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Product Improvement Case Study – Plum

Describe the Product

Plum is a smart personal finance app that helps users manage their money by automating savings, investments, and budgeting. Using AI-driven insights, Plum analyzes users’ income and spending patterns to save money automatically, offer investment opportunities, and provide financial advice.

This case study focuses on improving user onboarding and education for Plum’s investment features, which can help new users confidently start investing, boost engagement, and increase retention.

Clarifying Questions

  1. What percentage of new users currently activate the investment feature after signing up?
  2. Are there specific pain points or drop-off points in the onboarding process for investments?
  3. What level of financial literacy do the majority of Plum users have?
  4. Do users often raise concerns about understanding investment risks or selecting portfolios?
  5. Is there currently any gamification or educational material built into the onboarding journey?
  6. Are there differences in onboarding behavior between first-time investors and experienced investors?
  7. How much personalization is included in the investment onboarding process?
  8. What feedback do users provide about the investment feature (e.g., reviews, support tickets)?
  9. Are there regulatory considerations for presenting financial advice in a fintech app?
  10. What is the current conversion rate of users who transition from savings to investment products?

Define the Goal

The goal is to enhance Plum’s investment onboarding process by creating an engaging, educational, and frictionless experience that encourages more users to activate and use the investment feature confidently. The objective is to increase the activation rate of the investment feature by 20% within the next six months while reducing drop-off during onboarding.

Identify User Segments

  1. First-Time Investors:
    • Users with limited financial knowledge who are new to investing.
    • Need guidance on risks, returns, and how investments work.
  2. Budget-Conscious Users:
    • Users focused on savings who are hesitant to invest due to fear of losing money.
    • Need reassurance and insights into low-risk options.
  3. Experienced Investors:
    • Users with prior investment experience who want easy-to-use tools for portfolio management.
    • Value transparency and advanced features like portfolio customization.
  4. Goal-Oriented Savers:
    • Users saving for specific goals (e.g., a house, vacation, or emergency fund).
    • Need clarity on how investments align with their financial goals.
  5. Passive Investors:
    • Users looking for hands-off, automated investment options.
    • Prefer minimal decision-making and require trust in AI-driven recommendations.

List the Pain Points

  1. First-Time Investors:
    • Lack of understanding about investment risks and returns.
    • Overwhelmed by jargon and complex investment concepts.
  2. Budget-Conscious Users:
    • Fear of losing money in volatile markets.
    • Preference for savings over investments due to perceived safety.
  3. Experienced Investors:
    • Lack of advanced tools or customization options in Plum’s investment feature.
    • Frustration with simplified explanations they don’t find useful.
  4. Goal-Oriented Savers:
    • Uncertainty about how investments contribute to achieving specific financial goals.
    • Lack of goal-specific investment recommendations.
  5. Passive Investors:
    • Difficulty trusting AI-driven decisions without transparency into the process.
    • Lack of engagement or understanding of their portfolio’s performance.

List the Solutions to the Identified Pain Points

  1. Interactive Investment Education:
    • Add a gamified onboarding flow with short, interactive lessons about investing basics, risks, and portfolio types.
  2. Personalized Investment Recommendations:
    • Use AI to suggest tailored portfolios based on the user’s financial goals, risk appetite, and income patterns.
  3. Goal-Based Investing Features:
    • Allow users to link investments to specific goals (e.g., “Save for a House”) with clear progress tracking.
  4. Risk Simulation Tool:
    • Include a visual tool to simulate how different portfolios perform over time under various market conditions.
  5. Transparent Portfolio Insights:
    • Provide a breakdown of where user money is invested, expected returns, and fees. Use plain language for clarity.
  6. Advanced Options for Experienced Users:
    • Introduce customization features, such as the ability to select specific ETFs or funds manually.
  7. Trust-Building Features:
    • Highlight historical performance data of Plum’s portfolios and include testimonials or success stories from real users.
  8. Post-Onboarding Nudges:
    • Send timely nudges with reminders, tips, and progress updates to encourage continued engagement with investments.

Use Prioritization Metrics to Prioritize the Solutions

Using the RICE framework:

Interactive Investment Education:

  • Reach: 9 (benefits all new users)
  • Impact: 9 (addresses a major barrier to activation)
  • Confidence: 8 (education can significantly boost trust)
  • Effort: 6 (requires UX/UI design and content creation)
  • RICE Score: 108

Personalized Investment Recommendations:

  • Reach: 8
  • Impact: 9
  • Confidence: 7
  • Effort: 6
  • RICE Score: 84

Goal-Based Investing Features:

  • Reach: 7
  • Impact: 8
  • Confidence: 7
  • Effort: 7
  • RICE Score: 56

Risk Simulation Tool:

  • Reach: 7
  • Impact: 7
  • Confidence: 8
  • Effort: 5
  • RICE Score: 78.4

Transparent Portfolio Insights:

  • Reach: 8
  • Impact: 8
  • Confidence: 8
  • Effort: 4
  • RICE Score: 128

Advanced Options for Experienced Users:

  • Reach: 6
  • Impact: 6
  • Confidence: 8
  • Effort: 8
  • RICE Score: 36

Trust-Building Features:

  • Reach: 9
  • Impact: 8
  • Confidence: 9
  • Effort: 4
  • RICE Score: 162

Post-Onboarding Nudges:

  • Reach: 8
  • Impact: 7
  • Confidence: 8
  • Effort: 3
  • RICE Score: 149.33

Define Metrics to Measure the Performance

  1. Investment Activation Rate:
    • Percentage of users who activate the investment feature during onboarding.
  2. Completion Rate of Onboarding Flow:
    • Percentage of users who complete the entire investment onboarding journey.
  3. First-Time Investment Volume:
    • Total funds invested by new users within 30 days of signup.
  4. User Feedback:
    • Monitor app reviews, support tickets, and survey responses regarding the investment feature.
  5. Engagement with Educational Content:
    • Measure time spent on onboarding lessons, completion rates, and drop-off points.
  6. Retention Rate:
    • Track the number of users still engaging with the app 3 and 6 months after activating investments.
  7. Portfolio Diversification Rates:
    • Assess the number of users investing in diversified portfolios rather than sticking to defaults.
  8. Nudge Interaction Rates:
    • Monitor how often users engage with post-onboarding notifications, tips, or reminders.