PIERCE   AUBREY   UX
DESIGNING CLARITY FROM COMPLEXITY

KINGS INTERHIGH RENEWALS - RETENTION OPTIMISATION

Duration
  • Span over 2 years
    • Project Type
  • Retention Optimisation
  • Web & Mobile Design
  • Web Development
    • My Role
  • UX Lead
  • Front End Dev
    • Target Users
  • Parents / Customers
    • Contribution
  • Product Design
  • User Reasearch
  • Flow Design
  • High Fidelity Design
  • Front End Dev
    • Outcome
  • Launched an online renewals platform
  • Designed and developed retention focused user journey
  • Identified strategy, issues and refined
    • THE CHALLENGE

    Following Kings InterHigh's enrolment growth (£7.5M+ revenue), retention became critical to sustainability. The renewal process was entirely manual—Operations processed each renewal individually (30-45 minutes per family), creating bottlenecks and providing no retention metrics.

    My role: Lead UX strategy and execution, working with Product and Engineering to transform manual renewals into a self-service system that reduced operational burden while improving retention.

    The complexity: Multiple contract types, Key Stage transitions, subject prerequisites, international timezones, and conditional logic—all while keeping the experience simple and fast.

    PHASE 1: PROGRESSIVE
    DISCLOSURE APPROACH

    The Strategy

    Rather than a lengthy form or multi-page flow, I designed a 3-step system with all steps visible upfront—families could see the full scope immediately while being guided through one decision at a time.

    Step 1: Progression Intent
    "Do you want to progress [Student] to Year 11?"
    → If leaving, capture withdrawal reasons (retention insights)

    Step 2: Timetable Selection
    "Continue with UK timetable?"
    → Asked before subjects (some subjects unavailable in certain timezones)

    Step 3: Subject Selection
    "Continue with same subjects?"
    → For Key Stage transitions, forced active selection with conditional logic for prerequisites/restrictions

    Key decision: Auto-save after every click—families could start renewal, research options, and return exactly where they left off. This reduced abandonment for families who couldn't complete in one session.

    Phase 1 Outcomes

    • Manual workload reduced ~90%
    • Renewal time: 30-45 minutes → 5-7 minutes
    • First-time accurate retention metrics
    • Progressive renewal rate growth for 1-2 years
    • Then decline (triggered Phase 2)
    Ren1
    Ren2
    Ren3
    Ren4
    PHASE 2: AUTO-RENEWAL
    OPTIMIZATION

    The Problem Emerges

    Summer 2024: student numbers dropped 6,173 → 4,882 (21% decline).

    Funnel analysis revealed:

    • Only 36% started renewal process
    • 29.8% completed selections
    • 22.6% actually renewed

    Insight: UX wasn't the blocker—64% of families weren't engaging at all. This was a communication problem, not a usability problem.

    The Strategic Shift

    For simple progressions (Year 4 → 5, no Key Stage change), I proposed flipping from opt-in to opt-out: pre-construct renewal packages and require action only for changes or withdrawal.

    My rationale:

    • Families intending to stay but haven't "gotten around to it" would auto-continue
    • Making withdrawal MORE visible (on initial screen) would build trust
    • Addresses engagement problem directly

    The redesign:

    Simple progressions:
    [Student] is progressing to Year 5 on UK timetable with [subjects]

    ✓ If you're happy, you don't need to do anything
    [Change subjects/timetable] [Withdraw]

    Complex progressions (GCSE/A-Level entry):
    Prompted to actively complete 3-step process (can't auto-renew Key Stage transitions requiring pathway decisions).

    Additional improvements:

    • Integrated renewals into Parent Hub (persistent visibility, not just email links)
    • Updated styling (rebrand)
    • Mobile optimisation

    Phase 2 Outcomes

    • Student recovery: 4,882 → 6,497 (33% increase)
    • ~£6.5M+ retained annual revenue
    • Simple progressions: zero friction (auto-renew unless they want changes)
    • Withdrawal transparency finally achieved (validated my Phase 1 position)
    • Engagement problem solved
    Ren6
    Ren7
    Ren8
    Ren9
    Ren10
    Ren11
    RESULTS & IMPACT

    Business:

    • 33% retention recovery
    • £6.5M+ retained revenue
    • 90% operational efficiency gain
    • Data-driven retention strategy enabled

    User Experience:

    • Manual 30-45 min → 0 min (simple) / 5-7 min (complex)
    • Multi-device support (start desktop, finish mobile)
    • Clear, transparent withdrawal path
    WHAT I LEARNED

    UX isn't always the problem: Phase 2 taught me that well-designed experiences fail if users don't engage. Sometimes the problem is communication or mental models, not the interface.

    Default paths matter: Auto-renewals removed friction without reducing trust. The best UX sometimes means requiring no interaction at all.

    Iteration validates instincts: I lost the Phase 1 debate on withdrawal visibility but was proven right in Phase 2—transparency built trust, didn't increase churn.

    Success Stories

    Let’s work together.

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