focus area
PRODUCT DESIGN
BRAND DESIGN
PRODUCT STRATEGY
TEAM
SIDDHARTH
NANDINI GANGAL
HAREESH TR
CRED's referral system is the growth strategy's cornerstone. Extremely dynamic and complex, enabling simultaneous experimentation across user segments, optimizing communication-reward combos. During peak periods like IPL, referral-driven growth becomes highly strategic, leveraging heightened engagement.
ILLUSTRATION
JIBIN JOSEPH
MIDHUN MOHAN
SIDDHIKA DESHMUKH
ABHISHEK BALAN
SARATH CHANDRAN
DEVELOPERS
PRATEEK
NIKUNJ SHARAM
I started as an intern on the referral team in 2020. As time progressed, my role expanded, evolving into co-lead with the best, Nandini Gangal on important design changes and shaping campaign narratives. I played a key role in scaling the Referral to become a platform through both design and dev implementations
In the early days of CRED, the brand's strong emphasis on design and innovation fueled significant word-of-mouth growth. From a product design standpoint, we adopted a simple referral framework: "Invite a friend → Friend signs up → Both parties receive 10 gems." These gems could then be redeemed for rewards from our reward catalog.
In our first revamp, our objective was crystal clear: reduce the friction between the in-app referral trigger and user action. To accomplish this goal, we concentrated on several key key improvements :→ We revamped the screen layout to be modular, presenting more information upfront. This redesign improved user comprehension and interaction.→ Transitioned from the gems framework to a streamline communication, making it more direct and accessible.→ Integrated referral options earlier in the rewards pages, ensuring visibility and accessibility for users.
A significant new feature we introduced was the Referral Dashboard, offering users a dedicated space to track and initiate referrals. This feature enables users to monitor pending referrals, explore referral-exclusive rewards, and, as always, initiate new referrals.
We introduced new components and widgets tailored to minimize the gap between referral initiation and reward redemption. These enhancements are designed to incentivize users to actively participate in referrals by simplifying and accelerating the referral process.
After nearly two years of experimentation and analysis following the neomorphism revamp, we identified specific changes needed to enhance the referral flow.
Key priorities included:→ Simplifying the referral bottom sheet, which had become overly complicated with too many options presented upfront.→ Emphasizing repeat referrals by not only boosting our key metric of acquiring new referrals but also optimizing for repeat referrers through gamification, exclusive campaigns, and streak rewards.→ Enhancing upstream discovery to increase visibility and accessibility of the referral program within the app.
We made a strategic decision to gamify the referral process, betting that transforming referrals into a fun and engaging experience would boost repeat referrals and strengthen the invite funnel. By introducing game-like elements, we aimed to enhance user interaction and participation.
The referral game featured a streamlined drag-and-drop mechanism. Users were presented with five contacts, which they could either drag into the interaction area or shuffle through. Upon dragging a contact, the system automatically drafted and animated the sending of a custom invitation, making the process both engaging and simple.
Personally, it was a great challenge to rethink referrals from a story point of view. A lot of jamming with the creative minds of Hareesh TR, Jibin Joseph and Midhun Mohan.
This revamp lead to a high increase in first time referrals and repeat referrals. It also helped us understand better what parts of gamifying a referral experience works best for our members. User flow analysis and enhancements in the game mechanics continued to optimize funnels that were of key importance.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Throughout this project I had keys learning that excessive options do end up overwhelming users & that designing for growth involves crafting creative campaigns and reward structures as much as it depends on experience design. While the product provides foundational support, incorporating a social dimension within the app is crucial to stimulate growth without heavily relying on financial expenditures.
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