Product Improvement Ideas for Cult.fit: Part-1/2
Ideas around new features & tweaks in the user journey that can help Cult.fit improve its user activation, engagement, & retention.
For a long time, I've been meaning(procrastinating) to write product reviews & ideas for new features on a range of tech companies, and as someone who has been actively involved in several fitness activities for the past 7 years and has been a Cult user for the last 2 years, Cult seemed like the best place to start.
Do you remember including fitness & healthy living in your new year resolutions? Then, for some reason, dropping it ‘mid’-way, and then repeating the same the next year, and then the year after that? (Sorry. I promise there will be no more humiliation in the rest of the article).
You’re not alone. In fact, you’re in the majority.
Approximately 80 percent of people who make New Year's resolutions have dropped them by the second week of February. (majority of them health & fitness related) Source
The report, by Strava, suggests that people are most likely to ditch their annual commitment to themselves on January 19. Source
Hence, I believe the major pain points in a user’s fitness journey are getting started, and continual motivation.
Working out in a traditional gym can become tedious and monotonous; and so, Cult offers a variety of workout formats, and the sessions are usually more lively, making the entire process more engaging and exciting. However, a lot more can be done to provide users with initial guidance and additional motivation, encouraging them to become more active and consistent in their fitness journey. And that’s precisely what this article is about.
Instead of defining a specific user segment and solving its problems, I'll attempt to address major opportunities across the user journey as well as UI/UX suggestions for major problems in various sections of the app(the latter in part 2 of this article).
I also spoke with a few friends about their experiences with, and expectations from Cult, gaining numerous insights, that I've also included in this article.
For better image clarity and easier hyperlink use, I recommend reading this on a laptop or desktop.
Product Suggestions
🤝🏻 A. Onboarding
Problem→
With so many features on the app,
A. users can get lost about:- 1. where to start, 2. what to choose, 3. what's most relevant for his/her goals & 4. what next?
B. users are likely to drop off without giving the app a fair shot.
Opportunity→ To improve User Activation & Retention
Potential solution→
Ask users what all they are (or might be) interested in. The initial part of the onboarding process should ideally look like that of Headspace’s app (check out the flow here). This will help cult figure out the user’s background, interests, expectations and goals. (This can include a range of options ex- Fitness, Consulting Doctor, Therapy sessions, Ordering healthy food, etc. Then under fitness- lose weight, get fit & toned, gain muscle, etc.)
Create a personalised onboarding checklist that outlines what the user can (and should) do to get the most out of the app and/or subscription, based on user goals & the inputs collected from above. Below are a few examples of the checklist content. These can be further divided into- Getting Started, Basic & Advanced.
Enter your height, weight, and certain body measurements, as well as optional front & side photos
Begin tracking your daily steps.
Connect with five of your friends on Cult App
Finish your first two workouts
Complete a workout in 4 different workout formats [4 recommendations based on user goal]
Form a group with your friends or join one
Try a free group training session
Start or Join a Fitness Challenge
Invite 2 of your friends on Cult App
Sign up for a class in an outdoor sport
Consult a doctor online (50% off on the first consultation)
For each activity, award a small amount of Fitcash or a few additional days of membership. (inspired from Dropbox & Notion)
This will ensure that the user:-
gets to explore the most valuable features of the app
has a well-defined journey for the first few weeks and knows what to look forward to, &
connects with the community on the app.
This process can also be seen as User Investment (Refer Link). Plus, rather than throwing everything on a user at once, this would be a more structured and step by step approach to (still) do the same.
Success metric→ 1. activation rates across sections, 2. engagement & retention in the first 2-3 weeks, 3. Retention in long run.
Drawback→ May appear overwhelming to some users who want to try out a single section first and then invest more time if they enjoy it and want to remain with the app.
🎮 B. Personal Dashboard & Gamification
Problem→
Staying motivated for long term, finding reason to workout even on tough days, and maintaining consistency.
The bodily change is slow, so there's little instant gratification.
Opportunity→ 1. Higher User Engagement & Retention 2. Cult becomes an integral part of a user's fitness habits. 3. Fitness Profile == Cult profile.
Potential solutions→
✅ Streaks / Habit
Cult.transformation is planning to go after a similar target, however, it need not require a personal trainer for everyone. Some simple features and nudges can significantly help with habit formation.
Weekly Streak vs Daily Streak:- When I join a gym, the trainer asks how many days per week I plan on going, so that's supposed to be more relevant for a user. Hence, along with a daily streak number, there should also be a weekly streak number and a greater focus on it (as it is more achievable in the longer run). This can be calculated based on data for a. 3 or more workout sessions/week, or b. one/week.
Streak Notifications- When there's only 1-2 days left in a week, a notification/email like the one below, "Keep up your streak! Complete x workouts/week for 23 weeks in a row", with CTA- "Book Cult class".
I wouldn't have broken my 8-week streak if Cult had told me that weekly streak is something I should care about (and can boast about) vs currently, it's at the bottom of the report and not shareable. (Example- email from Lunchclub).
