case study
How might we reimagine a service line as a digital-first product to better meet consumers where they are?
Client Advisory Services at HORNE were hard to buy. The sector was experiencing major growth, but our teams weren’t realizing the same gains. The service line offered loads of critical services, no clear way to package them. I reframed the service as a force multiplier, packaged as modular, growth-stage targeted product bundles (Foundation | Growth | Advanced) and built a discovery and engagement path centering around a checkout experience that tapped web-native buying and engagment patterns.
It worked where we wanted it to: clarity for buyers and our internal teams. It didn’t do everything: lead quality was mixed. This data drove next bets; persona-specific journeys and a referral-layer campaign.
Role: research, strategy, UX/IA, creative direction, front-end. Partnered with PM + dev to ship.
role:
- Strategy
- Research
- UX
- Content
- Web
- Front-end
tldr:
shipped a robust digital resource ecosystem with a tool-first path toward engagement and a checkout approach to lead gen.
Problem
Wide-ranging services, fuzzy container. Buyers asked “is this for us?” and our team had to translate on the fly. Today’s buyers are digital-native and traditional referrals weren’t scaling with industry lift.
Constraints
Limited content bandwidth and a tight timeline. Four industries all speaking different dialects. Needed something cohesive that could scale across personas while proving out a new model.
Bar for Success
Success meant making CAS easy to understand, easy to navigate, and credible enough online that a buyer could initiate engagement & explore fit through online tools and tailored content.
Persona development, tool flows, messaging framework structure
process
Design Decisions
Productize CAS into three stage-based bundles
Rationale: Reduce cognitive load; align offers to maturity; make packaging legible across personas.
Lead with a tool-first discovery path
Rationale: Lower-friction entry; give instant personal relevance; collect structured signals via results email.
Use a “solutions checkout” instead of a generic contact form
Rationale: Signal product-like clarity; pre-structure intake, reduce back-and-forth.
Ship tool functionality first, then refine tool UI prioritized by usage
Rationale: Hit the deadline with a coherent model and collect data to inform refinement and resource allocation.
outcome
Takeaway
The launch gave CAS a productized front door that can scale with real data behind it. Every page, tool, and interaction plays a role in a measurable customer journey. We validated the framework, uncovered gaps and opportunities, and built a roadmap to mature it – turning a service line into something touchable, establishing a new lens for the organization.
