Repositioning Capital One Spark for Small Business Growth

Company

Capital One

Timeline

3 months

Project

Research, IA, & CX

My Role

Creative Director

The Problem

Capital One launched Spark as a new small business product line, but:

Customers perceived Spark as repackaged consumer banking products
The digital experience did not reflect the realities of small business ownership
Capital One lacked a clear understanding of how SMB owners think about managing their finances

Without differentiation, Spark risked blending into a crowded market.

Outcome

Validated how small business owners evaluate financial tools and make decisions
Narrowed the target to businesses under $2M in revenue and under ten years old, the owners most open to switching banks
Developed multiple site architecture concepts aligned to SMB motivations
Delivered two marketing-site architectures (product-led and needs-led) and a signed-in dashboard built around the three questions owners ask first

My Role

Creative Director and Account Lead
Led qualitative research with small business owners
Synthesized 11 interviews, card sorts, and stack ranking into six principles for the site and the signed-in experience
Directed the two site architectures and the dashboard concept presented to Capital One’s executives

Detailed Case Study

Research

In-Depth Interviews (11 Participants)

Conducted in-depth interviews with 11 small and medium business owners across industries to observe how they:

Track revenue and expenses
Manage short-term cash flow
Make decisions about financial tools

Behavioral Exercises

To uncover mental models beyond verbal responses, we incorporated:

Card sorting exercises to understand categorization logic
Stack ranking to identify priority needs and decision drivers

Card Sorting

Stack Ranking

Insights

Target Audience Definition

Research clarified the specific small business segment Spark was best positioned to pursue. The most aligned audience consistently shared three primary characteristics:

Digital Savvy: Conducts the majority of banking online, yet still values access to a real person to quickly resolve complex issues or build a trusted relationship.
Small and Growing Businesses: Typically less than 10 years old and actively expanding. More mature, established companies showed less likelihood of increasing financial complexity or switching providers.
Under $2 Million in Annual Revenue: Businesses above this threshold were significantly less likely to change banks or shop for new financial products. Companies under $2M demonstrated greater openness to new accounts and money-saving opportunities.

What SMB Owners Want Most From Their Bank

The highest-priority needs were keeping costs low and getting help when needed.

Six Strategy Principles

The research informed six guiding principles that shaped both the marketing site and signed-in experience.

Marketing Website Concepts

Research revealed a split in how small business owners think:

Some approach banking in terms of products (credit card, checking, etc.).
Others think primarily in terms of needs (manage cash flow, control expenses, grow revenue).

To reflect this divide, we developed multiple information architecture directions: