Case Analysis | What should we pay attention to when using the invitation registration mechanism for low-cost customer acquisition?

The invitation registration mechanism is a function that almost all apps now design. It is a promotion method with low customer acquisition cost. When facing different scenarios and needs, choosing different promotion invitation strategies will make it easier to attract potential users.

1. Encourage existing users to share

The App invitation mechanism essentially takes advantage of the human nature of "seeking profit" and "loving to share". As long as the reward mechanism and invitation process are reasonable enough, it can stimulate users to actively spread the word.

2. Setting up the reward mechanism

In addition to the reward itself being able to arouse users' desire, great effort must also be put into the reward method. Apps usually have flexible and diverse reward methods, such as discount coupons, points for red envelopes, etc. It is necessary to make full use of rules to encourage users to make secondary purchases in the app, and even form multiple cycles.

3. Control of invitation costs

Today, the cost of acquiring customers on the Internet remains high. The invitation mechanism is a relatively low-cost form of customer acquisition. User profiling and market research are the key to risk control. In the early stages, resources need to be allocated to the user groups with the greatest sharing potential.

4. Optimization of user experience

This involves the user's operating costs, which need to be analyzed from the invitation form.

Each invitation mechanism has its own logic. Here we share how some App products develop invitation strategies based on product characteristics and key points in practice.

1. Cultivate user consumption habits

The invitation registration mechanism that Uber set up in the early days included an invitation code, and the reward was a 30 yuan coupon for each party.

It should be noted that this form of invitation requires the invitee to register and use Uber for the first time before both parties can receive the reward. However, for some invitation activities, as long as the invitee is invited to register, both parties can receive the reward.

The biggest difference between the two is that the rule that the invited person registers and completes operations or consumption behaviors within the App cultivates the consumption habits of new users, and the new users' understanding of the product is truly implemented in the product business.

The marginal cost of specific reward forms is not high, and it is easy to form an association with the consumption pattern of the product itself: discount coupons, points malls, etc. can encourage users to consume multiple times on the App, forming behavioral habits and dependence.

2. Promote multiple sharing by users

Pinduoduo App is the king in this field, and allowing users to "get benefits through sharing" is the basic principle of Pinduoduo's operation .

The advantage of this method is that every user is treated as a promoter. In order to get a free meal, the user needs to spread the word multiple times and actively encourage friends, relatives and even strangers to join the bargaining camp.

While the brand is spreading in the circle of friends , the invited people can also clearly realize that Pinduoduo is a group buying software through operations such as "help bargaining".

Pinduoduo, which is based on mobile terminals, takes social networking among acquaintances as its core. Users and invitees will continue to split due to the stimulation of the two major demands of "cheap" and "need", and eventually form a viral spread on WeChat .

Using social media + e-commerce to bind consumers and merchants on the platform is a fission innovation under the invitation mechanism.

3. Improve user stickiness and activity

For games and social apps, the significance of the friend invitation function also lies in allowing users to spontaneously form a social circle.

Today's mobile games have functions such as "invite friends to join the room" and "invite friends to download". For example, for the casual chess and card game Landlord, it takes three people to form a table, Mahjong requires four people, and Honor of Kings requires five players. Although any number of people can check into a room to match teammates (opponents), it is still not as good as the game atmosphere created by friends. Once players can form a social experience, user stickiness and activity will naturally increase.

In addition, Tencent Games has also developed a mechanism to invite friends to return, encouraging old users to return to the gaming platform. The test at this time is whether the friendship boat is still there.

4. Screen target users

The registration threshold for some products is quite high. The approach is to first obtain a group of high-quality seed users , let them serve as opinion leaders to distribute a small number of invitation codes and help the App screen users. Zhihu and bilibili both adopted a similar hunger marketing model back then. This method may seem stupid, but it actually works very well.

The increase in the registration threshold will easily make users develop a mentality that "it's hard to get a code", which will increase user loyalty and ensure the content output of the platform. At least it will be difficult for water armies and advertisements like those in Tieba forums to appear.

Under this mechanism, no matter where the new user obtains the product invitation code from, first of all, the new user must be interested in the product. So in theory, the new users obtained are basically very accurate target users.

