How We Boosted Scaler's Referral Sales to 36% of Total Revenue
Let’s deep dive into the initiatives and learnings that drove a substantial increase in referrals.
Overview
Scaler, a leading tech education platform, empowers learners with industry-relevant skills through high-value programs.
Problem Overview:
Scaler's referral program was underperforming, struggling to engage learners and drive conversions, which limited its impact and potential as a key growth channel leveraging satisfied learners.
Solution:
We redesigned the referral journey to address its challenges, focusing on enhancing touchpoints, introducing an interactive rewards calculator, and re-engaging high-potential users. These changes transformed the program into a seamless, motivating experience, unlocking its potential as a key driver of user engagement and growth. It resulted in:
36% contribution to total revenue from referral sales.
1.5X increase in RCB submissions.
Higher engagement from high-NPS learners.
My Role
Product Designer – Conducted user research, design, prototyping, and usability testing to deliver intuitive solutions. Collaborated with a Principal Designer, Product Manager, Marketing Team and Engineers to align user needs with business goals.
Digging Deeper into the Problem
Notes & Insights
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User Conversations
Learners couldn’t easily find referral touchpoints.
Learners wanted clear, transparent communication about rewards and timelines.
High-NPS users lacked tools to expand their referral networks.
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Data Comparison
60% drop-off between visiting the “Refer & Earn” page and initiating an RCB.
High-NPS users accounted for only 20% of total referrals, despite strong satisfaction.
Referral CTAs were not prioritized in high-traffic areas, reducing engagement opportunities.
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Support Tickets
Confusion about eligibility and reward structure.
Frustration over delayed rewards and unclear timelines.
Our research aimed to uncover why learners weren’t engaging with the referral program and where the drop-offs occurred.
User Conversations
Data Comparison
Support Tickets
User Conversations:
We conducted 20 interviews to uncover motivations, frustrations, and barriers, segmenting participants by referral activity and engagement:
New Users: Recently joined learners.
Active Users: Learners with over 6 months of engagement.
High-NPS Users: Satisfied learners with a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 9 or higher.
Referral Activity: Further divided into:
Never Referred: Learners unaware of or uninterested in the program.
Referred but No Conversions: Learners who attempted referrals without success.
Frequent Referrers: Learners with 1-5+ successful referrals.
Data Comparison:
Analyzed historical metrics, including drop-off rates on the “Refer & Earn” page, Request a Callback (RCB) initiation rates, referral-to-enrollment conversions, and referral sales contribution.
Support Tickets:
Reviewed 30+ tickets related to referral queries.
Problem Space
Notable Insights from Our Research
Limited Discoverability
Referral touchpoints were poorly positioned, making it challenging for users to locate and engage with the program.
High Drop-Off Rates
Learners frequently abandoned the referral process due to unclear messaging about rewards, a confusing referral workflow, and a lack of clarity on how to maximize their benefits, leading to reduced participation.
Lack of Motivation
High-NPS learners felt unmotivated to refer, pointing to the absence of immediate connections and a lack of compelling triggers to encourage action.
How does this affect Scaler?
Scaler relies on referrals as a cost-effective acquisition channel, helping reduce Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) while leveraging the goodwill of satisfied learners. Fixing these problems was crucial to scaling revenue and engaging learners.
Hypothesis
If we enhance referral visibility with meaningful touchpoints and clear value propositions, and integrate motivational triggers, we might see higher referral program participation and referral conversions.
Ideation
Collaborating early with developers helped identify technical constraints, ensuring feasible solutions and minimizing roadblocks, especially given the outdated referral codebase.
Design Journey That Led to Final Solutions
Starting with low-fidelity wireframes to validate ideas, we iterated based on feedback to deliver high-fidelity prototypes that seamlessly addressed key challenges.
We created multiple versions of each flow and prototyped them to evaluate their performance in order to identify the one that was most effective.
Constraints
Learners couldn’t refer during their trial period (first 15 days after joining).
The number of new learners joining each month was declining, limiting referral opportunities.
The Scaler program is high-ticket product which plays a pivotal role in the referral journey by shaping both user motivation and decision-making.
Final Solutions
Based on the insights we had, we brainstormed and finalized the solutions that directly addressed the most significant pain points:
Interactive Rewards Calculator:
Rewards are a key value proposition in any referral program, serving as the primary motivation for users to refer others.
The lack of clarity around rewards in Scaler's referral program left learners unsure of what they would earn, discouraging participation and reducing engagement.
We designed an interactive rewards calculator to simplify the reward structure, enabling users to visualize their potential earnings clearly and motivating them to actively participate in the referral program.
Pros
Visualizing rewards encourages learners to refer more actively.
Encourages sustained engagement through visible progression.
Highlights exponential rewards, encouraging users to refer more.
Cons
May overly emphasize monetary rewards, overshadowing benefits like community impact.
Pros
Simplifies the referral journey for first-time learners.
Reduces drop-offs by providing actionable guidance.
Improves the overall onboarding experience with interactive elements.
Cons
Could feel repetitive for returning learners.
Sharable Learner Achievements Panel with Referral Integration:
High-NPS learners often lacked immediate connections to refer, limiting their participation in the referral program. They needed triggers aligned with their achievements to inspire action and expand their outreach.
We introduced a Sharable Achievements Panel, embedding referral prompts into the achievement-sharing flow. Learners could share milestones, such as PSP scores or mentorship successes, on social media, primarily LinkedIn, turning their accomplishments into organic referral triggers. This seamless integration made referrals rewarding, effortless, and expanded their reach to a broader audience.
Referral Touchpoints
Easily accessible entry points are necessary for a user to explore and participate in referral program.
Referral touchpoints were buried and hard to find, significantly limiting program awareness and user engagement.
We added high-visibility CTAs in the navigation bar and learner dashboard for effortless discoverability and introduced the option to initiate a Request a Callback (RCB) directly from the dashboard. Enhanced with banner hover states, these CTAs highlight rewards.
Results
36% of Total Revenue: Referral-driven sales became a significant contributor to overall revenue post-redesign.
1.5X Increase in RCB Submissions: Despite declining cohort sizes, RCB submissions rose significantly.
2X Increase in Referrals Shared: The percentage of learners sharing referrals increased to approximately 40%.
What I Learned Along the Way
Reflecting on the project, I gained several valuable insights:
Aligning Design with Business Goals:
Solutions like the rewards calculator balanced user satisfaction with measurable outcomes, boosting RCB submissions and referrals.Understanding Referral Programs:
Researching Scaler's referral process and industry practices highlighted how referrals reduce CAC and drive cost-effective growth.Data-Driven Collaboration:
User insights informed designs like the onboarding flow, while collaboration ensured feasibility for features like dashboard-integrated RCB initiation.
Unresolved Challenges
Tracking Rewards:
Simplify post-referral experiences with clear reward tracking and timelines.Expanding Reach:
Provide tools to help learners refer beyond their immediate networks.Gamifying Referrals:
Add features like leaderboards and badges to make the referral journey more engaging and rewarding.
