Context
While working at Xref (2016-2020) as a Designer, my primary role within the Development Team was to build and improve the platform. In parallel with that, I also worked closely with the Marketing Team on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) projects. The work involved:
• Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
• Create HTML templates for emails and landing pages to use directly on the web and to integrate with CRM platforms (e.g. Pardot, Marketo)
• Manage Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics to record usage data
• Manage Hotjar and the recording of user sessions
• Help integrate and manage walkthroughs using Inline Manual
The Marketing Team had a Graphic Designer who worked on marketing collateral and other team members responsible for generating content. However, because the Development Team didn't have resources to work on marketing projects, I served as the "front-end person" who would implement most projects.
Information provided here is limited due to a non-disclosure agreement.
Various landing pages developed together with the Marketing Team
Case study: integration leads from events
One example of a project I've worked on multiple times was creating a website that would host a "challenge" for people to request a reference under a certain amount of time (e.g. 1 minute). The flow of the challenge would be a "fake representation" of how requesting an Xref check worked inside one of Xref's integration partners (e.g. Bullhorn, SmartRecruiters).
This type of website was used during events with partners to motivate people to interact with the Xref booth while giving them a good idea of how the integration worked. The project result was very positive and increased the number of people interacting with sales representatives. With a streamlined flow at the end of the challenge allowing users to book a demo, we improved our leads' quantity and quality.
Below is an example challenge showing how Xref worked inside Bullhorn. The whole page was created from scratch based on Bullhorn's interface but without using any of their assets. I've implemented a responsive simplified flow integrated with Marketo as a template that allowed the Marketing Team to edit content with ease.
Challenge example showing Xref inside Bullhorn
Case study: events
In some opportunities, when Xref sponsored an event, we would also create the website for that event. The Marketing Team would send me the content; I would implement (code) everything, set up the integration with our analytics tools, and monitor user behaviour. We often performed multivariate testing by modifying minor parts of the user interface and adjusting it accordingly until the event's date. Modifications improving the conversion rate would stay, and new hypotheses would be tested for further improvement.
Among others, we've created the websites for RecTech 2018 and FuelHR 2019. A quick overview of the latter below:
Website for FuelHR 2019
Goals & results
With an iterative process focused on continuous improvement, we were always working to improve CRM and CRO metrics like:
• Increase the number of leads to the Sales team
• Increase the number of checks requested in the Xref platform
• Increase the usage of certain features within the platform
• Reduce the number of support tickets
Most of the work done in these areas directly impacted Xref's revenue, which went from ~$2m to more than $10m during my time there.
In the 2019 financial year, the number of active users increased by 2,392 to a total of 6,634, from which 68% had joined in the previous 24 months. The average revenue per user (ARPU) was $1,109 and had risen by 47% since Xref listed in 2016. This means not only we were acquiring users faster but users were also using the platform more.
Number of users from Financial Year (FY) 2016 to 2019
Learnings
When it comes to digital products (e.g. webpages, apps), there's always room for improvement. Over the years, I've learned how to focus on getting the essential part of the project done quickly. The part that defines what your product is trying to achieve. Once you have that, it's time to optimise the design through experimentation. Performing A/B or multivariate testing using tools like Optimizely is a great way to detach yourself from the solution you've created and improve it based on data. The sooner you can start iterating and testing, the faster the data will start telling you how the product can be improved.
