Loqbox Bolt-ons
While working as part of the experimentation team at Loqbox we were looking at numerous ways that we could up-sell Loqbox, earning more revenue while increasing the value to our users. As part of this work, we experimented with the idea of bolt-ons (Think making your phone contract custom to your needs).
For its initial test (And then full release) we focused on allowing users to increase their credit score but wanted to ensure it is built in a way that allows it to work as a benefit for other future features in the pipeline.
Overall the feature has been a huge success, resulting in 2,000+ bolt-on activations in the first week, and as of July 2023 the number of active bolt-ons is 12,000+
The challenge
Initial experiment
The Loqbox team had been discussing ways that we can improve revenue while showcasing our features better to our users. One idea that the team saw as promising was the idea that we build “bolt-ons” - You can turn on and turn off bolt-ons as and when you want and get any extra benefits that you’d like. Allowing users to tailor Loqbox to their needs and improve their situations faster.
To prove that users would be interested in this offering, I came up with the idea to build a false door experiment within our member sign-up journey to find out just how many of our users are willing to pay and get a small glimpse into potential perks.
This proved to be massively successful. Of the 600+ users who went through the flow - 54% took out a bolt-on:
With this knowledge, the business was happy to begin the actual build of the bolt-on feature.
Creating bolt-ons
For the initial test, everything felt straightforward. But once we looked at the mechanism of purchasing a bolt-on on a line of credit, things started to get complicated. To try to combat this I began mapping out the different journeys our users could take. Starting from the happy path and moving on from there.
To keep these simple and adaptable I built these inside of Miro to start, and then built upon them further in Figma once the flows had been agreed.
These flows included:
Getting a bolt-on (While activating a product - Loqbox Grow)
Getting a bolt-on (When Loqbox Grow is already active)
Downgrading a bolt-on
Cancelling a bolt-on
What happens if the user fails to pay
How the member support team can cancel bolt-ons for our users via an admin panel
And more...
These flows proved to be crucial, not only when figuring out the requirements needed for the UI but also when discussing the timing of back-end mechanisms and triggers that needed to happen. Overall these flows made the design and handover process more seamless as I was able to get the product managers, developers, and key stakeholders involved and thinking about the build much sooner and negate some of the potential issues that may have occurred later on in the project.
Scaling back
During the refinement of the project with the development team, we realised that the scale of the project was going to result in us going over our deadline date. To combat this, I was asked to figure out which parts were required for launch and which could come in via V2.
To do this, I reflected on the designs made and stripped the concept down to its basic needs. These being:
I can get a bolt-on at any level
I can cancel my bolt-on
I know what my current bolt-on is
Loqbox can cancel my bolt-on if I need them to
This stripped-back concept was then created within Figma and I separated out the missing parts into a V2 flow. The parts removed for v1 include:
The ability to switch between bolt-ons without needing to cancel first
Smoother cancellation process
Downgrade surveys for user feedback
Only having bolt-ons appear in the main sign-up journey (Not all journeys)
More upselling opportunities throughout the product
Results
🎉 12,000+
Active bolt-ons
The results of the project were overwhelmingly positive with (as of July 2023) Loqbox having 12,000+ bolt-ons active currently. This work not only increased revenue but also created a new mechanism by which we can upsell our products in unique ways as well as allow our users to have more customisation when it comes to their Loqbox product. Giving them complete control over what they want and how they want it.
What would I do differently
One thing I mentioned during the build is that the current implementation lends itself well to the Loqbox Grow product. However, it is going to be difficult once the company begins to develop bolt-ons outside of this product. This was a concern that I aired during the start of the project but as a business, it was decided to have the mechanism go through Grow and apply to the line of credit.
If I was to re-do this project I would have allowed the users to sign up for a bolt-on separately from Loqbox Grow for 2 reasons:
Think of bolt-ons business wide, not just feature based
By having bolt-ons live separately the possibilities of their uses become more free. There’s no worry about how bolt-on payments work if the user doesn’t have X product. The business could decide “I want to make X bolt-on to make the lives of our Loqbox Rent users better”
Ease of explanation
By having them just be a part of the membership model rather than one set feature we can easily explain “If you have a gold bolt-on you get these extra benefits…” instead of the current journey which would be - Explain Loqbox, then explain Loqbox Grow, then explain a bolt-on and the benefits before the user purchases them.