Commitment- During the onboarding, or right after the first completed session, users should be asked about their planned commitment in terms of #days or #hours per week. Reminder notifications can be sent to the users accordingly. (ex- screenshot from Duolingo)
🏅 Badges
New Badge Notification:- As of now I don't get any notification on getting a badge, but ideally, right after I get a new badge, the badge should pop up in the app/website with confetti (like a scratch card on GPay, or discount amount on Swiggy), asking to be shared on social media.
Sharing on social media. After every 5/10 weeks streak, the app should prompt the user to share to social media. (say after 10,20,30 weeks of streaks)
Badges should be more personalized, with the user's DP & name included. Will make it better for sharing on social media. (Currently, posting a badge on Insta story looks like this)
How far am I from the next badge- On the same page as the badges, the app should mention my progress and how far I'm from the next batch. (As of now, one has to go to another page, look at the stats & do the math). Example 1, Example 2, Example 3
Friend's Badges- On clicking the next badge, I should be able to see how many friends, and whom all, have that next badge already. Also, badges should be visible on user's profiles for friends to view. (as in Strava)
📊 Stats
Month in Fitness- Similar to Strava's Year in Sports (Example)— can be released on the 1st of every month, and ideally, should also be available in image format, as that'd be more widely shareable.
Activity statistics for monthly, yearly & YTD should also be available. Currently, only "all-time" stats are available, with other stats only in charts (& only in #mins format). Having a proper timeline & historical data available in a user-friendly format on the app will make users stick to the Cult app for longer. (For example, unless I really have to, I would not leave my Strava profile, as it has statistics on 3700km of my cycling trips over the previous few years. Similarly, with Lunchclub, I doubt I'd break my 25 weeks streak to switch to another platform)
UI Design- These tiles do not look to be clickable. (only the "..." in the first one gave me a hint)
Success metric→ Weekly streaks, session frequency, subscription renewal rate, sharing badges & stats on social media.
🧑🏻🤝🧑🏻 C. Community
Problem→ Fitness journey is a lonely journey, and even more so through online medium. This greatly affects the chances of continuing for a long time.
Opportunity→ While the Fittr app is a working example that there's a lot of potential for value addition from community in the health & fitness space, the experience there isn't great, and certainly not premium. Smaller, more relevant groups are a better approach to go about it.
Gym buddies- Stay motivated by connecting with like-minded people- of the same gender, goal, and age group. (inspired from Group Chat feature in HealthifyMe's "Transfer Studio"). Basic details:-
To maintain quality, set a minimum enrollment requirement for users. (for ex- over 8 workouts per month for the last 2 months)
Smaller groups of around 8 to 10 people; each user can be only in 1 or 2 of these groups
Nudge (like Slack bot does) people to post their introductions, goals and activities in the group regularly.
For recorded sessions, friends can work out together. Think Netflix party, plus live video of user's friend(s) on the screen. This is presently possible during interactive group training sessions, but adding this feature on recorded videos would make scheduling easier, provide more privacy & and provide a platform for friends to chat/gossip like they would in an offline setting. (Cons- This will not work well on mobile phones, and is mostly intended for folks with larger screens.)
Analogy- PUBG (and not FB/IG/WA/SC) is the major social media tool for most friends in my hometown. They start playing at 10:30 pm every evening and use audio chat to gossip, catch up and socialize. Same with colleagues & tea/smoke break. Now, I'm not a fan of gaming, smoking or tea, and gyms are either risky or keep getting closed due to Covid, so Cult, please help me out here?
Custom challenges among select few friends. People can use the Cult app as a platform for custom challenges. Give a suggestion & nudge to start a simple challenge (like 5000+ steps for 14 days for one of the squads) to get the users started with it. (in addition to what Strava does) Examples of challenges to be suggested to users to help them get started with the feature. (each with a timeline of 1-2 weeks or a month).
No added sugar
7000+ steps daily
10 mins Meditation daily
3 workout sessions every week for a month
20 push-ups & 30 squats daily
This can also be an incentive for users to start importing activity data from Google fit to Cult.
Link to join- A link to send in my WhatsApp group using which people can join the Squad on the Cult app.
Invite to Squad- Friends whose phone numbers are already registered with the cult app should be shown separately from the others to whom the invite for installing the app has be sent. (similar to Strava) Link with comparison.
Success metrics→ # of new connections made that are active for over 3 months, #new groups made that stay active for over 3 months, #challenges with multiple participants active throughout the duration, and subscription renewal rate.
Analysis to be done- Do users with more community interaction in the app - 1. Stay on the app for longer 2. have a higher engagement- vs others
Please feel free to comment your thoughts or feedback on any of the points that I covered or that I missed addressing.
The Part-2 of this article covers UI/UX suggestions to make users’ experience with Cult.fit more delightful.
Note:-
I've skipped over two significant pain points, regarding- 1. Cult Live Energy Meter & 2. ensuring correct posture or technique during online workouts, assuming that the recent acquisition of Onyx will take care of them over time.
I can be reached at hitesh9876k@gmail.com or LinkedIn.