Overview

Thinkific offers an online course creation platform with a feature called Thinkific Payments for managing transactions. Currently, only 50% of the users choose Thinkific Payments at setup. The company had set a goal to boost this adoption rate to 90%, a move projected to increase Thinkific's revenue by $4.5 million in 2022 and achieve an 80% growth rate.

I involved myself with the UX research team early on in the project to understand the opportunity, which led me to simplify the transaction management process to gain a higher adoption rate amongst established users who already trust the platform. Learn more about Thinkific.

The Ask

The purpose of this 2-phased project was to increase Creators’ adoption of TPay (Thinkific Payments):

1. A redesign of the TPay card within the Settings page

2. the addition of a Payments page

*Due to mass lay-offs, I was not able to complete the entirety of the project. I will be detailing what was done in phase 1 as well as what I planned to do for phase 2 within the Future Development section.

Constraints

Due to mass lay-offs, I was not able to complete the entirety of the project. I will be detailing what I accomplished as well as my plans of what I was planning to do. The discovery phase was done in a in-depth way due to wanting to use that information when it came to the addition of a Payments page.

Reorganization of teams made it difficult to find the original sources of information. This made it more difficult and time-consuming to find the right people to ask questions.

The Problem

Only 59% of new Creators choose Thinkific Payments at initial payment processor set up, in regions where it is available (35% overall). Our target is for 80-95% of new creators that are eligible to choose TPay.

The Solution

The goal was to remove adoption barriers for creators at time of set up and ensure that creators understood all benefits of using the platform over various competitors.

The Process

Discovery → Strategy → Scope → Solution

Discovery:

• Define design problem

• Setting goals & success metrics

• interviewing stakeholders + users

• Precedent analysis - competitive analysis & study market

Scope:

• Clarifying feature restriction and timeline for two phases

• Clarifying UI requirements & flexibility

Strategy:

• Determine & prioritize key information

• Clearer copywriting

Solution:

• Design based on research data and project objectives

• User test then finalize

High Level Goals

After thoughtful considerations taking all available data into account, we identified and set 3 high-level product goals that meet user and business requirements.

1. Increase Creators’ understanding of TPay’s functionalities to better decide which payment platform is best suitable to their needs

2. Increase conversion rates of Creators who choose TPay as their payment platform

3. Decrease the likeliness of Creators stopping the TPay payment initiation

Why?

1. Obvious impact - Thinkific’s revenue would increase significantly if Creators set up TPay during initial onboarding

2. Customer happiness - A significant number of users would benefit from TPay’s platform vs. using Stripe or Paypal

Defining the Problem

Strategy

It is estimated that Thinkific’s revenue is 2022 would increase by $4.5 million if 90% of new Creators set up Thinkific Payments starting April 30th, an 80% increase in Thinkific revenue.

Based on knowledge of current statistics, only 50% of Creators choose Thinkific Payments at setup even though more Creators could benefit from switching. Therefore, my initial brief was to conduct user interviews to understand the Creators' needs and what problems they needed solved when it came to choosing a payment platform. As well, we wanted to know what factors were taken into account when choosing a payments platform.

Foundational Research User Interview

We interviewed 10 creators to understand their key needs in a payment platform and identify pain points that might influence a switch to Thinkific Payments.

Focus of interviews:

• Open feedback about the flaws of the current process

• Understanding why Creators were discontinuing their Thinkific Payments set up mid course

• Understand why Creators choose Stripe over Thinkific Payments

Key Insights:

• Setup often stalls because assistants lack access to necessary KYC information

• Old creators do not think there are enough benefits to switching

• New creators do not know the key differences between Thinkific Payments and Stripe

• When unsure, Creators decide to choose the more reliable platform

I then created a flowchart that depicts the decision making pathways/factors that dictate whether a Creator will choose TPay, as well as the two major personas who choose TPay as their payment platform. (depicted as below)

Unexpected Insight:

The initial data showed only 50% adoption of Thinkific Payments against a target of 80%. This target was based on the fact that 80% of Creators are in Canada and the USA, where Thinkific Payments is available. However, not all Creators can benefit from it, especially those using multiple platforms or selling physical goods through sites like Shopify. Despite the challenges in switching, the established trust makes older customers more inclined to adopt Thinkific Payments if it simplifies their operations.

Competitive Analysis/Research Insights

Competitive Analysis: Our review of Shopify and Stripe revealed strategies to simplify transactions and boost adoption, similar to Thinkific Payments. We examined Shopify's approach to building Creator trust and Stripe's service presentation.

