Key deliverables included:
A detailed functionality proposal tailored to user and business needs.
High-fidelity app designs integrating the new feature seamlessly.
The solution was strategically designed to align user engagement with measurable business outcomes.
The process
Discovery
Understand the context of the problem, why the client it’s asking for, what is a Member get Member solution, how this solution can impact the business and what is the fundamentals to build a MGM solution.
Ideation
Validations
Define the insights and paths of how the solution can be, map the ideal journey for this solutions, how the information architecture will be designed and validate with the client and tech team about the solutions.
Design/Test
Here I Transform the definition in a functional hi-fi prototype and collect feedbacks with the stakeholders.
Delivery
Deliver the prototype and assets for the tech team and follow-up the implementation process.
Why this process?
Because this process is based on the design thinking foundations and a strategy that focus on user centered design.
Following this steps will help the project to have a clear direction about a solution that truly integrate business, user and tech interests.
What I wanted to achive?
Knowledge about Member Get Member business rules and impact.
What is the propose for the client.
How to design the solution and details about the technical development.
What metrics the solution can impact.
Increase the number of new users and the retention of old ones.
Help the business team expand they vision about the app has a way of generate revenue and it’s positive impact.
What is expected?
Business, Users and Tech Team happy.
Easy to use solution.
Realistic proposal of rewards that will positively impact the users.
User understanding and using the solution.
Metrics defined
In this section, the focus is to solve questions like:
What the business unit needs it’s really what they need to focus from UX perspective?
What are the main points we need understand about the problem?
What I need to focus on this research?
Who is the end-users that will use this solution?
Starting with CSD: direction of the research
Research
The challenge was to address the business team's need to improve retention rates, and the wanted to accomplish this with a Member Get Member solution.
During the discovery process, I explored various solutions that can impact more than MGM, but no ones has the same potential that the Member Get Member.
To validate its effectiveness, I decided to investigate more deeply the key aspects, including:
What an MGM program entails.
Its potential impact on retention.
Best practices for implementation.
Examples from competitors in Brazil and other markets.
Available data on MGM performance and results.
This research provided a clear, data-driven foundation for designing a solution aligned with business goals and user needs.
What is a
Member get Member?
A referral program where active members/customers invite friends or family to engage with the brand. Attracting new customers through exclusive benefits for both the referrer and the referred, such as discounts or rewards.
MGM impacts in business:
Mapping Influencers
Identifies customers who generate the most conversions.
Cost savings in education
Engaged customers tend to explain the process, facilitating understanding and adoption.
Increased trust
Word of mouth from friends and family builds greater confidence.
Customer Loyalty
Referred customers are more likely to become repeat customers, impacting metrics like average ticket and Lifetime Value.
Lower costs
Reduced need for advertising investment and acquiring new customers, but the advertising can increase the results of the MGM exponentially.
During a field observation at one of the client's stores, I noticed that in crowded shopping queues, many people played games on their phones, while others chatted with companions or scrolled through Instagram or are chatting online through a messaging app.
This insight revealed that about 23 out of every 50 people in the queue played games while waiting to pay.
I then focused on the potential of engaging customers through gaming, considering the shop's customer profile, the influence of gaming culture among adults, and the growing younger generation of gamers.
The research also includes data on Brazil's mobile gaming market and how this cam impact the usage os this kind of solution.
Mobile Gaming Market Data in Brazil (2022):
101 million players, with 60% playing on mobile devices (approximately 60.6 million).
"Time Fillers" Persona: 21% of players prefer playing games over watching content, representing 12.7 million people.
Age demographics: 43% are between 21–35 years old, and 23% are between 36–50 years old
Possible impact in numbers:
Potential customers
Considering that 46% of mobile gamers shop at supermarkets (18 million), The client could capture a 10% market share, or 1.8 million people.
Players in the client queues
21% of the 1.8 million (378,000 people) play while waiting.
MGM adoption rate estimate
15% of this base (56,700 people) join the program, sharing with at least 5 people each, reaching 283,000 new potential customers.
Estimated financial impact 20% of these new customers (56,000 people) purchasing an average of R$350 generates a financial impact of R$19 million.
Possible gross revenue
impact estimation based on research
Around
R$19
MILLIONS
of gross revenue*
Of the 11 players analyzed, only 3 used the member-get-member strategy: Meliuz, Sam's & You and CornerShop.
