iZotope
Alternative payment method for Music Production Suite 3
Web / Saas / User Research / Sketch / InVision
Overview
My Role
UX Designer - User Research, Visual Design, Prototyping
Duration
3 weeks
Team
3 UX Designers
Tools
Sketch, InVision, LookBack
Who is iZotope?
iZotope is an audio technology company based in Cambridge, MA that develops professional audio software for mixing, mastering, recording, broadcasting, and post-production. Their product line includes plug-ins, suites & bundles, and music-recording hardware.
Preface
At the beginning of the project, our team had a meeting with a Product Manager to understand the business side of the project. As a result, iZotope wants to find a way to stabilize their revenue stream through a monthly payment option for more accurate predictions and forecast their month-to-month revenue. This will reduce the existing organizational strain resulting from the current model of large product releases per year.
Problem
Nowadays professional music software can be less accessible and affordable for musicians with a tight budget. iZotope wants all customers to be able to create music despite experience and budget. By providing an alternative payment method for “Music Production Suite 3” in addition to a one-time purchase, iZotope wants to allow budget-conscious musicians to create high-quality projects.
User Research
After product research, we scheduled 11 user interviews, each lasting 1 hour using the LookBack platform. I conducted 4 user interviews and documented notes during the remaining 7 interviews.
Interview Insights
After a couple of rounds of interviews, we saw the pattern that users would use an alternative payment only if they would get perks such as educational content, free upgrades & updates, and be able to test products within a trial period. At the same time, some users preferred to keep a one-time purchase option, to not exclude professionals who can afford to buy the whole suite at once.
User Personas
All users were provided by iZotope and represented two personas - Alison and James. Alison is starting out in music production and has limited sources - she has a laptop and creates music in her bedroom. James is a more seasoned producer, who masters and mixes music on his own. Both of them are budget conscious and don’t pursue their music hobby as a full-time career yet. These personas are the main customer groups for the new monthly option.
Synthesis and analysis
All research insights we synthesized using an Affinity Map. As a result, we discovered that users find iZotope products high-quality and worth their price, but at the same time, they hunt for deals on other websites.
In addition, musicians shared their thoughts about the alternative payment offer, where we got two completely opposite points of view. One group of users want to own the software, another one would rather use it monthly depending on work schedule and projects.
The Challenge
How might we present the alternative payment offer as the best option for users?
Competitive Analysis
I analyzed existing competitors within the industry and combined all of the information in a spreadsheet, where I compared them on their payment options and unique content. Only 4 companies have a substitute for one-time purchases such as rent-to-own, or a monthly payment plan. The majority of competitors provide educational videos and sell hardware.
I find “Splice” and “Slate” the biggest competitors for iZotope and both currently provide alternative payment options. “Splice” has a couple of iZotope plug-ins that they include as a rent-to-own option ($27.99 per month for a bundle within 25 months). In addition, Splice gives an opportunity for artists to create projects in the cloud, comment on released music, and for $7.99 per month get access to all sounds, loops, and presets.
“Slate” has 3 All Access Plans that differ with each payment option - 12-month commitment, prepaid for the year, and monthly payments. The Access plan includes all existing plug-ins, every newly released plug-in, and educational video content from Slate Academy. Compared to other plans, the prepaid option gives users 2 free months in addition to other perks.
User Flows
At that moment we started working on our User Flows. Based on existing promotions we considered introducing an alternative payment for Music Production Suite 3 on the Home, Products, and Shop pages.
User flow shows discovery of the alternative payment option from the Home page.
Design
My team and I conducted a Design Studio where all of us shared our ideas and voted on which option we will prototype. I was responsible for combining all the sketches and creating a full paper prototype.
For a product page, we had two different layout options, that we tested with our peers. After a couple of peer and user testings, we decided to proceed with the option on the left.
Comparison of two available options we presented with a table. Users emphasized that looking at offers side by side and learning about perks is easy and straightforward.
I designed all promotional banners based on the Music Production Suite 3 logo and used the existing colors to create a gradient.
Usability Testing
Additionally, we conducted 2 peer tests to check our flow. Overall the prototype worked well, and users pointed out a couple of suggestions for the prototype. After presenting the project to our client, I scheduled and conducted 5 more usability tests and made some updates.
Design Iteration
Regards to access to the subscription, I created a new section on iZotope Product Portal, where people can track their payments and manage their products.
Based on user feedback I decided to declutter the product page and cut down these sections on the right.
The Solution
User Research helped us to understand who will benefit from the alternative payment offer, how to present it as the best option for artists, and what will keep people engaged. In the prototype, we introduced users to Master Classes - educational content from industry leaders using iZotope products; free updates and upgrades, and the Early Access Program - be the first customers testing out exclusive products before the official release.
Path to the Music Production Suite 3 Product page from the promotional banner on the Home page.
In this flow, users discover Music Production Suite from the Products page.
After submitting the subscription, users can manage it and find information about payments, a trial period, and more on the Product Portal page.
Lessons and Future Steps
2. Constraints and Version 2
Our main constraint for this project was the timing of user interviews. They were scheduled later than my team expected and led us to work in a tight schedule. Another pain point that we encountered was that the majority of users did not show up for our usability tests. Lack of testing did not give us the ability to see trends in user’s reactions to the prototype and make any drastic changes in design. For an updated version I would like to collaborate with a UX writer and provide users with more detailed information about subscription terms.
1. Real-world experience.
This project gave me an opportunity to work with a client, and think about the business side of the project. Our team was invited a couple of times to design team meetings at iZotope where we learned how they are conducted. It was a pleasure to work with the company and get a chance to talk to users that I could relate to because of my music background. I was passionate, inspired by the user's stories, and highly motivated to solve the problem that would help musicians to be able to create music regardless of their budget constraints.