Poolhouse: Film TV and Networking
2023
Understanding Churn on Poolhouse’s Networking Platform
Understanding Churn on Poolhouse’s Networking Platform
Poolhouse is a digital platform designed specifically for film professionals in mind. It serves as a dynamic hub where members can connect, collaborate, and cultivate their careers. Poolhouse's unique ecosystem supports exchanging in brainstorming, networking opportunities, and the sharing of resources, making it an indispensable tool for creatives looking to expand their professional network and enhance their industry presence.
As a freelance Product Strategist, I led Poolhouse's transformation as they focus on understanding user dissatisfaction with the platform in its current state. With a focus on tackling a high churn rate, my process involved a deep dive into user motivations and experiences. By aligning Poolhouse's vision with user needs, the rebranding effort aimed to position the platform as a thriving community hub, marking a strategic leap toward product success.
Understanding churn was pivotal for the success of this project as it served as the compass guiding Poolhouse's transformation. Churn lets us examine the number of users disengaging from the platform, and holds the key to unraveling pain points and unmet needs. By delving into the reasons behind user departures, we gained invaluable insights into the shortcomings of the existing system and identified areas for improvement.
By pulling data from the platform's backend, I considered a broad range of factors when beginning my analysis. I had access to demographic information, which provided deeper insights into the lifestyles of the users Poolhouse aimed to serve. Additionally, I accessed engagement metrics, such as 'first seen' dates, 'lastseen' dates, and total web sessions on the platform. These metrics were instrumental in calculating the churn rate and gaining a clearer understanding of the factors influencing churn. With these data points in mind, I proceeded to create a data dashboard to obtain a comprehensive view of the contributing factors.
This graph shows the number of users who become churned (Inactive for more than a 30 day period) over the span of this data set.
The bar chart displays the top 10 countries by user count.
The pie chart shows the top 10 job functions among the users.
Think of 'churn' as users who have stopped using a service. Here, we're trying to figure out which users have stopped using Poolhouse.
We say a user has stopped using Poolhouse if they haven't done anything on it for 30 days.
Every user in our data has a 'LastSeen' date – the last day they did something on Poolhouse.
Each user's 'LastSeen' date was compared to the latest date in the dataset. If the 'LastSeen' date was more than 30 days before the latest date (Jan 10,2022) , the user was marked as churned.
On average, users have about 49.6 sessions. However, this average might be influenced by outliers (users with a very high number of sessions).
The median number of sessions is 1, suggesting that at least half of the users have only one session. This is a strong indicator of low engagement for a significant portion of the user base.
A high standard deviation (127.27) indicates a wide variation in the number of sessions among users.
The maximum number of sessions for a user is 796, which suggests that some users are highly engaged.
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High Churn Rate: Indicates that a significant portion of the user base has not been active in 30 days. This high churn rate is a critical concern, as it suggests that more than half of the users are disengaging.
Low Engagement: The percentage of users classified as having low engagement (defined as having 1 to 5 sessions) reflects over half of the users on the platform.
There were several days where the churn rate reached 100%. This means that on these dates, all users who were lastseen were considered churned according to the 30-day inactivity criteria. These dates could indicate specific events or issues that led to a higher rate of user drop-off.
The engagement level for the platform appears to be low for a majority of users, as indicated by the high concentration of users with only one session. However, there is a small subset of users who are highly engaged.
Using the analysis of the provided data, I have gained valuable insights into user demographics and identified the significant level of churn affecting our user base. The data suggests that it's clear that a substantial portion of our users are not consistently engaged over time. My next objective is to directly engage with users to delve deeper into the factors influencing churn and engagement.
Initially, I deployed a 10-question survey to filter for potential interview participants, however this survey also ended up gather preliminary user sentiments in the process. Building on this foundation, I conducted in-depth, one-on-one interviews with a diverse range of users. These 15 sessions, varying from 30 to 60 minutes, and offered us a comprehensive view of user interactions with Poolhouse.
