering
Visiting stores and observing real challenges firsthand taught me how meaningful insights can drive impactful design.
That's me!
Thank You! That's the team :)
