HSBC CMB: Transforming business acquisition in HSBC’s biggest markets

By the end of this presentation, you'll see how I use research-driven design to discover the core issues and translating insights into actionable solutions.

You'll witness my expertise in:

• Qualitative Research (Customer interview): Conducting comprehensive user research across 30+ SME CEOs to uncover hidden business opportunities

• Qantitative Research (A/B testing): Combining qualitative research with quantitative analytics to identify root causes of poor conversion

• Measurable Business Impact: Delivering 43% improvement in click-through rates and 15% increase in application starts

This case demonstrates the senior-level user research and service design skills I bring to complex digital transformation challenges.

Design Challenge

A key business objective was to use emerging data capabilities to optimise the digital journey, personalising the experience to provide targeted storytelling and service offerings for different kinds of business customers.

Our extensive research process in each market included:

• Depth interviews with HSBC stakeholders

• Contextual enquiries with business owners to understand their financial ecosystems

• Identifying behavioural clusters in over 3 million rows of HSBC website data

• Reviewing drop off points in the digital journey through value stream mapping

• Service safaris to open accounts with competitors

• UX / UI design and testing

User research and synthesis

1. Business Stakeholder Interview

• By interviewing their internal stakeholders - Product Owner, Digital Marketing Team, Customer Insight Team, and Technology Team, the interviews are extremely valuable as they provided a much better product vision and roadmap. It helps us to understand the product context.

• We then realized that they treat all the products are individual and silo instead of an ecosystem or comprehensive package to the user. And it certainly not playing their advantages as the largest bank in Hong Kong.

2. User Research & Synthesis

• Over 30 SMEs CEO, across different SME stages, were interviewed to understand better what their real needs and current experience on different SME banking experiences, from account opening to day-to-day usage.

• The Synthesis process helps us to map the end-to-end user journey and the pain points on each touchpoint.

Data driven & testing approach

Based on the user research, a series of A/B testing on the website, which is the main digital application channel, was launched.

Each of the testing has its own hypothesis and measurements.

Outcomes

Across these markets we significantly improved HSBC business acquisition numbers:

38.5% Increase in online business applications in the United Kingdom.

6 Months to hit annual business targets in Singapore.

21% Uplift in online conversion for Sprint Business Account in Hong Kong.

What This Means for Your Team

The Strategic Designer You're Hiring

• Research-Driven Problem Solver: I use systematic investigation to uncover root causes, not just symptoms

• Cross-Functional Leader: I align disconnected teams around customer-centered objectives

• Business Impact Focus: I connect design decisions to measurable business outcomes

• Methodology Innovator: I create repeatable processes that improve organizational capability

Immediate Value I Bring

• Stakeholder Alignment: Proven ability to facilitate collaboration across conflicting priorities

• Research Excellence: Expert in designing and executing complex user research programs

• Strategic Analysis: Skilled at combining qualitative and quantitative data for actionable insights

Ready to Answer Your Key Questions

• "How do you handle projects with limited access or constraints?" I designed a research methodology that worked around access limitations while delivering comprehensive insights

• "Tell me about a time you influenced teams you didn't manage" I aligned 4 siloed teams around unified objectives and created lasting collaboration frameworks

• "How do you ensure your research translates to business results?" Every research activity was designed to directly support business decision-making, resulting in measurable improvements

• "Describe your approach to complex, multi-stakeholder projects" I create structured processes that manage complexity while maintaining focus on customer outcomes and business objectives