APP operation: How to operate the four life cycles of a product

Having been engaged in operations for so long, I often hear operators making fun of themselves, saying that they are just doing odd jobs. They need to be involved in user operations , event operations , content operations , product operations and other tasks. They are busy all day long and don’t even know whether everything they do is helpful to the APP.

Here, I want to say that in APP operation, the operation scope involved by the operation personnel is very large. In the life cycle of the product, various operation methods produce different effects, but only by using the right method can the APP run normally, or even achieve self-operation. Today, I will tell you what operation work should be done in each life cycle of the APP.

one. App Lifecycle

To carry out refined operations on the product life cycle, you need to first understand the product life cycles and the characteristics of each product.

1. Exploration period

Before a large number of APPs are formed, they are more like being developed behind closed doors. Whether a new APP is just the creators’ self-satisfaction or can truly hit the user’s pain points remains to be verified. When the product is in the exploration stage, it needs a certain number of users to help verify the product model.

2. Growth stage

The product has verified its model and is officially launched on the market for users to choose. Imitators , or competitors, will appear at this time. If the product cannot quickly acquire users, it will be overtaken by competitors. So during this period, products will be quickly iterated based on user needs.

3. Maturity

When a product enters the mature stage, it has accumulated a large number of users. However, at this time, there are still many competing products in the market. If you are careless, it will be easy to lose market share. Therefore, at this stage, operation is the focus. We should carry out refined operations around users, pay attention to user activity, and firmly imprint our brand in the minds of users.

4. Decline

The product market is close to saturation. When a large number of product users are taken away by alternative products, the product also enters its decline period. But it does not mean that the product life cycle will end here. With proper operation, the product can make it explode again.

two. How to operate well according to the product life cycle

1. Exploration period

During the exploration period of an APP, products and users are the focus of operations. Product managers present the products to the public and wait for users to test them. To verify the product model, "people" participation is required. At this stage, operators find the group of people who need the product most - seed users . Moreover, considering that a large number of users will enter in the future, in order to prevent the messy content from causing the community to get out of control, it is necessary to determine the tone of the content at this time.

(1) Introducing seed users

Speaking of seed users, we have to mention the product Zhihu. When Zhihu was first launched into the market, it chose a semi-closed form. The founder used his own connections to invite some well-known people in the industry to Zhihu. With the help of these celebrities' fame, various posts asking for invitation codes have appeared on the Internet.

According to the recollections of many users, they shamelessly approached others on Weibo, Douban and other platforms before they finally got the invitation code. In fact, Zhihu officials also distributed invitation codes at that time, but users needed to fill out an application form and could only obtain it after the official review was passed. This method of filling out personal information to obtain an invitation code is actually a way for the operator to build a bridge of communication between itself and the seed users. The operation department will feedback the problems and suggestions encountered by seed users to the product manager, and the product manager will improve the product based on user needs.

(2) Determination of content tone

During an investigation, Airbnb discovered that the pictures on its website were all casually taken by landlords with their mobile phones and had no appeal to users. In order to attract users, Airbnb's operators went door to door to help landlords take pictures of their own houses, beautify the pictures, and upload them to the Internet. Hezijun photoshopped the picture and the APP interface should have looked like this at that time. It can be seen that the content within the APP largely determines whether users will like it and whether they are willing to stay here.

The content tone will affect the user's subjective feelings when they first enter the APP, so at this stage, the operator should determine the content tone of the APP. If it is a content product, it is necessary to determine the evaluation criteria for the content. If it is an e-commerce product, it is necessary to determine the picture display of the product. If it is a social product, it is necessary to determine how users are connected.

2. Growth stage

After the product has passed the exploration period and officially entered the growth period, the product is ready and needs a large number of users. At this time, you can use promotion methods to tell users that we have a new product and they can try it. Activities are also a great way to attract users, so at this stage, the focus should be on promoting the APP and starting activities.

(1) Promote! Promote!

