Driving Conversion: TOEFL TestReady
Context
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) is the world's leading English-language test for university admissions, serving over 35 million test-takers globally and generating annual revenue exceeding $180 million.
TOEFL TestReady, the official test preparation service, provides authenticated practice materials and structured guidance designed to help students achieve their target scores.
Project Snapshot
Role:
UX Researcher
Impact:
35% conversion rate improvement
22% reduction in support inquiries
Timeline:
February - May 2024 (4 months)
Team:
Product Manager, UX Designer, Marketing Lead, Data Science
Data-driven Optimization | Rapid Prototyping | E-Commerce
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Data-driven Optimization | Rapid Prototyping | E-Commerce |
The Challenge: Bridging the Free-to-Premium Gap
Walking into my role at TOEFL, I encountered an intriguing paradox: despite attracting thousands of users to our free practice test, our premium conversion rates remained stubbornly low.
Working closely with my PM and Data partner, I structured our investigation around three critical questions:
Getting alignment on process, budget, and timeline
DISCOVERY RESEARCH
To reach amount of data at speed, I chose an unmoderated approach:
1) Click Test +Think Alouds: how users explore test prep products from the site
2) Post-Survey: product perception, purchase intention and rationale, competitor product inquiry
Sampling
From my product experience and marketing expertise, I hypothesize brand perception and product experience can affect users’ shopping journeys and product purchase decisions.
30 participants, split into two groups
15 existing TOEFL users recruited from the TOEFL TestReady user pool
15 control group participants with no prior TOEFL experience, recruited via UserZoom
TOEFL Test-taker Highlight
“I see different packages, but I'm not sure which one is right for me.
They all seem to offer similar things."
The Discovery: Product Perception Gap
After gathering all user data, I configured my AI UXR workflow to run the thematic analysis upon qualitative inputs in the surveys and interviews.
I turned the data into key TL;DRs to socialize with my key stakeholders:
(Click Test)
Users spent 7+ minutes comparing products without converting
(Think Alouds)
Price became the default decision factor, overshadowing value
(Survey)
74% struggled to differentiate between package offerings
Most revealing was the comparison between our two groups - while control group participants approached products with fresh eyes, existing TOEFL users had developed a ‘free resource mindset,' making them more resistant to premium offerings.
WHY not premium: Missing the Value Bridge
Through moderated sessions, I uncovered what I call the "Value Bridge Gap" - while we excelled at showcasing features, we weren't connecting them to students' learning journeys and success stories.
In other words, we had the right products but were missing the narrative that made them relevant to our users' goals in each stage of test preparation.
From Insight to Action: Showcase Value through User Journey
Clarifying Product Value
I leveraged my internal connections in the company and was able to involve 3 colleagues who had taken TOEFL in the past 5 years.
Through structured co-creation sessions, we collaboratively summarized:
Clear product goal interpretations
Visual success pathways
Compelling feature-benefit narratives
I used those insights to design a journey-based illustration of how to use the products.
Validating Design Directions
Recognizing that this solution would require valuable homepage real estate, I designed a comprehensive validation strategy to ensure maximum impact:
Deep-dive sessions with 14 free-tier users revealed how the journey map transformed their understanding of our product ecosystem
Strategic heat mapping analysis identified optimal placement patterns, ensuring we could maximize visibility while minimizing disruption to existing high-performing elements
This dual approach provided the quantitative and qualitative evidence needed to justify the homepage redesign to stakeholders.
Results
I partnered with our Marketing team to build a strong case for featuring this new approach on our global homepages.
The presentation to senior leadership focused not just on the design solution, but on its potential impact on user conversion.
Final Result: Product Journey Map successfully implemented on the homepage.
✨ BONUS STUDY: Pricing Strategy Validation
This is where the research took an interesting turn. Instead of traditional pricing surveys, I proposed using “purchase scenario mockups” that I created using my AI agent, essentially to world-build imaginary test cases to observe their decision-making processes in context.
This method, deeply rooted in speculative design principles, enabled us to explore potential user behaviors and preferences in ways traditional methods couldn't capture.
But it wasn't without its challenges. To bring everyone on board, I made sure to keep design leadership, my product manager, and cross-functional team members in the loop. I even invited them to a dry run of the study, which proved to be a game-changer. It not only helped build confidence in the approach but also ensured we were all aligned before moving forward.
Interactive pricing scenarios
Clickable prototypes with different pricing models
Included value-demonstration elements
Tested with 20 free-test users to gauge willingness to buy
Example of mocked price plan comparison for user testing.
2. "Buy or Pass" Sessions
We found that users were willing to pay more ($250) if they could see how the product would help them achieve their target score within their timeline.
This finding further validated our business strategy of the tiered pricing model and the product-timeline marketing approach.
🎉 UXR Impact
Immediate Results:
Product understanding increased from 30% to 85% (Survey)
Conversion rate improved by 13% (Analytics)
Long-term Impact:
Product explorer became standard across all markets
New pricing strategy adopted for 2025 pipeline