The survey included questions gauging overall satisfaction with Poolhouse on a scale of 1-10, job functions, industry tools currently in use, and open-ended questions for detailed feedback. In addition to these results filtering for interview participants, they also provided a broader range of understand users frustrations with the platform as well as their desires for improvements to the platform.
Users rated their experience with Poolhouse an average of 7.5, indicating a generally positive reception but also room for improvement.
Based on these responses we also gained additional demographic information, learning that 75% of Poolhouse users have been in the industry for 13 years or more, letting me know that most users are well into their career.
We also gained additional insight into what features users prioritize when using Poolhouse, seeing that networking and disussion is what most of our users are looking for.
A number of users have expressed that the flow of information on the platform feels slower than expected, impacting their overall experience.
There is a clear desire for improved notification settings, allowing users more control to personalize what they receive.
Users are looking for ways to infuse more personality into their profiles to foster deeper connections with other community members.
The community aspect of Poolhouse is highly valued, and users want features that enhance interaction and networking.
Confusion and frustration with the forum indicate a need for a more intuitive design and better search capabilities.
The majority of users are comfortable with the subscription pricing, suggesting acceptance of the platform's value proposition.
Each of these insights provides a valuable direction for potential improvements and enhancements to Poolhouse. By addressing these areas, we can significantly elevate the user experience and satisfaction, aligning the platform more closely with the needs and preferences of its user base.
Through rigorous research, we've uncovered distinct user personas encapsulating Poolhouse's diverse user base. This has offered crucial insights into the distinct needs, preferences, and behaviors of our primary user segments.
Monica is on Poolhouse to stay connected to other producers in her community. She cares about being apart of a community who understands her, and loves to participate in thoughtful discussions and learning who the other producers on Poolhouse are. She feels like through Poolhouse she has been able to find her tribe.
Terry uses Poolhouse sparingly depending on where his career is going at the moment. Terry is either between freelance jobs, or hiring other freelancers to help him on projects. Terry cares about the quality of recommendations Poolhouse gives him for other producers, as well as the job leads Poolhouse provides.
Participants felt that in the early days, Poolhouse consistently had a lot of resources for producers and job opportunities, but recently have noticed a lack of activity on the forum. Some users mentioned that they would like to use Poolhouse as a resource on the go and while on set.
“I felt like the information flow onto the site- like the tap had been turned down from medium to drip.”
Launch a Dynamic Highlight Feed: Introduce a real-time highlight feed on the Poolhouse homepage to showcase the latest resources, job opportunities, and active discussions, reinvigorating the platform's vibrancy and ensuring users have instant access to fresh content
Streamlined Access with an FAQ Section: Implement an easily navigable FAQ page, addressing common user inquiries and offering quick solutions, thus enhancing the efficiency of information retrieval on the platform.
Users like the monthly digest, but some feel like the information is not applicable to them, so they tend to skim for information instead.Some users have not been receiving Poolhouse emails, likely due to how their emails filter spam.
“I don’t have the time to check the website all the time and there was no notification system, there was no easy way for me to be aware when people were talking about things I might want to listen to. Even on the email blasts… I would like a lot more options about the topics and types of things that get emailed to me.”
Email Whitelisting Prompt: Implement a feature within the platform reminding users to mark Poolhouse emails as 'not spam', ensuring important updates reach their inbox.
Customizable Notification System: Develop a user-controlled notification system allowing members to select the types and topics of notifications they receive, aligning updates with individual preferences and needs.
Streamlined Weekly Digests: Design concise, easy-to-skim weekly digests that efficiently highlight key information, catering to users who prefer a quick overview of the most pertinent updates and discussions.
Many users noted that they would like to be able to quickly see who is available for work from their profiles.Users would also like an indication about who is available for chats or mentorships.
“I want to know who people are aside from the last work they posted.”
Integrated Availability and Mentorship Indicator:
Introduce a unified feature on user profiles with toggleable tags, such as 'Available for Work' and 'Open to Mentorship'.