This strategy is suitable for products with high professionalism and content quality. Many of the current Zhihu experts have accumulated their experience during this period, and the fact that Bilibili was able to quickly form an ACG cultural atmosphere is also related to this.

Of course, this can only be a means to capture elite users in the early stages. Market promotion must be opened up in the later stages. After their success, Zhihu and Bilibili still opened registration.

The invitation forms currently used in the market are filling in an invitation code or registering on an h5 landing page . Of course, a form that does not require filling in an invitation code has also begun to emerge recently. These three have their own advantages and disadvantages, and you can choose according to the characteristics of your own products.

Although this is a very small interactive design, it is the key to determining the success of the invitation activity.

1. Fill in the invitation code

The h5 landing page displays the invitation code of the inviter and guides new users to download the App. After downloading, they register and fill in the invitation code they just saw on the h5 landing page in the App.

The complete process of inviting via invitation code is:

Click on the link

▼

Download the App

▼

Register an account in the APP

▼

Fill in the invitation code

2. H5 landing page registration method:

The user completes the registration on the H5 page (fill in the mobile phone number on the URL page), then downloads the APP and registers a login account.

The complete process of inviting APP through link is:

Click on the link

▼

Fill in your phone number

▼

Download the App

▼

Register an account in the APP

3. No invitation code required

The essence of not having to fill in the invitation code is to track the source of the installation channel . This application can skip the step of manually filling in the invitation code, and the system will automatically complete the identification of the installation source.

The complete process of using the free invitation code is:

Click on the link

▼

Download the App

▼

Register an account

4. Pros and cons of the three

Fill in the invitation code

Disadvantages: From the perspective of user experience, filling in the invitation code is undoubtedly the most cumbersome. Although the "copy invitation code" function is now widely used and the user operation is simpler, in general, it has one more step of filling in the invitation code than the other two methods. In the process of funnel conversion , it will always have one more step than others. The user's operating cost is high, and the loss rate will inevitably be greater.

Li: But does the existence of the invitation code mean nothing? No. Manually filling in the invitation code is more troublesome than other forms, but in certain specific scenarios, the invitation code can be used when the user's identity needs to be reflected. The user is more likely to have the emotional feeling of "I am invited".

H5 landing page registration method

Advantages: From the perspective of the invitation method, the h5 landing page registration method is relatively better than filling in the invitation code, because the user's operation cost is relatively low. Users fill in their mobile phone numbers on the page, which is easier to accept than a string of irregular invitation codes. It can also reduce a series of operations brought about by the invitation code, such as "copy the invitation code" and "paste the invitation code". This method can obtain some user information in advance.

Disadvantages: Users are required to fill in their mobile phone numbers before downloading the app. Users will be hesitant and often download the app first before considering whether to register. At this point, you can consider allowing users to download the app without filling in their mobile phone numbers when designing it, which can reduce the loss of potential users.

But at the same time, users who have not filled in their mobile phone numbers on the h5 page cannot be bound to the invitation relationship (this can actually be used together with the "no invitation code required", and users who have not filled in their mobile phone numbers can go through the process of no invitation code required).

No invitation code required

Advantages: Looking at the three factors as a whole, the invitation code-free format may be the best solution.

First, the disadvantage of filling out the invitation code form is that the user conversion process is long and the churn rate is the highest; the disadvantage of the h5 landing page registration method is that users have to go to the page to register first, and then return to the App to complete the operation, which creates obstacles for users. The invitation code-free form can eliminate the process of manually filling in the invitation code, and the invitation process can also be automatically implemented by the system, which has the lowest user operation cost among the three.

Disadvantages: The invitation code-free format has been verified by the market. Currently, third parties such as openinstall can achieve extremely high accuracy recognition rates and are compatible with iOS and Android systems. However, relatively speaking, it requires the integration of a third-party SDK, and companies need to make some compromises.

In general, the invitation mechanism design of all apps essentially serves the attributes of the product. The product needs a clear positioning in order to choose the most suitable promotion routine from a large number of market cases and limited invitation forms.

Source: Big City Small Things