Feature Development for Market Diversification

UX Challenge

How can products evolve to integrate new user needs? As Lead UX Strategist, I was tasked with creating an innovative feature within our Maven product – an app that connects users to nearby vehicles for short-term rental. The goal was to include longer-term rentals to users working in the “gig economy.” The greatest challenge was to protect the needs of the existing users while capturing this new market.

UX Approach

Our approach was unique because there were no existing use cases. We began with user interviews to assess features. We found that while the same enrollment process was appropriate, Gig users prioritized vehicle make, model, and cost over convenience and proximity. We then developed a user flow that catered to both existing Maven and new Gig users while allowing transference: any user could make short-term reservations (through Maven) and longer-term reservations (through Gig) from the same platform.

Final Product

The final Gig feature launched in the Maven app in 2017 and is now in use in test markets in the U.S. The new feature successfully leveraged our existing product to diversify our user base and generate a new stream of revenue. With the introduction of this feature, reservations and ridership went up 55% and according to our in-house analytics team, we had an enrollment success rate of 90%.

UX Impact

UX was essential to this ambitious and innovative feature development. In close collaboration with product, marketing, and engineering teams, we succeed in reimagining an existing product and thinking outside the box while maintaining an effortless user experience.