Client Overview
Type of Marketplace: Two-sided wellness services platform connecting local wellness professionals (massage therapists, yoga instructors, holistic healers) to consumers seeking at-home or in-studio sessions
Stage: Launched with MVP; active in two metro markets but struggling to achieve booking velocity
Geography: Urban centers in the U.S. (Los Angeles and Austin)
Founding Team Size & Stack: 2 founders (non-technical), outsourced product team, limited in-house growth capabilities
Buyer/Seller Dynamics:
- High-churn supply (solo practitioners juggling multiple channels)
- Low buyer trust due to unvetted listings and inconsistent experiences
- Strong organic interest from users — but very few completed transactions
Role & Duration
Role: GTM Architect + Retention System Designer
Duration: 8-week sprint with ongoing monthly advisory
The Challenge
The platform had demand. Visitors were searching. Users were signing up. But the bookings weren’t happening.
- 72% of providers listed once and never logged in again.
- Users dropped off before completing bookings — citing unclear pricing, poor provider reviews, and scheduling uncertainty.
- Even the providers who got bookings often ghosted the platform afterward.
The founder assumed this was a marketing problem. But it was deeper: the platform wasn’t built to keep trust or create stickiness.
Marketplace growth isn’t about acquisition at the top. It’s about whether liquidity is being created and sustained at the point of use. This wasn’t a growth problem — it was a retention and orchestration collapse.
Strategic & Operational Approach
1. Redefined provider segmentation to focus on high-fit supply
We audited the provider base and quickly saw that not all supply was equal. Over 60% of listings came from low-commitment practitioners — posting availability but ignoring messages or canceling bookings last-minute.
I introduced a provider segmentation model:
- Tier 1: Full-time practitioners with business goals
- Tier 2: Semi-active with low responsiveness
- Tier 3: Inactive or spammy accounts
We rebuilt the platform’s internal logic and workflows around Tier 1 providers only — with custom onboarding, badge indicators, and early access to high-intent leads.
This alone removed friction and stabilized service quality across the board.
2. Engineered a “first five bookings” journey that built momentum and loyalty
We introduced a 5-booking milestone journey for providers with smart nudges and progress tracking — each milestone offered:
- Custom profile optimization by the team
- Verified badge after first 3 bookings
- Auto-invite to local wellness roundtables (hosted virtually by the platform)
This gamified activation in a way that felt valuable, not gimmicky. It gave providers a reason to stay, not just show up once.
3. Designed a real trust system for buyers — not just prettier UX
Trust was leaking everywhere. I introduced a three-part trust architecture:
- Provider Profiles 2.0: Added verified credentials, transparent cancellation policies, and mandatory intro video uploads
- Smart Scheduling Layer: Replaced vague time slots with real-time booking sync and SMS confirmations
- Post-booking narratives: We created post-session storytelling prompts that encouraged both sides to share real experiences, not just 5-star reviews
Now, users didn’t just browse — they believed. And that belief turned into transactions.
4. Orchestrated cross-functional shifts without breaking product velocity
While working with a third-party dev shop, I helped the founders prioritize a growth-critical roadmap without boiling the ocean:
- We killed three half-built features that weren’t tied to bookings
- Focused sprint cycles on transaction trust layers, not vanity redesigns
- Built internal dashboards to track supply activation, not just signups
We made growth visible — and executable — without asking for a full rebuild.
Results & Business Impact
- Provider retention tripled: From 21% to 64% within 60 days
- Completed bookings doubled: Up 113% over 8 weeks, without increasing top-of-funnel acquisition
- Booking-to-repeat ratio improved by 47% — users who booked once were significantly more likely to return within 10 days
- Trust score (from NPS-style prompt post-transaction) increased from 6.1 to 8.7
And most importantly: the platform was no longer a leaky bucket.
The founders now had a clear system to activate high-value supply, convert hesitant demand, and retain both sides without chasing every metric manually.
Why Partnering With Me Was the Advantage
Growth doesn’t come from ads, landing pages, or funnel hacks — especially not in a B2C service marketplace. It comes from building trust and utility at every key liquidity moment.
I didn’t just optimize some flows. I built a retention architecture:
- Designed to engage real practitioners, not vanity supply
- Built to convert buyers who need emotional assurance, not just pricing clarity
- Aligned with the founders’ resource constraints and market realities
Most consultants throw metrics at the problem. I build the system that creates the metrics.
If you’re scaling a marketplace and stuck in the churn cycle, I’ll help you build the growth systems that turn qualified supply into recurring transactions — and turn your users into believers.
You don’t need hacks. You need orchestration. That’s what I do.