Overview
The case study covers the process of designing a loyalty club website for the Tejarat Bank called “Tejarat Club”. The goal of the website is to keep the user motivated to use his credit card from this bank and engage him with the banking services.
Problem Statement:
Our loyalty program aims to engage customers by incentivizing routine banking actions like money transfers, gas purchase and bill payments.
We’ve noticed the current program isn’t driving engagement, leading to low interaction and a lack of connection to the rewards system. How might we improve the program to boost customer engagement and increase frequent use of financial services?
Solution:
To address this, a gamified loyalty program is introduced, where customers, represented as astronauts, can progress through seven levels—each symbolized by a planet. By completing daily banking activities such as paying bills, transferring money, or making purchases, users earn points that help them “travel” to new planets. This engaging visual journey fosters consistent interaction, rewards loyalty, and enhances user satisfaction with the bank’s offerings.
Impact
The new design led to 5% increase in the number of banking activities like money transfers and bill payments in a 3-month period. Also the percentage of users who actively participate in the loyalty program increased by 30%.
Team Members:
Hossein Sharafi: Product Designer
Arta Mokaberi: Usability Consultant
Monireh Abbaszadeh: Product Manager
The Design Thinking Process
| Discover | Define | Ideate | Design |
| – Interview – Observation | – Affinity Diagram – Defining Problems | – Brainstorming – Mind mapping | – Wireframes – User Interface |
Discover
User Interview Findings
- Lack of Engagement with Current Loyalty Program: Many customers expressed that existing loyalty programs feel impersonal and do not provide clear incentives to engage regularly. They often forget about the benefits or fail to track progress.
- Desire for Real-Time Feedback: Customers mentioned wanting to see immediate feedback on their actions, like earning points or achieving a milestone, which keeps them motivated to use the system more often.
- Simplicity and Clarity: Many users find current programs overly complicated, making it difficult to understand how points are earned or what actions are rewarded.
Observation Findings
- Infrequent Engagement with Online Banking: During observation, it was noted that many customers log in to online banking only for essential transactions, with little to no interaction with additional features like rewards programs.
- Users Skim through Reward Details: When presented with loyalty program information, users tend to quickly skim through the details and do not engage with how the program works, indicating a lack of interest or understanding.
- Visual and Interactive Features Catch Attention: Users responded more positively when shown interactive or visually appealing features within the interface, such as progress tracking or gamified elements, as they appeared more engaging.
Define
Affinity Diagram
Defining Problems
According to user research findings, the key challenges are as follows:
- Low User Engagement:
Users infrequently engage with the loyalty program due to a lack of awareness and motivation. The design needs to prominently feature the rewards system and integrate it seamlessly into daily banking activities, making it more visible and enticing for users to interact with. - Complex and Unclear Rewards Structure:
Users find the current rewards system confusing, especially in terms of how points are earned and tracked. The new design should provide a simple, transparent point-tracking system with clear information on how actions contribute to leveling up and unlocking rewards. - Lack of Personalized and Relevant Rewards:
Many users are not motivated by the generic rewards currently offered. The new system should allow for more personalized rewards based on user preferences, spending habits, and lifestyle, creating a more relevant and engaging experience. - Need for Real-Time Feedback and Progress Tracking:
Users want immediate feedback when they earn points and progress toward new levels.
Ideate
Brainstorming
I convened a meeting with the entire team, comprising product managers, developers, and visual designers, to brainstorm solutions and concepts that could be employed to tackle the issues. We wanted 7 layers of rewards and we needed a model as the base.
The brainstorming session resulted in the following ideas:
- Achievement Badges: Users can earn achievement badges, each representing a different level based on the number of points collected. For example, Level 1 could start with a basic “New Explorer” badge, progressing up to “Master Navigator” by Level 7.
- Mountain Climb: Users begin at the base of a mountain and climb upward with each new level. Every level has a corresponding camp, and by Level 7, users reach the “summit,” where they unlock exclusive rewards.
- Building a City: Users start with an empty city at Level 1, and as they collect points, they can add new buildings, parks, and landmarks, culminating in a vibrant metropolis by Level 7.
- Solar System-Themed Idea: Planetary Travel (Base Idea): Users start at Earth (Level 1) and travel to each subsequent planet, with Pluto as the final destination at Level 7. Points earned from interactions propel them from one planet to the next, representing progress through the loyalty program.
We decided to go further with the solar system idea.
Mind Mapping
All ideas related to the solar system-themed idea is presented in the following mind map:
Design
Design System
I have created a minimalistic design system for a responsive website, outlined as follows:
Final Solution
The dashboard for the Tejarat Bank Loyalty Club is designed around a space exploration theme where users can track their progress through the loyalty program’s seven levels, represented by planets in the solar system.
The sample user, currently on Mars (Level 2), can view how to earn more points, advance to the next level, and redeem points for rewards. The planets’ progression is visually mapped from Earth (Level 1) to Pluton (Level 7), offering a clear guide for users to understand their journey.
The interface also features personalized sections like the points statement, festival and groups, coupons, and gaming activities, making it easy to manage their loyalty status and engage with the platform. Bright, user-friendly icons on the left-hand menu simplify navigation through various account functionalities.
UX Metrics Iprovements
The new design has been implemented on club.TejaratBank.ir, and the UX metrics have been monitored over time. Three months after launching the new version, the following UX metrics have shown improvement:
- Engagement Rate: The percentage of current users who actively participate in the loyalty program increased by 30%.
- Frequency of Interaction: The number of banking activities like money transfers or bill payments increased by 5% between the current customers of the loyalty club.
- Time to Next Level: Now users can progress through the levels of the loyalty program faster than before (e.g., from Earth to Mars).