Customizable Profile Prompts: Implement profile prompts that encourage users to share specific personal and professional information. This feature will allow users to express more about themselves beyond their latest work, fostering deeper connections and understanding among community members.
Most users mentioned that the community is the most important part of Poolhouse for them.Some users mentioned noticing a lack of consistent community engagement as of late, and would like the community conversations to continue to thrive.
“I felt like the information flow onto the site- like the tap had been turned down from medium to drip.”
Organize Community-Building Events: Host regular events such as meet-and-greets and seminars, fostering stronger bonds and active participation among Poolhouse community members.
Engagement Initiatives for New Users: Implement outreach strategies to encourage new members to participate in discussions, ensuring a welcoming and inclusive environment.
Community Engagement Lead: Assign a dedicated role to maintain active and engaging conversations, keeping the community vibrant and connected.
Many users felt confused by the forum categories and which forums to participate in. They felt the UI contributed to this. Some users felt the forum was outdated, and as if their question had already been asked in the forum but they did not want to search for it. Some users defaulted to one on one chats, particularly when sharing private information like a reference. Some users felt frustrated by the forums lack of activity.
"I only did the 30 day trial because I found it kind of a ghost town.”
Forum Administrator Role: Appoint a dedicated forum administrator to actively engage users, guide conversations to appropriate categories, and ensure a lively and organized forum environment.
Forum Recategorization and User Testing: Redesign the forum categories for clarity and intuitiveness, followed by user testing to validate the improvements. This step aims to alleviate confusion and enhance user navigation within the forum.
Integrated FAQ for the Forum: Implement a readily accessible FAQ section within the forum to help users quickly find answers to commonly asked questions, reducing redundancy and streamlining information discovery.
Many users mentioned being able to write the subscription price off on their taxes, which made it less of an expense.A few users who did mention the price was high, compared the subscription to Netflix and AppleTV.A majority of users did not mind the subscription price, as long as they were able to gain value from Poolhouse.
“I wouldn’t be wanting to pay more for a regular monthly service unless I was getting more, but let's say if there was a finders fee… Let's say there was a job a could attribute finding to Poolhouse, I would be willing to pay more for that”
Introduction of Tiered Pricing System: Implement a tiered pricing model, beginning with an accessible entry-level option at $5.99 per month. This approach accommodates varying user budgets and needs, allowing for a broader range of users to access Poolhouse services.
Marketing Subscription as Tax Deductible: Clearly communicate and market the subscription cost as a tax-deductible expense, emphasizing the financial advantage for users.
Premium Job-Finding Service Subscription: Explore the possibility of a higher-priced subscription tier that includes specialized job-finding services, offering additional value for users seeking direct employment opportunities through Poolhouse.
After a meeting with stakeholders to discuss these findings and delve into product recommendations, my duty to Poolhouse wrapped up from there. The stakeholders excitement to implement these changes and and to take this data into consideration was truly a joy to see, and while this is where my working relationship on this project ended, stakeholders and I kept in touch and they provided me all inclusive access to the new and improved Poolhouse platform. However, if I had additional time on this project, I would consider the following for the future of Poolhouse.
I learned that I like to emphasize user discovery to understand and improve the customer journey.
I often utilized empathy to connect with user needs, leading to meaningful product enhancements.
With this project I learned I was capable of solely orchestrating a comprehensive project overhaul, and I was able to showcase strong initiative and resourcefulness.
I was also able to demonstrate the ability to manage complex projects and deliver results without direct supervision.
With this project I was able to develop proficiency in data analysis, using dashboards to track key metrics and user behavior.
I learned to leverage data to inform product decisions, ensuring they were based on actionable insights and user feedback.
I applied a methodical approach to problem-solving, aligning product features with user expectations and business objectives.
I learned that I can excelled in creating solutions that addressed user pain points, significantly enhancing user satisfaction.
Interested in checking out more of my case studies? Go ahead:
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