Want to improve retention? Activate your user first!

Whether in the PC era or the mobile era, the most studied user model is the funnel model . We invest a lot of budget and resources to acquire traffic and pull the traffic back to our own platform, and then use the funnel model layer by layer to continuously optimize the funnel to retain more users.

However, every user who comes in now is a key person that we need to pay attention to. They are both traffic and "traffic pull". As users share and spread more and more actively, user behavior is upgraded from the "push" mode of the traditional funnel model to the "pull" mode of the reverse funnel model of "win-win for enterprises and users".

These user behavior models and cost structures were difficult to imagine in the era of PC Internet and APP. Therefore, activating users is a very important thing. The activation rate directly affects the later retention , monetization and dissemination aspects. Today we will focus on the following three points:

1. Activation = registration?

2. Taking Didi Chuxing as an example, analyze the three scenarios for activating users.

3. Activation Aha-Moment: Find the three variables to unlock the secret of activation.

1. Definition of effective activation

Let's start with the 2A3R model and look at the process of user acquisition, activation and retention: When we acquire users, they have completed the most basic understanding of the product. Logically, the users who come to our products at this time are all users who have demand for our products.

Whether the user can stay and recognize the value of the product to him depends on the activation process after entering the product. This process is often a process of interaction between the user and the product. It may be the use of a function, the reading of a recommended article, or the experience of a special service. In this process, if the value reflected is sufficient to make the user continue to use it, then this activation is officially completed.

When users feel the value of a product more quickly and directly, a larger proportion of users will recognize the product, and retention will naturally increase. The process of presenting the product value to users and winning their retention is the process of user activation. Therefore, we need to specifically analyze one or more functions and value points that can improve the efficiency of value transfer during the product value presentation process.

Therefore, user activation and retention are two closely connected stages, so closely that most people may ignore the activation stage and ignore the analysis of user activation. If you want to improve retention, focusing on the activation stage and analyzing the user activation process is the most important and cost-effective method.

Now that we have clarified the importance of user activation, let’s take a look at the moments in the user’s entire life cycle when the most important activation processes occur.

2. Taking Didi Chuxing as an example

Taking Didi Taxi as an example, let’s talk about the activation strategy of this product:

In the early days, when Didi and Kuaidi were competing the most fiercely, many users registered for the first time to experience it after being marketed . Because the service was really good and cheap, it was easy for them to become loyal users of Didi. After a period of time, some users, not used to the online taxi-hailing model, still choose to hail a taxi on the street, thus becoming silent potential lost users.

Of course, there are also some users who may be unfamiliar with the traffic conditions. Once they cannot get a taxi on the street, they will use Didi Taxi again. Because the navigation function is online, users do not need to describe "my location" to the driver. This upgraded experience makes users super happy, and then these users become loyal users.

Therefore, strictly speaking, the status of user activation can be divided into three categories:

The first category is new users who use the product for the first time, are activated, and then retain

The second category is users who are no longer active, that is, silent and lost users. They are reached by some pain point scenarios, or through SMS and app push , and then open the product again, becoming returning old users.

The third category is returning old users. After they return to the product, if you want them to stay, they need to be activated again. This type is the most difficult, that is, a user has already decided that this product is not what he wants, but comes back out of curiosity due to demand or push. At this time, if you cannot hit him with a value that goes straight to his heart, it will be difficult for him to retain.

Among these three categories, the most important one is the first one - activation of new users. After all, this activation is the most direct and effective. At the same time, there is only one activation in a user's life cycle . If done well, it can even have a permanent effect.

The second type is more about recalling users through recall copywriting and promotional activities;

The third category is the most difficult, involving the most complex scenarios and states, and is often the last scenario to be challenged. If done well, it can really create a closed loop of the user life cycle and continuously tap into user value.

3. The secret behind activation

As long as your product is valuable, the key to retention is to activate users, and the key to activation is the Aha-Moment. If a user wants to understand the value of a product, he must have done something, and these things help the user find the value of the product to him more efficiently, and then he will stay.

If we cross-compare users who meet this description with the users who ultimately retain the user base, the greater the crossover ratio between the two user groups, the more it proves that this behavior, this interaction, and this feature help users retain the user base.

Just like the two circles in the picture above, the blue ones are the user groups that meet certain conditions, and the yellow ones are the user groups that ultimately remain. The retained users remain unchanged. Based on the characteristics of the retained users, we determine what kind of things to do after the new users are added in order to maximize user retention.

These things are the key functions and key values ​​for us to improve our products and enhance retention, and they require us to continuously iterate and improve. The secret behind activation is to constantly analyze and try new iterations to find the users who can bring the most retention.

There is a famous analysis model abroad, which will eventually produce a very important indicator called Aha-moment, which means "moment of enlightenment", that is, the moment from not recognizing the value to recognizing the value.

For example, Facebook’s aha moment was when a user added 7 friends within 10 days of being newly created;

For example, Dropbox’s aha moment was when a user uploaded a file to the cloud for the first time.

Once users meet this condition, a large proportion of them will become retained users and stay on the platform for a long time.

4. Three variables determine the outcome

This is the important value of this indicator, it reveals the most important essence beneath the complex appearances. At the same time, this is also a very good and executable indicator. When we make an effective analysis, we can also quantify the analysis conclusion into an executable goal, which will be of great help in truly achieving improvement. With the goal of making retention easier, analyze user behavior after they are added.

Author: Zhuge Jun , authorized to publish by Qinggua Media .

Source: Zhugeio Data Coach (ID: zhugeio1 )