Optimizing the subscription renewal journey

39% Increase in subscription renewal rate

Company

fromm

Industry

Social Platform

Duration

2 Months (2024)

My Role

Product Designer

Team

1 Product Designer, 1 Product Manager, 4 Engineers(Android, iOS, Backend), 1 QA Tester

Overview

What is fromm?

fromm is a K-POP fandom platform where artists and their fans connect through direct messaging. The service operates on a subscription based model where fans purchase subscription passes to communicate with their favorite artists.

Problem Space

What is the issue?

The renewal process for users who turned off auto-renewal was too complex. To resubscribe, users had to go through a 5 step flow. This long and complicated journey resulted in a low renewal rate.

Renewal flow:
1. fromm App
2. fromm Store
3. Menu
4. Manage Subscription
5. Select Subscription → Renewal Setup

Research

Research Plan

As a designer with a background in acting, I focus on empathizing with the user's journey and the emotions they feel at every step. Analyzing these emotional patterns helped identify the most effective moment to trigger a renewal.

Journey Analysis

The primary reason users purchase a Subscription Pass is to chat with their favorite artists. Through Journey Analysis, I identified that the chat room is the most significant space where users experience this core value.
1. The Core Value Experience: Store is a space for purchasing passes but chat room is where the core feature of direct communication is best experienced.
2. Experience Point: Users experience the highest satisfaction when they receive a message. I identified this is the best moment to show the subscription status because users feel the strongest connection to the artist right now.

The primary reason users purchase a Subscription Pass is to chat with their favorite artists. Through Journey Analysis, I identified that the chat room is the most significant space where users experience this core value.

1. The Core Value Experience: Store is a space for purchasing passes but chat room is where the core feature of direct communication is best experienced.
2. Experience Point: Users experience the highest satisfaction when they receive a message. I identified this is the best moment to show the subscription status because users feel the strongest connection to the artist right now.

Psychological Trigger

By showing the subscription status in the chat room while users are deeply immersed in a sense of connection, I designed the flow to use a specific psychological trigger.
1. Sadness of Disconnection: The focus was on the sad feeling users have when they can no longer send messages. This flow lets users keep their connection naturally before the chat stops.
2. Easy and Fast Renewal: This trigger helps users renew their subscription quickly to keep the conversation going. Moving from chatting to paying feels very natural so that the happy feeling stays.

Setting the Hypothesis

Placing the renewal status in the chat room where users feel a strong connection will increase the renewal rate. This change turns the user’s desire to stay connected into an immediate action.

Design

Enable fast renewal within the chat room

1. Seamless Flow: The notice is placed at the top to keep the conversation at the center. This layout guides the user to the next step naturally without interrupting the flow of the chat.
2. Core Value through UX Writing: Friendly messaging shifts the focus from "payment" to "staying connected." This emotional approach reduces pressure and highlights the value of the artist-fan bond.
3. Clear and Respectful CTAs: Three clear actions provide a balance between business goals and user control.

  • Close: Dismisses the notice for the current session.

  • Not Now: Snoozes the alert for 24 hours.

  • Auto-Renew: Instant reactivation to keep the bond.

Impact

Renewals rose by 39%, with about 1,200 users keeping their subscriptions. However, a small increase in cancellations within 30 days showed that just making the steps shorter is not enough. The main lesson was that beyond just shortening the process, fixing deeper problems and improving the value of the service is important.

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Cancel again within 30d after renewal

Cancel again within 30d after renewal

What I Learned as a Product Designer

  • Replaced early concepts of using bright emphasis colors with a softer design to avoid a sales-heavy tone.

  • Provided an opportunity to deeply study user emotions and the specific contexts where they find satisfaction.

  • Reconfirmed that the heart of UX/UI design is understanding people and shaping better experiences.