How to effectively build a points system for Internet finance APPs?

Each product has its own characteristics and features that are different from other product systems. Therefore, when building a points system , you cannot blindly imitate others. You must constantly adjust it after it goes online. Designing a points system that suits your own products is the top priority.

The incentive system is one of the means to improve user activity, retention and stickiness. At the same time, it can also continuously cultivate users, measure the value of each user, facilitate operations for different groups, and provide precise push notifications.

The points system is a commonly used gameplay in the incentive system and belongs to the wealth system in the incentive system.

Today I will mainly introduce how to build a points system suitable for Internet finance APP.

1. Definition of the Points System

The points system refers to a system in which the platform rewards users with a corresponding number of points by having them complete certain designated tasks, and provides a system for exchanging direct rewards.

Users can make profits through the model of "obtaining points -> redeeming rewards", and the platform can also make profits through the model of "users obtain points -> redeem rewards -> users gradually grow and convert actively after making profits".

2. Importance of the Points System

A suitable points system can achieve the following three effects:

1. Improve user activity, retention and stickiness. For example: You can get 10 points by logging in and signing in every day. The first thing you should do every day is to open the app and sign in!
2. Guide users and monetize. For example: This time, 5,000 points can be exchanged for a 100-yuan investment discount coupon, which is very cost-effective. Go invest now!
3. Measure user value to facilitate segmented operations. For example: filter out old users with more than 5,000 points and organize welfare activities for old members!

3. Construction of the points system

The points system is generally divided into three steps: determining the points type, obtaining points, and consuming points.

1. Determine the type of points

There are two main types of points on the mutual finance platform or most common points:

• Ordinary value type: does not have the ability of direct currency transaction, but is just a simple medium. It needs to accumulate to a certain level before it can be exchanged for goods, such as credit card points.
• Types of virtual currency: It can not only be used to exchange goods, but also can be used for direct currency transactions. For example, with JD.com Jingdou, you can directly deduct the corresponding amount when making payment.

Since points involve monetary transactions, the type and number of points depend on the company's actual financial situation and cannot be determined by operations or product staff "on the spur of the moment".

1. Points Earning

Points acquisition refers to the process in which users complete specific tasks released by the platform and obtain a corresponding number of points.

The key to the points acquisition function is to determine the points task and the number of points. The points task is often linked to the main assessment indicators of the product, so the planning of points acquisition can be considered from the following directions:

(1) Set up ways to earn points based on product indicators

For Internet finance platforms, the core product indicators are lending, investment, and payment, and other main auxiliary indicators are attracting new customers and promoting activation.

According to the Pirate Law ( AARRR ), the entire task allocation can be started from the process of "entry-activity-consumption-sharing and attracting new customers" .

1) Enter

The premise of all user value is based on users entering the platform. Only by attracting users first can all subsequent operations become possible. So in order to achieve this goal, you can set up a way to get points by signing in.

There are generally two types of sign-in thresholds: sign in directly after logging in, and sign in by entering a designated page.

The first one:

Log in directly

• Advantages: The threshold is very low, and you will receive points when you log in. For users, there is no learning cost and operation cost;
• Disadvantages: Unable to cultivate valuable users, resulting in waste of resources.

Providing rewards to all users upon logging in is like looking for a needle in a haystack. It is impossible to locate the target users and it is easy to waste resources on useless users. Moreover, because the threshold is too low, the corresponding points value is generally also low, which makes users have a weak sense of points and even feel that points are useless. For the Internet finance industry where the points value is slightly higher, this form of sign-in is not recommended.

Second type:

Go to the designated page to sign in

• Advantages: It can allocate resources reasonably, avoid point inflation, and distribute points well to those who can be converted into loyal and valuable users of the platform.
• Disadvantages: It requires user operation costs, and the triggering of user entrances must be planned well. Otherwise, no matter how good the activity is, it will be useless if it cannot attract users to click in.

Therefore, the key point of this sign-in method is to solve two problems: entrance and form.

The entrance can be placed in a fixed and conspicuous position, such as the home page float, the "My" menu bar, etc.; the form can be a simple click to sign in, or it can be packaged as a development game system. Below are screenshots of the sign-in interfaces of some Internet finance apps: Aiqianjin (a game where you raise pigs every day to earn points), PPmoney (sign in with a simple click), and Xiaomi Finance (sign in with a simple click).

