User operation, how do financial products awaken dormant users?

The average cost of downloading and activating a financial product is between 100 and 500 yuan per person. If we acquire 1,000 customers through channels every day and the retention rate on the next day is 40%, 60% of users will never open our APP again the next day. The losses here range from several hundred to tens of thousands of yuan.

For many transactional products, guiding users to download, activate and register is just the beginning. They also need to be guided to convert into paying users. Since the paid conversion rate of most products is generally below 10%, the actual losses are greater than we see.

For any company that only spends money on promotion when it comes to user growth, while being indifferent to dormant users, it is not only a huge waste of resources, but also a form of chronic suicide.

So, how to awaken dormant users? This is a topic that every operator needs to pay constant attention to.

Okay, let’s move on to the practical stage.

1. Preparation before awakening

The first task of “awakening dormant users” is to sort out user classification, dormancy definition and reasons for dormancy.

1. User classification

Based on the particularity of financial products, the basic classification of dormant users can be broken down into:

(1) The user has not visited the website within 3 days after registration;

(2) Users who fail to complete the application within 3 days;

(3) Users who have not taken out loans within 7 days;

(4) Users who have settled their loans within 30 days but have not repaid their loans;

For these users, we need to take the next step to activate them.

2. Definition of Sleeping

How do we define whether a user is dormant? Usually it refers to a user who no longer uses the product for a period of time. But in fact, different products have different measurement dimensions for user sleep, and it is difficult to have a specific definition.

The three dimensions for defining user sleep mentioned in the book "The Light of Operation" are worth referring to: based on operational goals; related to the frequency of product use; positively correlated with user groups.

In fact, these three dimensions are easy to understand. For example, in terms of the frequency of use of financial products, it is normal for users to use the product 1-2 times a month. If this frequency is not reached within a month, it can basically be considered dormant.

3. Analyze the reasons why users are sleeping

The dormant behavior of users is a long-term and continuous behavior, and operators need to treat it correctly. It is not terrible if a user is dormant. Once you find that a user shows signs of dormancy, you need to conduct specific analysis to find out some reasons why the user is dormant, and then conduct targeted user recall.

(1) The product does not meet the real needs of users

l First, the product’s entry point is wrong, only solving superficial problems without digging deep into user scenarios;

l Second, these users are not the target users of the product and they just want to try it out for a taste.

(2) Users have not formed usage habits

The most important thing for new products is to cultivate users' usage habits, and it takes some time to develop habits, so it is possible that the product meets user needs, but users have not formed the habit of using the product.

(3) Users are skeptical about the product

Before fully understanding the product, users will have a lot of doubts: Is this product suitable for me? Is it worth buying? If the product does not dispel these doubts when users first use it, it will inevitably affect the user's motivation to continue using it.

(4) The operation process is complicated and difficult to use

People are lazy, and most users are lazy. For users, the simpler the process of participating in an event is, the better. Complicated operations will wear out users’ patience and cause them to leave midway. Therefore, we should try to simplify the operation process as much as possible. Only by keeping everything simple, lowering the user's usage threshold and improving usage efficiency, will users have the "ability" to continue using it.

Now that we understand the dormant users of our product, the next step is to think about: what can we do to bring dormant users back?

2. How to wake up the user

Currently, some leading financial companies are combining big data technology to make user awakening more accurate, users more real, and feedback more active.

1. Use big data technology to gain insights into sleeping users and achieve accurate awakening

The quality of user awakening is determined not by who has the user, but by who knows the user better. User portrait is a very important part of the awakening work. Big data technology can help us complete accurate portrait analysis of users, thereby achieving efficient user awakening.

To establish refined behavioral labels for user portraits, we can divide them into four dimensions:

(1) User attributes: refers to the basic objective attributes of users, such as gender, age, region, occupation, etc.;

(2) User status: refers to the current status of the user on the product, such as: registered user, user with credit but no loan, or user with settled loan, etc.;

(3) User level: refers to the user's activity status within the product. Users can be divided into high, medium, and low users based on their activity level. Users can also be subdivided into high, medium, and low paying user groups or annual, quarterly, and monthly card users based on their payment amount.

(4) User behavior: refers to the important behaviors that users have performed on the product, such as: preference for multiple participation in activities, price sensitivity preference for membership, and fixed active cycle.

Provide users with differentiated high-quality services based on their tags, and push different messages or activities to different user groups. for example:

l If you keep pushing fixed-income product activities to a user who trades stocks, this is harassment to the user. Therefore, message push should be carried out according to different tag attributes of users;

l The push content varies for users at different stages. For investment novices, it is more appropriate to push some basic investment knowledge; while for investment veterans, they are more concerned about the status of their investment projects, industry trends, related company trends, etc.

As shown in the figure, user behavior data such as the number of times users share, the number of registrations, and the number of payments can be tracked, and user tags can be added based on these behavior data to achieve accurate awakening.

2. Plan marketing copy based on user scenarios

On the surface, the messages sent to users appear to be unilateral active communication between the operator and the user. However, if the users can be finely grouped and precise messages pushed, it will appear as a two-way communication between the operator and the user.

To achieve this two-way effect, we need to think from the user's perspective as much as possible based on the characteristics of the product itself and the features of lost users, and give users a reason to use the product. Therefore, it is very important to polish a high-quality marketing copy.