Key Insights:

• A detailed FAQ is vital for Thinkific Payments.

• Comparison charts help Creators assess features and costs.

• Simple signup and trial periods are common to both.

• Trust is built through transparency, reviews, and free trials.

• Credibility is reinforced by reviews and case studies.

Flow Chart Analysis

Outcome: This flow chart outlines all the types of paths and decision making a Creator is currently required to go through to go through the payment process. I’ve captured the set up process of TPay, Stripe, and Paypal for the purpose of comparison.

Finalized Flowchart

Based on the research, we were able to create a streamlined flowchart as well as gradual onboarding of knowledge to guide the Creator during their journey. This flowchart was finalized with stakeholders before the iteration phase.

Ideation Potential Solutions

Current Usability Issues:

1. “Learn More” was not heavily differentiated

2. Items within the module does not differentiate main CTA clearly

3. Too much text within “Thinkific Payments” page made it difficult for users to scan for main features that may convince them to make the switch

4. Copy was confusing for users

What I Did:

After summarizing the information from the user interviews, I started sketching out different solutions to help the users.

Questions I had:

1. Lot of content to convey but can create cognitive overload for the user

   • Solution: decide what info is most important and reveal information gradually

2. Further branding of Thinkific Payments - still give user the choice to choose Stripe but reinforce TPay’s prominence

3. Should we let users know that TPay is only available within Canada & USA before they fill in where their business is located?

4. What pieces of information are important enough to be included within the module itself or within “Learn More”?

Copywriting

Within the module itself, we wanted to capture the attention of the Creator enough to encourage them to “Learn More”. We wanted to make sure the copy was easily scannable and allowed them to skim through the content while obtaining the most important information about the features of TPay. To do this, we wanted to reveal the most important content first. Working with the UX writer, we made the current bulky copy more concise and easily digestible.

UI Changes

Taking account of the design language in the context of such a large product, I took in consideration of the context before adding nuances to the design library. Due to the unique nature of the TPay module, I thought it was important to add minuscule design details to create further hierarchy within the cards. The details were finalized with the UI designer of our team.

1. Accentuate “Learn More” with yellow instead of white

2. Making TPay card stand out by using a more saturated themed colour

3. Changing button colour to white to draw attention as CTA

4. Add circular icon with checkmark to draw attention

User Testing

I tested this product across various stages of the project.

• Lo-fi wireframes: Used within the internal teams and stakeholders to get feedback on content, design choices and technical restrictions.

• Moderated usability testing: Using the refined hi-fi prototypes such as above, I tested with users using specific scenarios to evaluate their ability to describe what information they were able to perceive and the time frame it took.

Finalized Flow

With the results of user testing as well as the finalized flowchart, I created the finalized userflow.

Finalized Designs

There were a few major differences in terms of the design.

1. Used darker colour as the background of the card to add visual prominence

2. Made “Set up Thinkific Payments” white for visual prominence as CTA

3. Differentiated “Learn More” with yellow

4. Included a jotted version of key features

5. Mentions eligibility only available in Canada & the USA

6. Included pop up which includes information required for TPay as well as information about migrating to TPay from Stripe

Success Metrics

Although I didn't reach this part of the project, I'm aware of the key metrics for evaluating its success.

Success Metrics (for New Creators)

• Higher initial adoption of Thinkific Payments during setup.

• More visits to the FAQ page, indicating heightened interest in TPay.

• Improved completion rates for TPay setup, indicating effective pre-setup information

(for Old Creators)

• More conversions to TPay from Stripe or PayPal.

• Increased FAQ visits concerning the switch to TPay from Stripe or PayPal.

Future Development

Low adoption of Thinkific Payments is largely due to mistrust compared to the familiar Stripe. While offering a free trial could help, it's beyond my control. Creating a Payments page to showcase TPay's features could enhance user trust, potentially improving conversion and retention by demonstrating integration and benefits, thereby gaining an edge over competitors like Stripe.

Learnings

Questioning assumptions

Despite aiming for 80% adoption of TPay, it's clear not all Creators can benefit, especially those using multiple platforms. Older customers, already trusting Thinkific, could be key adopters despite transition challenges.

Addressing trust issues

The lower adoption rate is partly due to the preference for the more familiar Stripe. Offering a free trial could boost trust in TPay, but that's beyond my control. Demonstrating TPay's features and benefits might be the best way to build trust among Creators.