Nudge
Overview
After relocating from London to Bangkok, my colleagues Bo Wen Zhou, Jira Chawalitakul, Nutchanon Tantiboon and I co-founded Nudge. Nudge is a matchmaking platform designed with the vision of "Connecting People Through Activities." Our mission is to foster community and enhance the experiential tourism industry by building "long-lasting relationships" between venues and users through an intuitive experience. The platform connects individuals based on shared interests and offers a comprehensive booking and payment system, facilitating chats, dating, and new friendships. Users can discover matches through a range of activities, events, and sports.
Role:
- 1 Product Designer
- 2 Software Engineers
- 1 Marketing Specialist
UX/UI Design: Crafted and optimised user experiences and interfaces, including user journey mapping and wireframe creation, to ensure intuitive and engaging interactions.
Website Development: Built and developed websites from scratch using WordPress, including custom theme development, plugin integration, and site optimisation.
Pitch Deck Creation and Pitching: Designed detailed pitch decks and presented them to potential venues, partners, and investors to secure support and funding.
Marketing Strategy: Developed and executed marketing strategies to promote the brand, increase visibility, and drive engagement across multiple channels.
Tools:
Figma
Xcode
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Mockup
Problem
Traditional dating apps often fail to transition users from online interactions to in-person meetings, leading to user frustration and disengagement. Additionally, as a newly founded platform, Nudge faced significant challenges in acquiring users and integrating venues without initial funding, hindering growth. Our focus was on creating a product that would facilitate natural progression from online matching to real-world activities, while also pitching the platform's value to potential venue partners.
Key Metrics to Success
User Engagement: Track the number of users who successfully transition from chatting to booking activities at venues.
Venue Integration: Measure the number of venues onboarded and their level of engagement with users.
User Acquisition: Monitor how quickly the platform grows its user base through targeted marketing and referral programs.
Feature Performance: Evaluate the effectiveness of the booking system and activity discovery tools.
Solution
To overcome the platform's challenges and ensure its growth, several key solutions were implemented:
User Engagement: Focused on driving users towards in-person meetings by facilitating connections through local venues. This allowed users to easily find and book activities, creating a more meaningful dating experience.
Venue Integration: Venues were given trial offers and strategic partnerships to demonstrate the platform’s value, helping them attract new customers through Nudge. Detailed pitch decks and presentations were used to ensure venues understood the mutual benefits of partnership.
Funding and Team Building: Initial funding was secured through angel investors and grants, allowing for continued development. A strong team was built by offering equity incentives and leveraging industry networks to attract skilled individuals.
Marketing and User Acquisition: Targeted marketing campaigns and referral programs were launched to attract users, focusing on specific demographics that matched the platform’s user base. Strategic outreach was also employed to onboard venues.
Outcomes Achieved
User Engagement: After refining the user journey and booking process, we saw a 40% increase in the number of users transitioning from chatting to booking activities at venues.
Venue Integration: We successfully onboarded over 50 venues within the first few months, and venue engagement increased by 30%, as measured by bookings through the platform.
User Acquisition: The platform's user base grew by 25% within the first three months due to our targeted marketing strategies and referral programs.
Feature Performance: The booking system saw a 45% increase in usage, and activity discovery tools were frequently used by 70% of active users, indicating high engagement with the platform’s core features.
UX Research
To understand how users interact with matchmaking platforms and pinpoint pain points, thorough research was conducted:
User Personas: Detailed personas were developed to represent the target audience, focusing on their behaviors and goals when using dating apps.
Journey Mapping: The user journey was mapped to identify friction points, such as confusion around booking activities and difficulty transitioning from chats to real-world meetings.
Competitive Analysis: Leading apps like Bumble and Tinder were studied, analysing their strengths and shortcomings to guide product design enhancements.
Usability Testing: Testing revealed issues with navigation and booking, while assessments of colour contrast and font sizes ensured the platform's accessibility. Ongoing user feedback helped us continuously refine the app's features.
Design
To tackle the core challenges, the focus was on designing an intuitive interface that promotes both user engagement and venue integration:
User Journey Mapping: Created user journey maps to ensure seamless transitions from profile creation to matching, chatting, and booking activities. This helped address the common issue of users feeling "stuck" after initial matches.
Activity Discovery: Designed easy-to-navigate search tools that allow users to discover activities based on their interests and location. This included filters for events, sports, and other experiences, providing users with a personalised selection of activities.
Booking System: Streamlined the booking process with clear call-to-action buttons and reminders for upcoming activities, ensuring users could smoothly transition from matching to meeting in person.
Development
Leveraging our research, we refined the onboarding experience to ensure users comprehended and engaged with the app’s features effectively. Developed intuitive and engaging methods for users to search for and discover activities. Implemented best practices for privacy and security to protect user data, given the sensitive nature of dating apps. Additionally, designed strategies to boost user engagement and retention, including notifications, reminders, and rewards for consistent use.
