How to acquire and operate seed users?

The story of how Xiaomi started with 100 seed users is well known to everyone. In 2010, Xiaomi had not yet launched its mobile phones, but had just developed the MIUI ROM. At that time, Xiaomi engineers contacted flashing enthusiasts and fans one by one to introduce this new ROM to everyone. After continuous efforts, a total of 100 users became the first batch of internal testers of the first version of MIUI. They witnessed the development of MIUI from scratch, put forward many valuable suggestions, and were later called 100 "dream sponsors" by Xiaomi.

Starting the market with seed users has become a consensus among more and more startups . Some companies test their products among seed users after they come out, in order to get the product and operating model working first; some companies discuss requirements and functions with seed users during the product design phase; and some companies even gather a group of fans and start a business with them, using them as seed users, before they even know what they want to do specifically.

However, many startups have died at the hands of seed users. Some of them chose the wrong seed users . Although their products were verified among seed users, they were difficult to push into a larger market. Some of them listened too much to the opinions of seed users , deviated from the market direction, and were led into trouble by seed users. It can be said that seed users are both the key to success and failure. So, we might as well spend some time studying how to understand the concept of "seed users" and how to make good use of seed users.

1. Three Principles of Seed Users

The purpose of operating seed users is to have a large number of mass users in the future . First of all, we need to understand what a seed user is? Many people believe that seed users are the early users of a product. Especially companies with a traffic base like to import users of other products as "seed users" when new products are launched. This is obviously wrong. Seed users are definitely early users, but early users are not necessarily seed users .

The identification and selection of seed users is very important. Only seeds that can germinate are seeds. If you choose the wrong seeds or sow them in the wrong place, it will be difficult to get a good harvest. To this end, we have summarized the " Three Principles of Seed Users ". A user must possess at least one of the following three characteristics to be called a seed user.

Principle 1: Representation of the larger group

If there is a high degree of similarity between seed users and future mass users, the product will work among mass users as long as it works among seed users. This is equivalent to verifying various aspects such as products, technology, and operations within a small range of seed users, continuously iterating until success is achieved, and then pushing it to the general public, thereby reducing the risk of trial and error.

Facebook originated at Harvard University. After its success at Harvard University, it allowed students from other universities to register. It then spread rapidly along the way and soon became popular in various universities. There may be other differences between universities, but there will basically not be much difference in the demand for social products. As long as a product is successful in one university, it means that the product is suitable for college students, and it will naturally be successful in other universities.

Principle 2: Ability to influence a larger group

If the seed users are influential in a larger group, the product can spread to a larger group through the seed users after gaining the favor of the seed users, thereby reducing the promotion cost. This type of seed user is the so-called KOL (Key Opinion Leader), that is, a person who has a say and can influence other people's decision-making. Almost all products expect the fission effect and quickly acquire users through word-of-mouth communication. The key is to meet the needs of KOLs.

In the early days of Weibo, a large number of celebrities were invited to join the platform. The purpose was to use celebrities as seed users and use their influence to infiltrate fans and the general public. Celebrities also have a strong need to promote themselves and attract fans. Weibo and celebrities leveraged each other and quickly built up their influence. When Weibo became a product for all the people, celebrities became less meaningful as seed users, and Weibo no longer emphasized celebrity users, but adopted other strategies.

Principle 3: It can lay the foundation for future operations

For community-based and platform-based products, it is necessary to form a community culture among seed users, or accumulate basic data to form a small ecosystem. When it is promoted to the general public in the future, it will no longer be an empty shelf. New users can come in and use it normally, thereby improving the satisfaction and retention rate of new users. Many UGC products, such as Douban and Zhihu, will invite some seed users who can produce high-quality content in the initial stage, laying the foundation for content while forming their own community culture. Some products even adopt a closed strategy in the early stages and do not open registration. They only open them to the general public after the community culture is formed and becomes relatively stable among seed users.

