Grubhub+
Strategized and redesigned Grubhub's membership program. Grubhub+ spanned not just on the diner product but across the entire platforms. Allowing me to work with nearly every team within Grubhub.
From really rough to riches
Grubhub+ was only ~7 months old. It was at 700K members. The member and order numbers were starting to plateau, which is the canary in the coal mine. No projects in our JIRA queue. This rot was the outcome of a team that had been made of mercenary work pulled from other teams in all directions: engineers, PMs, and design.
No strategy. No solidified team. No leaders.
By the end of my run we achieved…
7% to 54% of all total orders, Grubhub+ members became the majority of Grubhub’s business
700K to 12M Grubhub+ members
Successfully executed Grubhub’s largest partnership, Amazon Prime
In 2024, Grubhub+ projects totaled to 30% increase in orders
Reduced Grubhub+ cancellations by 25%
Saving $1M each year from 500-type errors
So how did we get here?
0 to 1
I was brought on because 3 things: I’ve worked on every facet of our diner customer experience, my results, and my ability to shake things up. From my perspective, things were pretty dire. Grubhub+ had been slapped onto the product experience. There was no consistency in the branding both in and outside product. Rough stuff through and through.
I was given a week to establish a perspective to start tackling work. Pouring through all the work, data, tests, and research. There were 3 pillars we had to focus in on:
Focus of building trust
Consistency in everything
Agency in product processes
Once leadership and the team was aligned. I needed a ‘test subject’. A focal point to prove the principles. When rummaging through all the touch points, there was one spot where everyone had to encounter: the sign up sheet…
Brick by brick to building trust
The most challenging concept our product leadership had to overcome was the misconception that customers sought subscriptions on Grubhub; they simply wanted their lunches. However, our experience and that of our competitors, whom we were emulating, advocated for the opposite approach.
Recently, we had just launched a new menu and had incorporated quick single action sheets into our design system, which had proven to be a resounding success. It dawned on my that instead of a fullscreen sign up take over during the ordering experience, we considered placing it in a simple, small sheet (with all the necessary legal requirements, of course). This approach resulted in a significantly less intrusive user experience. This design detail was controversial until the end of my tenure at Grubhub, as leadership changes and varying opinions influenced its implementation. Nevertheless, our metrics consistently demonstrated its effectiveness.
Beyond visual design elements, the most intriguing aspect of our process was our comprehensive approach to understanding every aspect of this seemingly simple experience. We adopted a detective-like mindset, diligently searching for the most relevant information and meticulously documenting it. From the optimal height of the sheet to the number of benefits displayed in a carousel, we conducted extensive testing throughout the development process.
These cascading effects had a profound impact. All elements that were successful in the sign up sheet, including the visual branding, were subsequently incorporated into other areas of the product, not just the product itself. These wins were seamlessly integrated into our marketing and branding strategies, as we believed that if something can be successful in its initial form, it can be replicated elsewhere.
Week by week, we progressively enhanced the customer experience, prioritizing transparency and minimizing wasted time. Each month, we witnessed significant improvements over the previous one. This momentum culminated in a partnership with Amazon Prime, which further propelled the acquisition of exceptional customers. All of these remarkable outcomes can be traced back to the initial success of our simple sign up sheet.
