Nissan Commercial Vehicle (NCV) Van Visualizer

Empowering B2B Buyers Through Research-Driven Design
Creating a Smarter Vehicle Visualizer for Nissan Commercial

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Overview
Nissan’s commercial vehicle division needed more than a sleek interface—they needed a tool that empowered busy B2B buyers to make practical, high-stakes decisions. I was brought in to lead the UX research strategy for a new feature: the NCV Visualizer, a configuration tool designed for tradespeople, fleet managers, and upfitters. My focus was to ensure every interaction was rooted in real buyer behavior, not assumptions.

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Foundational Research
To ground the project in real-world behavior, I conducted stakeholder interviews with Nissan’s Fleet & Commercial teams, then led contextual inquiry at dealerships and trade shows like National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA). These sessions revealed how buyers made decisions—often scribbling notes or bringing printed spec sheets to dealers. I created personas based on recurring needs from fleet managers, contractors, and sales reps.

Key Insight:
These buyers weren’t car enthusiasts—they were efficiency-minded professionals focused on reliability, upfit compatibility, and cost. They needed clarity, not flash.
 

Generative Research
I facilitated card sorting exercises to prioritize which specs and features mattered most to each trade. Through co-design sessions with dealership specialists and journey mapping workshops with internal Nissan teams, we defined key flows from discovery through quote requests.
 

Key Insight:
Buyers wanted tools that mirrored their actual process—printable, shareable configurations were more valuable than flashy animations.
 

Evaluative Research:

Early prototypes were tested through in-person usability studies across five major U.S. markets. A/B tests compared spec comparison layouts (list view vs. card grid) and tested visual update features.

Usability Testing Metrics: -  Task Completion Rate:  92% -  First Attempt Success (no errors):  80% -  Average Time to Configure Vehicle:  3.1 minutes -  System Usability Scale (SUS) Score:  81/100 (excellent benchmark)
 

Key Insight:
While visual interactivity was loved, too many options created overload. We streamlined by introducing trade-specific templates to minimize cognitive load.

 

Participant Quotes:

• "I don't need a million options—I just want the best setup for plumbing jobs."

• "Love that I can print this and take it to my boss. It’s exactly what he wants."
   

Post-Launch Research
To ensure we were solving the right problems long-term, we monitored drop-off points, embedded survey intercepts at key milestones (like after saving or printing), and created a feedback loop with dealer reps.
 

Key Insight:
Users who completed the visualizer were 2.3× more likely to request a quote—directly validating the tool’s impact on the sales funnel.

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Post-Launch Optimization

Survey intercepts captured ongoing behavioral data. We closely monitored where users dropped off and collected structured feedback at key milestones (e.g., after saving or printing configurations).
 

Behavioral Metrics Post-Launch:

• 2.3× higher quote request rate among users who completed the Visualizer flow

• 23% longer average dwell time on commercial vehicle product pages

• 16% reduction in user drop-off before quote initiation

• Strong dealer feedback: "Customers are coming in better prepared and more decisive."

 

Key Insight:
Buyers who customized and printed their configurations showed a statistically significant increase in dealership visit-to-sale conversion.
 

Reflection
This project underscored the value of embedded UX research in complex B2B contexts. By connecting field behavior with interface decisions, we built a tool that mirrored how tradespeople actually buy—not how the industry assumed they should. The result was not only a more confident buyer, but a more efficient, research-supported sales process for Nissan.

Next Steps:

While the NCV Visualizer successfully aligned with buyer workflows and increased engagement, several opportunities remain to extend its impact and continue evolving the experience:

• Deeper Personalization: Introduce save-and-return functionality, allowing buyers to revisit previous configurations across devices, improving long-term engagement.

• Mobile Optimization: While initial designs were responsive, there is an opportunity to create a mobile-first configurator experience tailored specifically for field users who increasingly manage operations via smartphones and tablets.

• Dealer-Focused Enhancements: Equip dealership representatives with integrated view/edit access to customer configurations, enabling faster quoting and tighter sales follow-through.

• Enhanced Analytics: Expand behavioral tracking to include micro-interactions (e.g., hover time on specs, abandonment during customization) to fuel even more targeted UX optimizations.

• B2B Loyalty Integration: Tie Visualizer outputs into Nissan's broader fleet loyalty and incentives programs to encourage customer retention post-purchase.

• Continuous User Validation: Establish an ongoing feedback loop with fleet buyers and upfitters, incorporating quarterly usability testing to ensure evolving business needs continue to inform product enhancements.