timeline
6 weeks
my role
Research, Strategy,
User Experience, Motion
My team
1 Product Manager, 1 Product Designer, 2 Engineers, Business + Marketing teams
Cleartrip aims to become a top-of-mind choice for travellers when they are considering their next trip. Currently, Cleartrip relies heavily on paid channels to acquire customers, resulting in high customer acquisition costs.
This referral program aims to leverage referrals to attract customers to Cleartrip ensuring it effectively promotes the offerings to potential customers.
What are the business goals?
💰
Lower customer
acquisition cost
🚀
Increase in top
of funnel
🔋
Boost Cleartrip
awareness
Who are we doing it for?
Deal Maximisers
Age group: 25-40 year old
- Financially comfortable
- Tech-savvy
- Maximises deals & discounts
They appreciate a streamlined, efficient booking process and personalised offers.
Budget Conscious
Age group: <25 year old
- Limited funds
- Highly social & tech savvy
- Looks for budget-friendly options
They seek straightforward options and are motivated by rewards and peer recommendations.
Understanding our users
It was essential to understand our users' perspectives thoroughly. What were their expectations? What potential obstacles could they face?
Some of the interesting survey findings and interview insights:
85%
users refer a friend
during face-to-face conversations
50%
80%
Understanding how other companies are running referral programs
Armed with insights from our users about their needs and pain points, we turned our attention to secondary research. We analysed the pros and cons of referral programs used by top Indian and international companies.
Discounted products / Monetary incentives:
Pros:
✅ Appeals to cost-conscious consumers
✅ Provides immediate value
✅ Tangible rewards for referrals, driving higher referral rates
Premium access / Upgrades inside the product:
Pros:
✅ Offers a taste of full product capabilities
✅ Encourages exploration and habitual usage
✅ Enhances brand perception as exclusive
Cons:
⛔ Users may revert to free version post-premium period
⛔ Careful management needed to ensure users convert
Converging from Research
These insights highlight what users value most in referral programs as well as gave us a direction of how we could design our solution.
Monetary rewards are the most motivating incentive
The problem ahead of us
How might we design a user-centric referral program that effectively expands Cleartrip's user base while providing value to both referrers & referees?
How might we create a referral program that mitigates costs and fraud while ensuring sustainable growth and maintaining trust among users?
Ideating possible solutions
Testing and Iterating
3/5
users successfully referred a friend.
Two users had difficulty finding the entry point for the referral program - indicating that it was not prominently placed
3/5
users fully understood the rewards system.
Two users were unsure about the rewards they would receive; particularly the timing when they would receive the rewards
4/5
users did not relate with the illustration.
All of them stated that it did not have a direct relation with the referral system