2) Active

Task rewards can be set at every valuable operation node of the product to continuously cultivate users and allow them to transition from the novice stage to the loyal old user stage. Active type tasks generally have more points than entry type tasks, which is also one of the important aids in guiding users to complete core indicators.

For Internet finance platforms, users are generally selected to set active points tasks based on the platform's information completeness, interaction frequency, interaction depth and other nodes. For example: opening bank deposits, completing risk assessments, binding bank cards, real-name verification, completing personal information, posting comments in the community, commenting on information, participating in irregular platform activities, etc.

The following is a screenshot of Lufax ’s active task system interface:

3) Consumption

This is the core mission of the entire product, which can bring direct benefits to the platform and is the task of order conversion. Only when users consume can a product survive. Such tasks are generally set as: first investment/payment/loan, account assets, etc.

Below are some screenshots of the core task interfaces of some P2P APPs: PPmoney (first lending) and Aiqianjin (investment level).

4) Share and attract new customers

User sharing and attracting new users is a very important factor in the closed loop of product operations . It not only greatly reduces the cost of acquiring customers, but the new users it brings in are often more valuable than those brought by advertising . Therefore, in this key link, the platform should set up invitation tasks and use greater benefits to attract users to share.

(2) Security of points acquisition

For Internet finance platforms, the importance of security is unquestionable, so the point setting should also take this into consideration.

When setting up a points system, in order to prevent users from exploiting platform loopholes and obtaining a large number of points in a short period of time, the platform team must carefully check whether there are loopholes in the points acquisition rules, strictly require testing quality, and minimize platform program bugs.

Only a fair atmosphere can keep users motivated and products robust.

1. Points consumption

Once we have determined the plan for obtaining points, we need to think about the plan for consuming points. Points themselves have no value, they only act as a medium. Users can only make a profit when the points are exchanged for goods or other services.

There are usually 4 ways to consume points:

1. Direct withdrawal or transaction deduction
2. Points Mall Redemption of Goods
3. Points redemption service
4. Expiration

(1) Direct withdrawal or transaction deduction

Points with this consumption ability will be defined as virtual currency points, which can bring the most direct benefits to users. For example, JD Finance ’s coins can be used directly to pay for JD Mall orders.

(2) Redeem goods in the points mall

This method is the most common and easiest for users to understand.

For P2P platforms, the points mall generally has two categories of goods.

1. Goods with market-certified value can usually directly stimulate most users, such as some physical objects and electronic coupons;
2. Platform-related coupons can usually stimulate user consumption and promote reinvestment, such as some interest rate increase coupons, investment coupons, etc.

The following are some interceptions of the points mall interface of the mutual finance APP, which are:

PPmoney (provides platform experience funds, subsidy coupons, discount coupons, and physical goods), Aiqianjin (provides platform coupons, other electronic cards and coupons, and physical goods), and Xiaomi Finance (provides platform coupons, other platform cards and coupons, and physical goods).

(3) Points redemption service

Use points redemption service, the most common form of this service is lottery opportunities. As the name suggests, a lottery is a form of exchange. The benefits gained are unknown, but there will be a chance to exchange for points that are much more valuable than the current points.

The following are some interceptions of the points mall interface of the mutual finance APP, which are:

PPmoney (treasure hunt activity), Xiaomi Finance (minority, treasure hunt activity), Aiqianjin (big wheel lottery).

(4) Expiration

The points can be invalidated upon expiration based on the actual situation of the platform. In the Internet finance industry, points are generally time-limited , and it is common to set them to expire in one or two years. Expiration of points can not only stimulate user consumption, but also prevent excessive accumulation of points from leading to inflation and depreciation, which would cause the entire points system to collapse.

Final summary: In the Internet finance industry, the points system often involves money transactions, so both the acquisition and consumption stages need to be carefully considered.

The above content is only the methods and suggestions of the Internet finance industry when building a points system. Each product has its own characteristics and features that are different from other product systems. Therefore, when building a points system, you cannot blindly imitate others. You must constantly adjust it after going online. Designing a points system that suits your own products is the top priority.

Source: Digital Business Cloud MA (Marketing Automation)