Audiofy
Media product with a large free-plan consumer base aiming to promote premium subscriptions
INTRODUCTION
A startup company launched a media product two years ago. It is a freemium model that has a mobile-web experience and a mobile app for both iOS and Android. They now need to design an experience that will allow users to subscribe and pay a monthly fee. My purpose of the project is to identify problems of the existing flow and design better opportunities and solutions that align with the business goals.
MY ROLE
User Research, UX Design: Sketching, Wireframing, Prototyping, UI Design
TIMELINE
4 Weeks
Business Goals
1. Create the opportunity for new users to subscribe to the premium product upon registration in the signup flow.
2. Create the opportunity for returning free users to become paid subscribers in the sign-in flow as well as within the product (once logged in).
The Problem
The existing flow lacks calls to action and persuasion throughout the free experience plan that gives the user the opportunity and reason to subscribe.
Research
Research & Insights
Through competitive analysis and secondary research, I learned:
- Users should have convenient and constant access to premium subscription plans whenever they want to convert.
- It's important to have users understand the difference between premium and free plan features.
- When it comes to subscriptions, users can be overwhelmed and annoyed with CTAs, therefore ignoring them as a whole.
- When users adopt and learn habits that provide them flexibility and convenience, it becomes harder for them to live without it.
- Price of plans should be made visible to users when comparing different subscription plans.
Proposing Solutions
Proposing solutions that adhere to the business goals
1. Give users a sneak peek of premium with the option of continuing with a free plan
2. Provide a premium tab in the bottom navigation so users are able to access it whenever
3. Plan comparisons in carousel form with prices and deciding factors that allow users to make useful comparisons
Decisions + Prototypes
Turning ideas into visual solutions
After coming up with multiple solutions, I started sketching low fidelities to get a better visual on how I want to design this website. To get a better sense, I gained UI inspirations from comparative apps with similar media playback usabilities such as Spotify, Pandora, and Youtube. I sketched out how I can seamlessly expose users to premium features through free trials and hopefully convert them to subscribe without being too aggressive.
Usability Testing
Takeaways
After completing my mid-fidelity prototypes, I carried out usability testing with 5 users. A clear goal of mine was to veer away from obstrusive CTAs. Users thought they were helpful and not too agressive and allowed them time to explore the app before committing to any decisions. Although I received overall positive feedback, there is always room for improvement. Users felt that the app could have better distinction of what features are accessible in the free plan. They were unaware that they were only allowed to shuffle play playlists instead of individually selecting a song to play. Users also felt that the premium plans were very limited and had no difference in price and not inclusive of different communities and households.
High Fidelity Solutions
CLEAR AND INFORMATIVE
I inserted CTAs that link users to the premium plan selection page. I ensure these CTAs are not obstrusive but also remind users what the premium plan has to offer. I used clear UI distinction on what buttons are accessible in the free plan.
EASY COMPARISON
Through competitive analysis and user feedback, I made sure to that price is visible as it is a large deciding factor for subscriptions. I also inserted a family plan to be more inclusive of different types of households. Through competitive analysis on premium plans, I saw that family plans provide a large incentive for families with kids. It could also offer features for kids to encourage families to purchase family plans.
Final Prototype