For example: [X Insurance APP] Medical insurance users have priority experience, critical illness insurance, starting at 35 yuan per year, with a maximum compensation of 500,000!

To be honest, these marketing text messages cannot arouse any interest among users because they are too awkward, too self-conversational, and too hard to arouse users' resonance.

An excellent marketing copy should meet two points: scene resonance + profit seeking.

l Profit-seeking is easy to understand, which means that the content of the copy directly states the benefits that can be brought to users.

l What does "scenario resonance" mean? It means that the copy can evoke users' resonance with specific life scenarios or usage scenarios.

For example: [XX Financial Management] Just move your fingers and you will have money for breakfast every day. 50,000 yuan of trial funds have been put into your account. Go and claim your income!

"You have money for breakfast" is very relevant to the user's life scenario, and "50,000 yuan of trial funds have been deposited into the account" is a profit-seeking point.

This is a marketing copy that resonates with the scene and is profit-oriented, and the logic is very smooth.

3. Deep-Link, natural activation

Dormant users may put products aside for various reasons. If they are awakened by forced advertising, it will increase their boredom with the product. Therefore, in the process of awakening dormant users, natural activation that conforms to user experience habits is particularly important.

Deep-Link directly takes users to their specific detail page, with a smooth transition and natural connection. Let the product naturally remind users at the right time and frequency. It will not cause trouble to users, achieve effective conversion, and highlight the actual value of awakening dormant users.

3. Choice of push channels

After understanding how to wake up users, we need to select the channel for sending messages. Currently, there are four common message sending channels: APP Push, SMS and EDM (email marketing), and customer return visits. These four methods each have their own advantages and disadvantages, and need to be implemented according to your own product portfolio.

1. APP Push

APP Push is the most common push method and is also the one that is widely used in financial products.

Its advantages mainly lie in its relatively high opening rate, almost no other costs, and the messages pushed can be operated in a refined manner. Different content can be pushed based on user levels and classifications, which is flexible and changeable.

This approach is a double-edged sword. If used well, it can increase user activity, but otherwise it will expose many shortcomings. For example, inappropriate push notifications and high-frequency push notifications will disgust users, causing them to turn off notifications or uninstall the app. The content is relatively simple in form and can only be eye-catching with good copywriting. Users are numb to app message push notifications, and if the content does not attract them, they will basically ignore it.

2. SMS

I believe that everyone receives a lot of spam messages every day. Despite constant complaints, it is still one of our important means to wake up dormant users.

The advantages of SMS mainly lie in its high content delivery rate and its relatively simple implementation. This is undoubtedly the best choice for users who have uninstalled the APP. As long as the user's registered number is still there, the text message will arrive. Moreover, links can be embedded in text messages, and when users click on them, they will be redirected to the store to download the APP or promotion page, allowing users to participate directly.

The disadvantage is that the cost is relatively high. The price of sending a text message is often only a few cents, but because the conversion rate of text messages is extremely low, the cost of recalling an old user through text messages on many APPs may be several dollars, or even more than ten dollars, and the cost is constantly rising. Therefore, when conducting SMS recall, try to screen out people who are easier to awaken, increase the recall rate, and reduce ineffective investment.

3. EDM (Email Marketing)

The main advantages of EDM are low cost and the large amount of content that can be conveyed through emails. The content presentation is quite diverse and can be text, video, picture, jump link, document, etc.; in terms of form, it can be product function update notification, product instructions, coupon usage or expiration reminder, event invitation, etc.

However, due to the low email usage rate among domestic users, users may not necessarily leave their email addresses, and the email validity and opening rates are generally low; EDM sending settings require certain technical support, otherwise they are easily blocked by the system.

4. Customer return visit

When other means fail to awaken users, it is easy to contact users through customer return visits, and analyze why other means fail to convert based on user feedback.

Currently, the efficiency of using telemarketing robots is very high, and ordinary users cannot distinguish them.

However, this method can easily be blocked by mobile phone software or displayed as a harassing call. Excluding these factors, even if the user answers the call, the call will be hung up after just a few words. In the fast-paced living environment, users are not very fond of customer return visits.

There are many channels for message push, in addition to the four listed above, there are also QQ groups, Weibo, pop-up windows and other methods. But no matter which push method is used, we must pay attention to the push frequency. We must all be aware that pushing at inappropriate times and high frequencies will cause user disgust, which will not be worth the cost.

IV. Conclusion

For any product, awakening dormant users should be regarded as an important matter and implemented in a long-term and stable manner. The cost of retaining and awakening an old user is less than one-fourth of that of a new user. Being able to awaken dormant users will save a lot of costs for the product.

Of course, the above methods and key points to awaken dormant users are just "temporary measures". If you want users to continue using the product, improving the quality and functions of the product itself is the core force to awaken dormant users.

Related reading:

1. User operation: new funnel model for conversion analysis!

2. User operation: How to use B-side operation thinking to increase user growth?

3. Product operation: How to use data analysis to drive product user growth?

4. APP user growth: One model solves 90% of growth problems!

5.How to increase users? Take Pinduoduo and Xiaohongshu as examples

6. Triggering user growth: Is user operation just about attracting new users?

Author: Activity Box

Source: Lu Songsong's blog