Team member spotlight: Tsai Hidalgo, senior product designer

Get to know the Ordergroove team in our ongoing team member spotlight series. This time out, we chatted with Senior Product Designer Tsai Hidalgo to learn how she creates delightful experiences for our customers and their subscribers. 

What are your responsibilities at Ordergroove?

As a Senior Product Designer at Ordergroove, my ultimate aim is to cultivate meaningful and delightful experiences for our customers while contributing to their growth trajectory. My core responsibility revolves around enhancing the user experience for our merchants and consumers. I engage in diverse projects, spanning from crafting novel features to refining existing ones. My role encompasses conducting user research, ideating innovative concepts, and meticulously designing visually captivating and user-friendly interfaces. A pivotal aspect of my work involves collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to seamlessly integrate design solutions into our products. 

My efforts are geared toward saving merchants’ time and optimizing Ordergroove’s usability. I continually seek opportunities to elevate our design standards, stay attuned to industry trends, and champion accessibility and inclusivity.

What drew you to a career in product design?

What drew me to a career in product design was the fact it was the perfect blend of my passion for design and creativity with my interest in psychology and understanding people. I’ve always enjoyed creating and finding innovative solutions to problems, and being in a role that allows me to optimize products and enhance user experiences aligns perfectly with that. It’s incredibly fulfilling to help make people’s lives easier through well-designed and user-friendly interfaces.

What are your favorite projects to work on at Ordergroove? Why?

That’s a tough question because there have been so many great projects I have worked on. If I had to highlight a few, the development of our prepaid subscription solution would definitely stand out. This project not only resonates with my passion for enhancing merchant experiences but also holds immense value in simplifying and streamlining payment processes for customers as well as securing more recurring revenue for our merchants. Being able to contribute to a solution that directly aids our merchants’ success has been truly fulfilling.

Additionally, I was really excited about creating our inaugural design system. While the concept might sound intricate, its essence lies in enhancing consistency and usability across our products. This translates into a more cohesive and user-friendly experience for our merchants, making their interaction with our platform smoother and more intuitive.

Both of these were challenging in unique ways that helped me learn so much and really pushed my creativity and problem-solving skills which I loved! Plus, I worked with amazing teams for each of those projects, so that always makes the work that much more enjoyable!

What are you working on right now, and why is it important?

I can’t give away too much yet … but I’m currently working on a thrilling project: reinventing our Subscriber Dashboard! This project is pivotal in enhancing merchant efficiency, subscriber retention, and driving long-term revenue by facilitating upsell opportunities. It’s a complete game-changer, revamping the customer view and empowering merchants with top-notch management tools. This project is vital as it aims to deliver an extraordinary user experience for customers and boost merchant success. Stay tuned because it’s going to be epic!

What’s your favorite product or brand that you’re subscribed to right now?

My current favorite subscription product is KIND’s Build Your Own Box, which lets you mix and match KIND’s bars however you like. I’m a major snacker throughout the day, so I love having something easy and tasty to just grab while I’m working or doing things. My favorite is the Caramel Almond & Sea Salt bar. 

What really impresses me about KIND’s design is their user-friendly website for building your subscription own box. The simplicity and ease of selecting products with clear images made the process enjoyable. It allowed me to easily customize my selection, adjusting my selection as needed while getting a clear preview of my choices. 

What’s the No. 1 piece of advice you’d give brands that want to grow subscription sales or extend customer lifetime value? 

My top recommendation is to focus on enhancing your customer experience, especially during the enrollment process and when customers interact with their subscription. Simplicity is key here. If the process feels confusing, it could impact your enrollment rates and lead to higher churn rates. 

Consider delving into your product detail pages – these can serve as excellent areas to refine your enrollment experience. Try placing your subscription option right at the top, above the one-time purchase choice, and ensure it stands out visually. Also, think about defaulting customers to the subscription option when they land on the page. Another effective strategy is displaying the discounted price next to the subscription option so customers can clearly see the savings they would enjoy.

Furthermore, transparently communicating the perks of subscribing can be a game-changer. People are more likely to jump on board if they feel they can easily manage all aspects of their subscription, including canceling.

To learn more about how Ordergroove’s subscriptions can benefit your brand, click here to set up a demo.