The product is ready, but where are the users? During the growth stage of the product, it is necessary to acquire a large number of users, which requires product promotion. If your APP has not yet been released on any platform, you can apply for app store debut . If it has already been released or the application for debut fails, you can purchase paid promotion services from the app store , but the latter is too expensive and not suitable for startup companies to promote. There is another way of promotion that has emerged with the development of the Internet, that is, paid promotion through Internet celebrities . In terms of specific choices, you need to choose Internet celebrities who are consistent with the values ​​of your product. Remember not to invest randomly for the sake of results.

(2) The activity starts online

APP needs a large number of users, so it needs to rely on operational means. Activities can quickly increase a certain indicator in a short period of time, so at this stage, activities are the first choice of operators.

I don’t know if you still remember the subsidy war among food delivery O2O in 2015. Speaking of that war, it really scared the small companies that were preparing to enter the market. At that time, Ele.me , Meituan Waimai and Baidu Waimai were the three major players and they were burning money desperately. New users only need one yuan to order food. I ordered two meals for 48 yuan, added a bottle of soda, and got a 40 yuan deduction for the total of 50 yuan. Finally, I spent 10 yuan to buy two meals and a bottle of soda. Ultimately, this money-burning subsidy activity helped these three food delivery platforms quickly acquire users.

Burning money for subsidies can indeed bring a large number of users to the platform, but this method of operation is doomed to fail in the long run. Before ordering food, users will first check which platform offers more discounts, and then place an order on the cheapest platform. User loyalty brought by burning money for subsidies is not high. The money will run out, and if the subsidies are not strong enough, users will leave. Therefore, in addition to spending money to attract users, it is also necessary to use activities to cultivate user usage habits. For specific methods, please refer to the article "User Operation Essentials: Four Rules to Cultivate Good User Habits" written by Boxijun before.

3. Maturity

As the APP enters its mature stage, operators must not only focus on user operations and increasing user activity, but also on brand operations.

(1) User activity

There are already a large number of users in the APP, but they are not active, so some APPs will improve the user incentive system at this stage. The specific incentive methods can be virtual honor, point levels, badges, etc. Moreover, in order to promote user activity, the APP is also very active during this period. Recently, Hezijun has frequently received news push notifications from the shared bicycles Mobike and the yellow bike ofo. Mobike and ofo have launched monthly cards. Mobike gave away monthly cards with free rides, and recently launched monthly cards that renew for 2 yuan per month and 5 yuan for 3 months. And ofo has just launched a free monthly card.

(2) Brand Building

Mobike and ofo are in the mature stage and have strengthened their brand operations. Taking ofo as an example, ofo invited the popular young star Lu Han as its image ambassador and carried out social advertising . Lu Han and the yellow bikes can be seen on buses, subways and other places. Before Despicable Me 3 was released, ofo cooperated with Despicable Me to launch the Minions -themed yellow bike and released 5 headlines. By cooperating with the Minions, ofo once again made its brand famous.

4. Decline

The product has entered the decline period. Speaking of this, Hezijun's heart was shocked. In recent years, there are many products that have declined or even ended their life cycle. Yahoo China Mail has stopped its service, and Pengyou.com has also announced that it will be closed next month. In fact, every Internet product will enter a period of decline, but this does not mean that the life of the product will end.

Just last year, Douban released its own ten-year poster. For many people, Douban is actually a very old product. Users most frequently use features such as movie and book ratings and reviews, but the user activity of its groups, broadcasts and other features is not as good as before. Will Douban collapse because of this? I'm afraid not. Douban has started to explore new product directions based on its own situation. In March this year, Douban launched a paid knowledge column - Douban Time . Recently, Douban also launched a video cultural interview program "As It Is". I hope Douban can find a new direction that suits itself.

Summary: When operating an APP, you need to be clear about which stage of the product life cycle your APP is in, and then use the most accurate operating methods to operate the APP based on the characteristics of this life cycle, so that you can avoid detours.