How can Looney design a user journey that effectively converts free users into premium subscribers?
To benchmark best practices and identify opportunities for improvement, I conducted an analysis of leading music streaming platforms—Spotify, YouTube Music, and Pandora. This involved examining their user onboarding processes, premium upgrade strategies, and user engagement techniques.
Screener surveys were conducted to recruit participants by gathering demographic data and understanding initial user preferences. The target demographic included tech-savvy, budget-conscious users aged 18-24.
User interviews allowed me to have a glimpse of the users' actual listening experience. Participants shared their usage habits, features they love, and their thoughts on the value of paying for premium.
I ensured to incorporate these features into the premium listening experience of Looney, offering users a sense of familiarity and clear distinction between free and paid tiers. This approach aimed to provide listeners with the experience they expect, value, and deserve.
During the first round of my Usability Testing, all my users were able to complete all 3 tasks without difficulty.
While the task success rate is good (86.7%), I realized that the initial task-focused usability testing highlighted the need for clearer feature explanations and more organic value perception.
Moved to a hybrid approach of user interviews and usability testing, providing deeper insights into user behaviors and mental models. I then created high-fidelity wireframes with detailed visual design and functionality. Revised the testing script to include questions about user habits and motivations, leading to a more nuanced understanding of the upgrade journey.
The second round validated the changes, showing an intuitive onboarding process, clear premium feature explanations, and effective upgrade prompts.
In the previous testing, some users were unsure whether or not the Premium Individual featuers would carry over into the student plan and family plan. What I thought was a good approach to compressing the layout of the plans, actually ended up confusing my users. This change is crucial as it directly impacts the user's understanding of the value proposition during onboarding and within the app.
Simplifying the onboarding process is essential for retaining new users. A shorter, more efficient onboarding reduces drop-off rates and helps users get to the core features of the app faster, improving overall user satisfaction.
The adjustment of upgrade prompts to be less intrusive but still strategically placed is significant because it balances the need to promote premium features while maintaining a positive user experience. This change is likely to improve user engagement without causing frustration.
Other UI changes were also implemented such as adjusting the positioning of the pop ups and ad, increasing text size for readability and resizing the playlist covers.
The iterative design process underscored the importance of understanding user behaviors and motivations. Balancing the need to encourage upgrades with preserving a seamless user experience was key. My focus was on making the upgrade path clear and accessible while allowing users to explore the app at their own pace.
Prioritizing UX Over UI
While aesthetically pleasing UI is important, if the user journey isn’t intuitive and streamlined, the design fails to serve its purpose. I learned that a well-designed flow is crucial to ensuring users can navigate the product effortlessly and effectively.
Balancing Promotion (Business Goals) and Intrusiveness (UX)
I recognized the importance of integrating business objectives, like encouraging upgrades, in a way that feels natural and non-intrusive. I also became more aware of dark patterns commonly found in upgrade processes and was committed to avoiding them, ensuring that users felt respected and not manipulated.
S
Allowing users to experience the value of premium features firsthand is far more effective than simply listing them. By designing interactions that let users organically discover these benefits, I was able to enhance their overall experience and drive conversions in a more user-friendly manner.
If you like what you see and want to work together, get in touch!
leonahyosalina@gmail.com