Your Growth Problem is a Segmentation Problem

You need to get data when no data exists, understand your users and what motivates them to move your metrics.

Experiment 1: Using Scroll Depth to Personalize your User Flow at Betterment

Context:

Betterment is a financial services company that offers automated investment management and financial planning services. Its primary goal is to make investing accessible and straightforward for everyone, regardless of their financial knowledge or experience. Betterment provides a range of services, including personalized investment portfolios, retirement planning, and tax-efficient strategies, all tailored to individual goals and risk tolerance.

Implicit intent is an understanding of what the user’s initial “interest” is so you can personalize the onboarding and initial session experience. 

Problem:

Jamie and the Betterment team noticed that a high portion of users had implicit intent, specifically the traffic from feature or product pages (e.g., retirement planning, savings accounts). 

However, when users landed on the general homepage (betterment.com) they were classified as having "unknown intent" and in the current experience directed them through the general onboarding. To improve this conversion rate, the team had invested heavily in reducing friction, but was looking for a way to optimize further.  The team wanted to find a way to personalize the experience for this "general" segment to increase the fund rate.

Fund rate is the % of new sign-ups that funded their financial account within 14 days. 

Solution:

The team noticed a correlation between the location of the CTA on the page and the user's fund rate. There were 3 segments: 1) Users who clicked the top CTA, had a high sign up rate, and high fund rate 2) Users that immediately bounced 3) A group that engaged with the page but wanted to do more research.

The team structured an experiment by altering the onboarding process based on the depth of the sign up CTA on the page, identifying users who scrolled as having lower intent:

• Top of the Page: Users were directed to fund their account immediately.

• Middle of the Page: Clicking this CTA users were taken through a quiz to understand their needs and preferences, and providing a basic, but clarifying recommendation on how to improve their finances with Betterment 

• Bottom of the Page:  Clicking this CTA the user saw more in-depth product information and FAQs. By scrolling toward the bottom, they were deemed to be undertaking a deeper assessment of where to start – a more research-based user journey. 

Impact:

The scroll-based experiment was A/B tested and for the exposed population, there was a statistically significant improvement in funded customers.

Learning: 

• Behavioral data is crucial for personalizing user experiences, even for visitors with whom you have no prior engagement. When intent is unknown, don’t assume – look into nuanced ways your behavioral data can tell you—scroll measurement often being invaluable.. 

• Many people think only to use signed-in engagement data for personalization, but visitor entry point data can also enhance your metrics.

Experiment 2: Defaulting Rides to Instant Pick-Up Increased Lyft for Business Profits

Context

Lyft for Business caters to corporate clients who value their time, especially when it comes to getting a Lyft ride to the airport or commuting for business meetings. The product team wanted to optimize the service for this high-value customer segment.

Problem

Corporate travelers often need timely and reliable transportation, but the standard ride options didn't always meet these urgent needs, leading to dissatisfaction.

Solution

The Lyft product team ran an experiment to default rides for corporate clients to instant pick-up options, which prioritized cars with faster pick-up times and thus higher priced rides. This adjustment aligned with the needs of corporate travelers who prioritize convenience and reliability over cost.

Impact

This change resulted in a significant increase in profits. The higher-priced, priority pick-up rides resonated well with corporate clients, who valued the prompt service.

Learning

• Align default options with the specific needs of the customer segment. For corporate clients, prioritizing convenience led to higher satisfaction and increased revenue.

• Seemingly simple changes when catering to the unique preferences of different user groups can drive substantial business growth.

Experiment 3: How to overcome the burden of fees

Context:

Houzz is an online platform and community focused on home design, renovation, and decoration. Homeowners can browse millions of photos for inspiration, shop for furniture and home products, and connect with professionals in the industry to help with their projects. 

This experiment relates to their payments platform. When homeowners hire professionals for home renovation projects, they have the option to pay them through the Houzz platform (incurring a fee of up to 3%) or pay offline (check, Venmo, Zelle, etc.).

Problem:

For most payment platforms, fees are a sticking point for consumers. Many would rather pay offline to avoid the fee, despite the convenience of paying online.

Solution: 

Homeowners evaluate whether to pay offline or online based on a simple equation:

• If Perceived Convenience Value > Transaction Fee: They will pay online.

• If Perceived Convenience Value < Transaction Fee: They will not pay online.

This perceived Convenience Value includes factors like speed, security, and the ability to pay remotely. The team aimed to increase this value to encourage more homeowners to pay online. 

They realized that introducing a quantitative benefit could help increase the pay online rate.

By highlighting that for every dollar that is paid online the homeowner could earn credit card points and an average of 3% cash back it instantly made the fee on the platform feel “free”. 

Impact: 

• Double digit growth in transaction revenue with 1 week of development cost

Learning: 

• Importance of using quantitative, easy-to-understand incentives: Introducing tangible benefits, like earning credit card points or cash back, can significantly drive a change in behavior. 

• Find unique approaches to making it feel free to the end user - with this in mind the user feels that there is only upside with trying your product. 

If you’re interested in learning more, book a call with Insider Growth Group below.