As product manager at a health-tech start-up, I came up with the idea of launching an eCommerce division. The very idea of venturing into something that was not aligned with the company’s initial goal, was not well received by the management. My idea for this endeavour was based on two factors – the innovation it would bring to the table, and the impact on revenue and user experience. With this conviction, I came up with a stepwise plan.
I started with the aim to expand product offerings, and convinced account-management and brand-solution teams to get more products and clients onboard. Promising sale numbers and insights from users, the team expanded product offering from 10 to 100+ in three months. The next step was to improve product-description pages, which had a poor conversion rate. Contrary to fellow team members’ belief that this was not an immediate challenge for the firm, I was determined to transform the product-description page because of the immense potential it could unleash. My hypothesis was that while a user is interested in buying the product, he does not because of a tedious form that needs to be filled. This was validated on the basis of field interviews, data analysis, and benchmarking with competitor platforms. I then convinced the UI team to revamp the design to make it simpler and more appealing. This ultimately improved conversion rate by almost 40 points in two months.
This first transformation was followed by onboarding alliance partners to drive payments by users. I explored the option of partnerships with payment gateway brands, running meetings to understand how it could be a win-win for all stakeholders. I wore the double hats of a product manager and a partnership professional. Today, 80% transactions are through these gateways. The final step of launching the cart involved convincing the management of the business impact, effective conflict resolution and timely delivery of tasks. Effective communication helped me launch the feature in 25 days and improved revenue and average order-size immediately.
Finally, I launched an eCommerce page for the company where the marketing team could promote latest launches and get more users. The wing now earns daily online revenue of Rs1.5 lakh. My biggest takeaway from the experience was learning to work in a structured manner, taking the team along, and ensuring effective communication to enhance the company’s bottom-line, while upgrading my skills to become an effective leader.