The "chasm" mentioned in the classic book "Crossing the Chasm" refers to the situation where a product is successful among early users, but when it is promoted from early users to mass users, it is found that mass users do not buy into it, as if encountering an insurmountable chasm. The reason for the gap is that these early users are not seed users, and the similarity and correlation between them and the general users are not enough . The so-called "success" is just a carnival in a small circle and cannot be replicated among the general public.

In the Internet industry, especially software products such as games and apps, they are often misled by " locust users ". When a new product appears, locust users will flock to it, use it crazily in a short period of time, and even pay fees, provide feedback, etc., making them look like loyal users. However, they quickly lose interest and pounce on fresher products. Locust users may be your competitors, or they may be product managers who like to learn and research, or they may be investors , entrepreneurs , media, etc. who are looking for opportunities. There are also some users who like to try new things. They just use it for research purposes and are not impressed by the value provided by the product. They just experience it for the sake of experience. Startups should be especially careful with locust users, not be blinded by false prosperity, and certainly not be led into a ditch by them.

2. Get seed users

Now, we should have figured out the importance of seed users and what kind of users are considered true seed users. Next, let’s talk about how to obtain seed users.

Step 1: Identify seed users

First, based on the product positioning, we determine our target user group, and then gradually narrow the scope using the elimination method. With the help of the three principles of seed users, we gradually narrow the scope from target users to seed users. The most important thing for seed users is quality, not quantity, so there is no need to be greedy for more. There are only 100 seed users of Xiaomi mobile phones. Inferior seeds that cannot germinate will waste your precious early resources.

Step 2: Find the seed user

After determining the characteristics of the seed users, the next step is to find where they are. Someone once mentioned the "fish pond theory", calling the place where customers gather a fish pond. If you want to catch fish, you must first find the fish pond. Finding users in places where they often appear can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

For seed-stage products, the best fishing ground is competitors, and seed users can be obtained from competitors. It would be best if they are veteran users of your competitor who are dissatisfied with some of its features or services, and you happen to solve these problems. If there is no direct competitor, for example, for some regional products or services, it is normal that there is no direct competitor in a certain area. Then you need the most similar ones, or those that serve the same user group.

Step 3: Attract seed users

First, design the product’s attractions for seed users, and then find ways to establish connections with them through direct invitations or recruitment. The number of seed users required is not large. If conditions permit, it is best to have a one-on-one matchmaking. The “hooking up” here refers to establishing a connection and successfully converting , not seducing.

Products in the seed stage have relatively low visibility and branding , and the products may not even be fully formed yet, so you must proactively reach out to seed users and not wait for customers to come to you. Design the conversion path well and try to achieve success one by one.

Step 4: Manage seed users

After attracting seed users, the first thing to do is to screen out the unsuitable ones and don’t feel sorry about it. Let me emphasize again that the quality of seed users is more important than the quantity. Those who do not meet the three principles of seed users should be removed decisively. For seed users, we need to make them feel respected, involved, and accomplished; we even need to develop personal friendships and impress them with our sincerity; or we can give them some kind of benefit, such as privileges or material rewards. In this way, they will actively contribute their time and energy, proactively provide opinions and suggestions, and help you recommend your products to people around them. Only by managing seed users well can we get the maximum value from them.

III. Summary: Crossing the Chasm

The mission of the product at the seed stage is to lay a solid foundation for large-scale expansion in the future. In order to lay a solid foundation, it is very important to define and operate seed users.

According to the three principles of seed users we mentioned earlier, only through the screening of seeds and careful operation can they grow into small trees, then into big trees, and finally form a forest. The greater the similarity and correlation between seed users and mass users, the smoother the transition will be and the easier it will be to cross the gap.

In order to avoid falling into the chasm, we would rather spend more time and energy on defining and operating seed users, and not rush to push it to the general public before laying a solid foundation.

Sharpening the knife does not delay the work; you cannot eat hot tofu in a hurry. The seed stage is to lay the foundation. The more solid the foundation, the brighter the future.

Source: Cunjinshe