The time I launched a growth initiative, Airtel Rewards
Role
Product Designer
Industry
Telecom
Contributions
Product Strategy, Product Design, Usability Testing
Growth (first 3 months)
Reward claim rate up by 27%
OVERVIEW
Airtel Rewards growth program through UX experiments that balanced business goals with user engagement and retention.
Problem
Current User Journey
Business Problem
Personalized coupon codes for ALL customers resource-intensive and unsustainable.
UX experimentation
Experiment 1 - Mask Rewards
Provides a personalized coupon code to the customer only upon reward activation.
Introduces an element of unpredictability and fosters a gifting behavior.
Iterations
As a team, we were looking for simple and already used interactions or learned behaviour by customers in popular transactions - eg, tap, wait, scratch etc.
Released!
Results
Masked rewards increased click-through rates as customers enjoyed the unpredictability.
Revealing fewer coupon codes resulted in better engagement.
Reflections from Experiment 1
Research showed customers didn’t like the rewards they were receiving, so they didn’t claim them.
This led to strained relationships with Airtel’s coupon partners and limited coupon inventory.
Experiment 2
4-set Reward Selection
Personalization
Let users choose from 4-set reward options, giving them control and personalization.
Their choices help improve rewards distribution on the backend.
HALO Effect
Grouping smaller brands with larger ones in the 4-option set created a "HALO effect," making small business coupons easier to discover and boosting their branding.
Visual
Interaction
Rewards + Loyalty
Align rewards with Airtel’s telecom membership tiers. Shift from one-off rewards → loyalty system
Concept
Interaction
MVP Release!
Claim rate up by 27% in just 2 weeks!
Strengthened relationships with our favorite businesses (small and large) by sharing valuable customer insights.
User feedback helped us adjust rewards to match customer preferences, driving long-term goals.
Personalized Reward Selection
Mask Rewards
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