How to find seed users in product operation?

1. What is a seed user ?

Seed users, as the name suggests, are users with growth potential; seeds can grow into towering trees, and seed users are also likely to become the core users of the product. Seed users are those who use the product when it is in the initial but imperfect exploration stage, experience the core functions of the product, verify whether the product solves the user's pain points, and make suggestions and opinions on the product process and functions to improve the product.

2. Differences between seed users and other users

They will be more loyal to the product because compared with ordinary users, seed users will have higher demands for the product (mainly because when looking for seed users, those filtered out are users with stronger demands); therefore, they will be more tolerant of the product, they can accept a certain degree of product errors and give effective suggestions.

3. The role of seed users

1. Verify whether the demand solved by the product is a false demand and prove that the product is effective;

2. Improve the product's usage process and functions, so that the product can reach the PMF point (Product-market fit) faster and better, and then embark on the path of market expansion and growth;

3. Most seed users are enthusiasts in this product field and have high potential and influence; serving seed users well and building word of mouth will enable seed users to spread the product to the outside world and split it outward.

4. When to start looking for seed users

Since seed users are so important to the product, when should we start looking for seed users?

Personally, I think that before you start looking for seed users, you need to consider the following three questions:

First of all, what needs of users does our product solve? What kind of services can the product provide to users?

The second thing is what are the characteristics of the target users of the product, that is, who are the target users?

The last thing to consider is whether the current product already has the core functions. If it does not even have the core functions, rashly introducing seed users at this time will definitely do more harm than good, and will only ruin the seed users' favorable impression of the product. For example, the transaction order function of e-commerce products.

5. How to find seed users?

1. Find colleagues and friends around you. Due to the existence of certain interpersonal relationships, it is easier to get effective feedback from them; secondly, because we have more or less understanding of this group of people, we can also minimize the number of "pseudo-seed users" such as "product spectators" and "product locusts" who are of little benefit or even harmful to the product.

2. You can look for seed users in relevant post bars, forums, communities, QQ groups, and WeChat groups. It is easy to search for product-related forums, QQ groups, etc., and then pay more attention to the active users in them. These are seed users with huge potential. For example, Xiaomi MIUI, which has grown from 100 to more than 300 million users, had 100 seed users at the beginning, all of whom were enthusiasts brought in from the Jifeng and Anzhi forums.

3. Find users of competing products. One advantage of developing this part of users into seed users is that they use multiple products of the same type at the same time. By comparing and using them, it is easy to draw the advantages and disadvantages of each product. Properly listening to their opinions and learning from their strengths can make the product develop and improve faster.

4. Organize appropriate small but exquisite activities and attract seed users through certain rewards. The activities here need to set certain thresholds to filter out most of the freeloaders and ensure that the real target users can be obtained.

5. Carry out ground promotion in places where target users appear precisely. For example, new Internet retail products such as Hema Fresh and Dingdong Maicai should target office workers who have no time to buy groceries, housewives who need to take care of children and are not convenient to go out, etc. In this case, ground promotion can be carried out at places where target users often appear, such as bus stops or community entrances.

6. Find relevant products on e-commerce websites and users who give sincere reviews. These are target users who have needs and like to give feedback and suggestions. For example, for sports and fitness products, you can actually look for buyers who give constructive suggestions in the reviews of sports shoes and sportswear on e-commerce websites. Of course, there is also a big problem that needs to be distinguished, that is, users who deliberately post good or bad reviews.

7. Accurately invite KOLs and big names in the field of this product. They are users with rich experience and high potential in this field. They may have a more comprehensive view of the product and the suggestions they put forward may be more feasible and effective. They have higher potential. If you serve these users seriously, in the subsequent development stage, you can effectively attract more target users through their endorsement. Facebook, Zhihu, Douban, etc. all cultivate seed users in this way.

(VI) Note

Finally, a reminder is that in the process of operating seed users, you need to be wary of users such as "product locusts". They probably have the following characteristics:

1. Not matching the target profile, such as male users posting about their dating needs in female beauty products;

2. Attack other torrent users at will;

3. For content products, they will publish a large amount of useless and low-quality content, so that the truly valuable and interesting content will be drowned out;

4. They always criticize the product features, but the suggestions they give are all unrealistic and empty;

5. Deliberately leading the trend, fanning the flames, inciting other users' emotions, spreading negative energy, etc.;

Although "product locusts" have both advantages and disadvantages for products, such as free product testing and increasing product awareness, I personally believe that the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages, and it is still necessary to eliminate this part of users as soon as possible, otherwise the product may be "ruined" during the seed exploration period.

Author: Please add some rice

Source: Please add some rice