The “User Cultivation” Model on the Internet (I)

Have you ever thought that you are being "cultivated" by countless apps to become what they want you to be?

"Cultivation" is a very popular word this year.

"Produce 101" is about idol development. People no longer pay attention to idols, but instead focus on the development process of ordinary people becoming idols. The label of "little puppy" was cultivated by the husband. The reliable and gentle uncle was completely knocked out by the label of "little puppy" who was waiting to be cultivated.

What I want to talk about today is the “user development” model on the Internet .

The term "user development" is a term seen from the company's perspective, not the user's perspective. For Internet companies, "user cultivation" means making users willingly do what the company wants them to do.

Is the AARRR model used to develop users? Not working

First, let’s take a look at the life cycle model of a user. The common AARRR model is used here.

For the sake of convenience, let’s take the life cycle of a Kris Wu fan as an example.

1. Acquiring users: First, through The Rap of China, a small black fan became a fan of Kris Wu, skrskr.
2. Stimulate activity: At first, they just casually read Wu Yifan's Weibo, commonly known as "die-hard fans"; later, they kept forwarding and liking Wu Yifan's Weibo, actively participated in discussions about Wu Yifan, and would not stop cheering for him, and the fans became "live fans".
3. Improve retention : Wu Yifan, Wu Yifan and other idols have emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, but they still haven’t given up their choices and still only love Wu Yifan, which is why the fan retention rate is high .
4. Increase income: As fans’ love for idols grows, they want to have closer contact with their idols, so they spend money on concert tickets, raise money to support their idols, and buy Xiaomi 8 phones recommended by their idols.
5. Communication recommendation: Fans switched careers and started selling Amway.

Okay, take it! So is the A AR RR model a user development model?

No.

• Reason 1: In a user’s life cycle, these five stages are not linear. In other words, spreading recommendations, increasing income, etc. are often parallel and mutually infiltrative . The reason why this model presents a funnel shape is that the difficulty of reaching each stage is increasing and the number of people is decreasing, so it presents a stepped funnel shape.
• Reason 2: Increasing revenue is not the ultimate goal of user development. Cultivation means continuity. In fact, all APPs have certain tool attributes, and users use them to complete a certain task. Zhang Xiaolong said "use the tools and leave", but I think it also includes the next sentence. That is, companies must ensure that "users leave after using the product, and want to come back next time, and it is best if they use the product more than three times a week."

Increasing revenue, activating users, and improving retention are all goals of the "development system", but not methods. That is to say, the AARRR model is a result, not a path. You can use the AARRR model to measure your development results, but you cannot use it to plan your development methods.

Therefore, after establishing your goals through the AARRR model, you can now plan your “development system”.

The composition of the “cultivation system”

What elements does a “development system” include?

Development tools + development mechanism.

If we use a tree to metaphorically represent the "cultivation system", the cultivation tools are the externalized, visible part , just like the leaves of a tree. Companies motivate users by using these tools. The development mechanism is an internal and invisible part , just like the trunk of a tree. The company determines the user's growth path by establishing a mechanism.

“Development System” Tool: User Incentive Method

There are two types of user incentives: interest incentives and spiritual incentives.

Interest incentives: refers to various material incentives

Interest incentives may be tangible materials, and money is the highest level of motivation. The money here refers to both physical currency and various virtual currencies. For example: Pinduoduo’s sign-in and cash bonus is a physical currency incentive; Didi ’s points mall is a virtual currency incentive. In short, in the end, everything will be converted into tangible benefits.

Another type of interest incentive is virtual rewards, such as the maximum upload space of Evernote, personalized avatars on Weibo, etc., which are all virtual rewards.

The disadvantage of interest incentives is that through this method, it is difficult for users to perceive growth. Over time, users will begin to feel that this is a transaction rather than a reward. Just like when you were a kid you could get 1 yuan from your mother for washing dishes. Will you wash dishes better if you get 1 yuan 10 times? Do you get crazy with excitement about doing the dishes?

No. Interest incentives are unlikely to encourage user growth, but they can help companies develop user base. In other words, what users need are small favors, and what companies need is a group of users who need small favors.

Spiritual motivation: refers to various kinds of honor motivation

According to the book " Gamified Thinking", there are three common mental motivation tools, commonly known as PBL combination, namely points (p), badges (b), and leaderboards (l).

Taking Keep as an example, "points" are usually a string of numbers, which in Keep represents the user's training time and accumulate as the training increases. "Badges" are rewards for specific milestones, such as: N consecutive days of exercise, a new exercise record of XX minutes, etc.; the leaderboard uses the training time to compare between friends.

PBL creates spiritual motivation for users by creating differences (identity + value).

The disadvantage of spiritual motivation is that this motivation method has good growth and comparability, and the disadvantage is that this motivation method is very mysterious, and honor is useless in an information island environment. If only you know the points, then they are the same as the deposit number in Alipay . You don't want to accumulate them into the account, but transfer them out for financial management .

Therefore, spiritual incentives are generally used in combination with " social " functions, or material incentives are simply added, such as: points can be used as cash.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: The number of fans and reading volume on Weibo can continue to increase and accumulate. Is this part of the user development system?

A: No. This is a symbol of identity and has nothing to do with the growth system because it is uncontrollable!

Summarize

The "user development" system includes development tools + development mechanisms.