Structure: All three use a standard setup with a humanized banner, title, content, CTA to invite friends, and a button for more information.
Placement: Méliuz displays the banner on the homepage, while CornerShop and Sam's & You place the MGM feature in the hidden menu.
Rules: The rules are clearly organized, transparent, and structured to seem fair, with simplified explanations and detailed rules accessible via a button. Patterns of rewards are R$50 or R$20 in cashback to use in the app or store.
Rewards: Both the user and the guest are rewarded.
Link Sharing: All offer simple, easy-to-share invitation links.
Monitoring: None of the players show users how invitations are tracked.
From 10 gaming apps that uses the MGM solution:
Few games use a Member Get Member with attractive rules and rewards.
Has a simplify journey to invite
Few games reward the invitee player
Generate links to share
Easy to find the invite system.
Few players are using a Member Get Member with attractive rules and rewards
Some players on the market seem to hide the Member Get Member functionality, unlike mobile games
Member Get Member can be an empowering strategy in an anniversary campaign
Players who use Member Get Member have a simple flow with a maximum of 3 steps
The estimate metrics impacts it’s directly related to the retention, account activation, gross revenue, and others business metrics
The users can be interested in this kind of solution, but the reward need be in cash or cashback because of the business context.
For the first test, users will have 5 invites
Reward for inverts and inviteds R$50 if the in inveted spend R$300 or more in the store
Use this solutions as a campaign for the anniversary season of the company
Legal rules clear and easy to understand
Detailed description of the campaign and how to use the funcionality
Guarantee of the payment no more than 3 work days.
Support trained to deal with problems related to the MGM context or with problematic users
Extreme care with anti-fraud and hacking security
The client understand that a Member Get Member solution can possibility help in achieve they goals.
The client know:
What is the business rules for this solution.
How complicated it’s to develop this kind of solution.
Have market references of others players using it.
Know what metrics this kind of solution will impact in they business at all.
Have a hyphotesis that they users base it’s interested in this kind of solution.
In this step, I gather all the information, data and insights to formulate a general reference to build the solution
Base Proto-Personas
Based on the research these proto-personas were created to provide a detailed, user-centric understanding of the potential audience for the client’s Member Get Member (MGM) referral program.
Value Proposal
After understanding the context and validation needs of the member-get-member (MGM) solution, I implemented the Value Proposition framework.
Purpose of Framework Selection: Chose this framework to help stakeholders grasp the benefits and value the solution delivers.
Understanding User Needs: Identified user expectations, fears, and how the product addresses their needs.
Business Unit Clarity: Assisted the business unit in clearly understanding what they can offer, what to expect, and where to focus attention.
Guidance for Development Team: Provided the development team with initial steps and insights into upcoming work.
Ideal Journey
With the overall understanding of the MGM and the Value proposition I choose to utilize a journey map to design the path of implementation of a MGM solution, this offers several advantages like:
Holistic Visualization
Identification of Pain Points
Enhanced Customer Experience
Strategic Alignment
Improved Communication
Performance Measurement
The userflow
Developing a Member Get Member (MGM) solution involves several strategic steps to ensure its effectiveness and alignment with customer needs. After completing the Value Proposition Canvas and Journey Map, focusing on a userflow strategy that helped me with seamless User Experience Design vision, alignment with customer needs, identification of potential obstacles, optimization of conversion paths and informed Design and Development
The design solution focused on necessity of the business team in search for a solutions that can increase the retention rate of the app, plus the possibility of increase the user base, the usage of the app in general and possibility to impact the revenue positively around R$10milion or more, depending of the strategy and business rules for this solutions.
User Interface
After the userflow defined, I started build the interface flow using our design system and quickly build-up a final version of the proposal for the MGM journey in the app.
Hi-fi Prototype
After the userflow defined, I started build the interface flow using our design system and quickly build-up a final version of the proposal for the MGM journey in the app.
Final review and Handoff
While the designs were created, sometimes I needed to validate the proposal of these designs directly with the front-end team and the architect, where they suggested alternatives to resolve problems that could be generated because of the technical limitations of the technology we are using in this project.
After this step, the design goes for the final validation with the business unit, and if approved, follows the handoff for the development team, and the design documentation happens.
Learnings
Member Get Member is extremely adaptative, and depends on the business rules and the tech solutions to work.
It can be a low-cost alternative to try to scale the user base, as well as detect loyal users.
It’s a good way to improve retention, but it’s not durable for some specific users' personas.
