ＰｉｎｇＭｅ
Ａｐｐ　＆　ＷｅｂＡｐｐ

Optimization, iteration, and marketing
PingMe, as the company’s main product, provides users with VoIP services. Through PingMe, user can rent a virtual number very easily, and can use it to receive verification codes and cloud phone communication services. Products including PingMe App, Web App, and Website.
Project duration
2023.1-2023.6 (Parallel)
My role
Product manager,
UX designer
Marketing
Responsibilities
Optimization
UI design
UX design
Usability studies
Competitive audience
Iterating
Website updates
SEO, ASO
Tools
Figma
WordPress+Divi
App tweak
The goal
The purpose of product optimization is to improve user experience and thus increase conversion rate.The marketing is to increase website traffic, improve website and app rankings, and thus increase downloads
The goal
Usability testing and report(App & Web App)
Product optimization
New feature design
Website updates
Network marketing(ASO, ASA)

Usability testing and report

➤  App

Background：

Although PingMe is the company's flagship product, its reviews have always been low. and occasionally users would write emails to feedback product experience problems, or there would be a large number of after-sales consultations on multiple issues. This shows that our product does have many problems, which is one of the motivations for conducting usability testing.
But when I started to conduct the usability testing, there was no budget at all. So, this is not a standard usability test, the test was mainly done by myself(I am a new user to the product by then), but I did ask my colleagues and family members for their opinions on some of the problems. I did my best under the conditions allowed.

‍

Findings:

The usability testing about App found 34 issues that needed to be optimized, and gave brief modification suggestions in the report. The main issues(P0&P1) found and suggestions are as follows:

  • [New features]Need to add the Contacts function.
  • [Message]Click the New Message button to create a new message directly (delete the secondary menu)
  • [Invite]Invite advertisement needs to add a link
  • [All pages]the table header needs to be fixed
  • [SMS verification code page]The icon for the unavailable number option needs to be modified
  • [SMS verification code page]The text of the package options needs to be modified
  • [SMS verification code page]When exiting the page, a pop-up window prompts you to subscribe, the text needs to be modified
  • [SMS verification code management page]The text of the delete button needs to be modified
  • [BUG]iphone pro max model has limited space at the top and bottom


Full test report:

➤  Web App

Background：

Web app users are usually more business-oriented than app users, because they only use PCs to send text messages or make calls when working. Since the account information of the App and the Web App is the same, and there are many identical designs in terms of functions, any changes must be considered for both versions. This usability test is mainly aimed at the problems that only exist in the web app.

‍

Findings:

The usability testing of the web app found 19 issues that needed to be optimized, and gave brief modification suggestions in the report. The main issues(P0&P1) found and suggestions are as follows:

  • [BUG]Cannot receive the first verification code when login via email or mobile phone.
  • [SMS page]image dragging function needed.
  • [SMS page]The text of "Create new contact" needs to be modified
  • [SMS page]The avatar size in the contact list is not uniform
  • [Verification Code]Second level menu, the interaction logic should be consistent with the number page
  • [Verification Code]The pop-up text for exiting when the number is not subscribed needs to be modified


Full test report:

Product optimization

‍

‍

Background:

Product optimization is mainly based on usability testing, most of which are about product strategy, program logic, and bugs, which do not require modifying the wireframe or mockups. Only changes involving interaction and UI require redesign. Here I only show some representative cases, not all my work.

➤  Call line selection page

The problem

PingMe is a VOIP app. Since calls rely on data traffic, clearer calls mean more data support. So we provide users with a variety of call quality options. Before dialing the number, users are asked to select a call line, but the previous design had the following problems:

  • In order not to interrupt the user's dialing experience, the line selection page only stays for 3 seconds, which makes many new users unable to see the meaning of each line.
  • Each line only has a name and a charge, and there is no explanation of their differences.
  • The UI color scheme makes the unselected options look unavailable.

Before:

After:

Modifications:

  • Added a dialing number at the top of the page, which is a continuation of the previous page, letting the user know that he is still in the dialing process.
  • Added a switch for "Remember selection" and turned it off by default. This way, new users have enough time to observe the options before dialing, and users could choose to 'remember the chioce.
  • Added explanation for each option
  • Modified the style and for buttons and countdown.

➤  Rating improvement plan

The problem：

The cause of the incident was that PingMe received a large number of negative reviews over a period of time, and many of the negative reviews said that our products were scams, so the Apple Store notified PingMe to make product rectifications.
After investigation, it was found that almost all those who gave negative reviews were telecom fraudsters. In fact, there are indeed a large number of fraudsters among PingMe users, and this phenomenon is actually very common in VOIP products. But PingMe's product rating is very low among similar products, which is unusual. So I think this must be related to our product.

Problem analysis:

So what is the reason for these scammers to give bad reviews? I found their behavior triggered our system's judgment of fraud and was blocked. So they gave bad reviews in anger.​
Our current penalty rules have a total of 9 conditions. Once any of any condition is triggered, it will lead to account blocking. For blocked accounts, users will be kicked out immediately, and when they try to log in, they will receive a sharp pop-up window. All account balances, information records, and contacts will no longer be available.This is why users are angry and give bad reviews.

Solution:

Since all VOIP platforms will encounter fraud problems and will definitely punish and deal with them, the problem should be in the handling method. I think our handling method is too tough. If we adopt a softer method, we can at least ease the anger of the relevant users and reduce the rate of bad reviews.So I solved the problem from the following aspects:

1. Penalty classification

The purpose of handling illegal accounts has changed from punishment to curbing crime. In principle, the intensity of punishment should be reduced as much as possible as long as it can curb crime. The punishment is divided into low, medium, and high levels according to the severity of the behavior. The specific punishment measures range from temporarily closing some account permissions (for example, an account with closed SMS sending permissions can still make and receive calls) to the most severe account blocking punishment. Even if it is a blocking punishment, users can log in to the account to view message records and contact information.

2. Gentle language

When a user triggers the penalty mechanism, a pop-up window will be displayed to inform the user of the details of the restriction, possible reasons and solutions. And express sincere apologies. Respect every user in attitude, even if he/she may be a fraudster.

3. Give hope

Add an appeal process, and all users of restricted accounts can appeal. The processing cycle of the appeal will be long. The main purpose of the appeal is to prevent errors in judgment and to let users see hope, thereby reducing anger. The following is the wireframe of the appeal process. Unfortunately, since the two bosses could not reach a consensus, the appeal process was temporarily shelved.

For more details about the Rating Improvement Plan, please refer the following link:

Network Marketing(ASO,ASA)

‍

‍

Work summary:

As a product listed on the Apple Store and Play Store, ASO and ASA directly affect downloads and rankings. I used Apptweak to analyze 10 competing products and analyzed and updated all ASO and ASA information of PingMe in 7 countries and regions, including title, keywords, short and long description, feature graphic, screenshots, etc.

➤  Keywords

Keywords

I analyzed competitor keywords through Apptweak, and scores and sorted them by KEI, chance, Vol, and installation. I sorted out more than 70 keywords in total. I kept the keywords with higher rankings, and optimized them reasonably. I also set up a huge keyword coverage through different app stores in four English-speaking countries: Canada, the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. I also did similar work on the Chinese version in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

➤  Screenshots

The screenshots were updated and the product highlights of PingMe were readjusted.
‍

Before

After

Iterate and grow

➤  Monthly recharge

As can be seen from the figure, with product updates, sales have also increased significantly. The monthly turnover in January 2024 increased by 82% year-on-year.

←→
chenggensen@gmail.com