Redesigning an Influencer Marketing Platform for Optimal Business Value and Progress Tracking.
I was hired as a Product designer by Apvertise in November 2022 to come solve a particular problem — Customer churn. Apvertise is an influencer marketing platform that opens up a modern way of advertisement, empowering businesses and individuals in every industry to boost their brand growth.
Hired to solve customer churn — fast.
I joined Apvertise as a Product designer in November 2022 with one mandate — fix the customer churn that was eating growth. Apvertise is an influencer marketing platform that opens up a modern way of advertisement, empowering businesses and individuals in every industry to boost their brand growth.
I led the research and collaborated with other designers on the team. From day one I worked across functions — confirming buy-in from stakeholders and product managers in regular working sessions, and pulling in the marketing manager, content strategists and developers to understand the current state of the product.
Why were customers churning?
Customer churn was the surface problem. The real work was figuring out why. I dug through the web application to draw hypotheses, then sat with the marketing manager and developers to walk through the existing data and identify the patterns hiding in user behaviour. Two distinct failures showed up.
Problem 1 — Generic onboarding for both businesses and influencers.
For an influencer marketing platform where business owners expect to get value by getting sales and visibility, they need to find influencers who will reach their last-mile customer. That wasn't happening — there was no way to identify the influencers being onboarded except through basic details displayed on a profile.
Problem 2 — Poor feedback loop on the dashboard.
Business owners who launched campaigns had no way to monitor or evaluate value. They could neither tell if their brand was growing nor regressing — and without visible progress, motivation died.
"The 'Progress Principle' suggests that people are most motivated when they experience a sense of progress in their work or activities."
Before state — generic signup & old dashboard with usability heatmap
Validate, draft, test, iterate.
With the two problems identified, I ran a focus interview with existing customers virtually to validate these hypotheses and surface anything we'd missed. From there I quickly designed the first draft of the screens and conducted usability testing on them. On the dashboard side, I keyed in on visualising the value being received through analytics for each campaign.
I also took time during ideation to familiarize myself with what made competitors stand out — mapping the marketing chain from a higher product perspective and bringing concrete concepts back to the team and stakeholders.
Competitor matrix — value props, advantages, gaps across LTKConnect, Flex.izea, MavRck, Grin
Userflow reflecting the changes made to the onboarding
Two redesigns. One product transformed.
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01
Niche Influencer Discovery (Onboarding)
To enable businesses get value for their money, the onboarding process was re-evaluated to enable businesses get to their target audience through niched influencers. Influencers select their interests. Business owners provide details about their business to get optima value. Businesses select the influencers based on niche.
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02
A Comprehensive Dashboard
I designed a personalized dashboard providing an overview of ongoing campaigns, engagement metrics, and key performance indicators (KPIs). I also incorporate a detailed analytics for each campaign, including status, reach, engagement and date created.
78% less churn. 25% more revenue. 30% engagement surge.
Increased Business Impact: The redesign of the onboarding and the dashboard analytics features contributed to a 25% increase in revenue, translating to heightened user satisfaction and improved conversion rates in influencer collaborations, crucial for our business owners — the paying customers.
Increased User Engagement and Churn Reduction: Positive feedback translated into a remarkable 30% surge in user engagement. Additionally, the platform witnessed a substantial 78% reduction in churn, indicating a significant improvement in user retention and loyalty.
Improved Metrics: KPI such as a 27% rise in user retention and a 15% improvement in campaign success rates, showcased tangible growth in the platform's overall performance.
"Her design system halved our project timelines and contributed directly to a 25% revenue increase within five months. She doesn't just solve problems — she inspires those around her to raise the bar."
What this project taught me.
During the course of this project, I learned the importance of being openminded and be receptive to new ideas as a Product Designer. I also learned;
Agile Adaptation: The ability to adapt to emerging trends and user feedback is crucial for success in the dynamic field of influencer marketing.
Collaborative Innovation: Successful redesigns stem from collaborative innovation, involving cross-functional teams and key stakeholders throughout the process.
User Empowerment: Empowering users with tools for niche influencer discovery and progress tracking empowers businesses to make informed decisions and maximize their impact.