Working magic: Increasing Subscription Conversion

Background

The stakeholder has a unique and bold idea to fundamentally change the way how people participate in golf tournaments, World Championship, Golf Tour Events, etc. I was a solo Product Designer in this project and hadn't known enough about golf as the sport itself, which is raised more challenges for me during the Design Thinking process.

Design Challenges

Create an experience where people can seamlessly sign in to the tournaments, input all of their results during the game mode and receive money/gift as rewards.

Product Goals
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Educate golfers how this product better and different from the usual structure of golf tournaments;
⛳️
Quick and easy way to sign in to tournaments;
⛳️
Create GolfPlay Mode (incl. QeSC - Qualified Electronic Scorecard);
⛳️
Clear and understandable reward system to engage players during the game;
Success Metrics
Track guest users & users who eventually sign up to app (players);
Track Returning users;
Measure how long it takes players to complete Sign-in into a tournament (Time on Task);
Measure how many players are able to successfully complete GolfPlay mode (Task Success Rate);
Research & Self-education

Since my knowledge of golf was limited to few movie scenes I've seen throughout my file, my first step was to gain as much information I can through internet research, golf rule books, YouTube videos of golf lessons and golf tournaments; additionally, I read Golf News. Also, I should mention that the stakeholder has been a great help since he's a golf player himself. He always was ready to discuss all of the question/confusions I had regarding golf play structure and tournament rules.

Competitive Analysis

Conducting competitive analysis, I've identified how our product stands out among other competitors and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of their products:

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marketing strategy;
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target audiences;
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product layout;
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product structure;
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navigation;
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user interface;
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best/worst UX elements;

I later presented to stakeholder in Miro* board. I came up with a strategic plan for our MVP based on product idea and findings of competitive analysis.

*Miro board is one of the main tools I use to visually present/collect project notes, findings and thoughts. Plus incredibly easy way to collaborate and communicate with other teammates during brainstorming and meetings.

Interviews & Surveys

Stakeholder' Home Golf Club kindly helped us to send out survey and conduct interviews to learn what players think and feel about:

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conventional paper scorecard for a tournament [meaning use pencil & paper scorecard to track your shots and your opponent]
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their interests and fears in totally different tournament format [e.g. instead of playing 18 holes to move to next round, player should play just 3 holes. Which decreases tournament time from 3 days to a day]

Interestedly enough, more than 80% interviewed were males and all of interviewed people were eager and intrigued of testing GolfPlay Mode (incl. QeSC) and at the same time they voiced fear what if during the game or after they send their results something happens with application or QeSC system itself and data get lost.

Worth mentioning that stakeholder conducted user interviews because it was in the German language, I analysed findings afterwards and moved forward with building User Persona, etc.

Building empathy

Based on our findings from user interviews and surveys, I've created User Persona and built an empathy connection between our development team and our users.

Goals
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Increase subscription conversion
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Redesigning the current paywall
Paywall accessible from two places
1️⃣
TabBar
2️⃣
in Reading mode
Analysis of existing UX decision

Allow users stumble upon paywall on their own time, mostly when they get to the locked chapters in reading mode.

This approach ensures a seamless user experience and encourages users to engage with the paywall organically

# 1 Improvement
To maintain consistency in the user journey by implementing a dark style design in the paywall section, matching the existing design
#2 Improvement
Optimised the UX by visually grouping UI elements, taking into account the average attention span of 5 sec. for user
#3 Improvement

Utilised FOMO effect: by showcasing other people's trust towards the product

#4 Improvement

Switched to pagination: to enhance the user's navigation experience and make it more effortless

#5 Improvement

Convert points into tangible criteria for users, such as approx. amount of cahaters

#6 Improvement

Same dark style & visual UI grouping & pagination

Information Architecture (IA)

I designed IA based on all of the findings I gathered from competitive analysis and user interviews and surveys. Below you see a high-level overview of project components:

While working on the task to increase subscription conversion I spotted other opportunities to:

• Improve readability
• Increase user acquisition metrics
• Increase user retention metrics

From there, I focused on each part at a time: iOS/ Android mobile app; Website; Web app.

IA for the mobile app is representing the app's key features and navigation through the app. It also highlights the difference of IA based on user type [guest or sign up user]

The same work has been done for detailed IA for website & web app with essential features and user goals & navigation in mind.

Wireframing, Prototyping & Usability-Testing

After the time spent on working on Information Architecture (IA), we run a brainstorm among the teammates [which contains developers, stakeholder and me] in the project to make sure we all are aligned on what we have so far and brainstorm ideas/suggestions.

After that, it was time to focus on wireframes with constant reminders of all the information gathered from user interviews and the business idea itself.

Conclusion

At the end of this Case Study, I have to pinpoint few essential things since this project was a journey with its bumpy roads:

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I loved the challenge of knowing nothing about golf and being able to build and design app with new opportunities and systems for golf players.;
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Unfortunately, stakeholder has paused development of the project with announcement of raising more investments;
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therefore, I hadn’t a chance to analyse data from metrics we set up at the beginning;
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As soon as the project would renew the development process and get his first wave of users, there begins next step: iteration → user interviews/feedback, highlighting problems, finding a solution, wireframe, test, analyse, develop.

I had a great time doing this project and overcoming my fear and nervousness. I frequently reminded myself that if I divide the entire process into small tangible tasks and stick to the plan step by step, I won't feel overwhelmed and can provide the best result.

MY RESUMEOTHER CO-WORKER SAYS