Learner’s Hub: Building Trust Through Utility

Problems: Before the Learner's Hub, much of RV's student experience was defined by opaque lead forms, rigid question funnels, and limited upfront value. This lack of transparency resulted in 93% abandonment rates as users didn't feel understood or in control.

Goal: Rebuild trust by giving students tools to help them answer real questions — before asking them for commitment or contact information. This research marked a pivotal shift: away from extractive flows, and toward experiences that build trust by solving real problems.

Solution: We developed the Learner's Hub, a dashboard with guided questions and tools supporting users during educational decision-making. We validated our approach through a moderated usability study to test if utility-first design builds trust, and a quantitative survey to identify key decision points for tool alignment.

Results: Our usability study yielded compelling results: 100% of participants would return to the tool, citing trust, clarity, and "real help" as key differentiators. We identified five key decision points that formed a comprehensive tool-to-need framework, which became the foundation for our realigned product roadmap.