Product operation: strategies and methods to attract new users

In the early stages of a business, when you are short of money, people, and fame, where should you start in acquiring the first batch of seed users?

Cold start is something that every operator has to face, and it tests their basic operational skills. If they can't even do a good job of cold start, how can they do anything else?

The so-called cold start is a very professional term in the field of data mining. This term was later widely used in product operations , referring to the process of introducing users from zero users, improving and creating content before the product is launched, when a complete ecological system has not been formed but the product has core functions and core gameplay.

As the saying goes: The beginning is always the hardest. You never deceive me. If a cold start cannot be done well, it will be extremely difficult to cold start again later.

01.How to identify seed users?

Many people mistakenly believe that seed users are the first batch of users or initial users, and even in the early stages of a startup they only pursue user quantity while ignoring user quality.

The first version of the APP usually has many problems of its own. If the seed users pull the wrong version, their feedback and suggestions will most likely be wrong. If the product is modified according to these people's feedback and suggestions, it will be a mistake on top of a mistake.

For example, in the initial stage of a social app product, the team plans as follows:

• Mobilize the masses and invite classmates and friends to register accounts;
• Make an annual calendar and distribute it in subways and commercial centers;
• Sponsor college football games, with players wearing jerseys with the logo;
• Recruit field sales staff and develop offline users;
• Invite experts to be guests and answer questions for netizens; post on other websites to attract attention;

However, if we analyze the above behaviors from the perspective of seed users, we will find the following inappropriate aspects :

• The user loyalty obtained is not high, so their activity in the later stage is not high, they do not contribute to the product, and they are easy to leave. At the same time, their loss may cause the loss of others.
• Casting a wide net without a precise user base will lead to failure to form community stickiness if users participate but find that their values ​​are different from those of the product and they cannot recognize each other.
• Failure to effectively "cleanse users" and strategically eliminate possible "sources of pollution" has led to non-user groups entering the community. These people will destroy the community atmosphere, harm users and products, and thus reduce users' favorability towards the product.
• Creating a false prosperity without actual user participation will result in no effective dissemination and a waste of time and money; going to places where users of other products gather to divert traffic will prematurely attract the attention of competitors.

Seed users are the first batch of users acquired when your product is first launched. They are your loyal fans (heavy users). They will try out your product regardless of whether its functions are complete or not, and are willing to provide feedback and optimization suggestions for product functions. Therefore, the growth of seed users requires the joint efforts of product, operation, design and development to gather seed users.
So what should products and operations do during the seed user accumulation phase?
1. For products: meet user needs <br />There is no need to worry about bugs after the product is launched, as long as the main process runs smoothly. Product functions do not need to be complicated, but they must have core functions. Use core functions to gain user recognition and retain users.

Products must have "substance", tool products must be "efficient", content products must have "dry goods", social products must be "lively", etc. If you can't do these, then you can wear many vests every day to be active in the community and motivate your seed users. If conditions permit, you can also use robots, but be careful not to cause user disgust.

According to the principle of MVP (minimum viable product), we test and collect user feedback, quickly iterate, and continuously modify the product to ultimately adapt to market demand.
2. For operations: the most important thing is to identify the target user group . In the initial stage of entrepreneurship, the resources you have are very limited, and the boss's endurance is also limited, so you should use your resources where they are needed most, on target users who can achieve results.
Don't try to be big and comprehensive, just be small and precise . Understand who the small group of people you want to serve are, which websites they often appear on, and what apps they use.
You cannot "cast a wide net" during the seed stage. You need to screen target users, study their characteristics, strategically activate seed users and keep them, and clearly identify who the product's target users are? Where are they? How do we acquire them?

As stated in the book “User Power”: The characteristics of the seed user group can be summarized as: strong demand, the user group must be clear, and the smaller the group definition, the better; the user group loves to spread, and the younger the better.

02. Ideas for finding seed users?

The following 7 questions can help you connect your analytical thinking:

1. What is the product positioning?

Products are the starting point of operations. First, identify the pain points that the product will solve, the needs it will meet, and what is the difference between it and other similar products?

2. Which segment of the population will be most interested in the product?

Among the people who all have needs, there must be a group of people who have a particularly strong need. That is, we need to find them out from this group of people and try to describe their characteristics through some words/labels.

3. What are the characteristics of this group of people?

What are the characteristics of this group of people in terms of gender, age, region, education level, etc., and what unique habits do they have? What is the spending power? What is the consumption frequency? What are your consumption preferences?

4. Where does this group of people often appear?

What products/apps do they like to use? What kind of public accounts and influencers do you follow? In what offline occasions does it appear more frequently? Users were not created, they have always existed. 5. What is this group of people interested in?

What do you like? What do you hate? What kind of values? What kind of articles would resonate with them? What are some words that only this group of people can understand?

6. What methods can be used to attract them?

Combine the core features of the product with their preferences. What can they get as the first users?

7. How to screen out unsuitable people?

In order to prevent inappropriate users from entering and destroying the "atmosphere", the highest quality users can be screened out through invitation codes, application review, payment, etc.

For example, friends who have used the Bilibili website know that if you want to register as a member, you have to take a test with a lot of test questions. If you fail the test, you will not be able to register. This is to isolate some users and screen out high-quality seed users who match the product tone.

03. Strategies and methods for acquiring users

1. Screen new customer acquisition channels

After the product is cold-started, have you noticed the paths that users from different channels take after entering the product?

User path: entering the product through recommendation/download, most users may stay on the LP page, some users just take a quick look and leave, while some users may leave the current LP page and enter the second page and may jump multiple times to complete the first transaction or certain key behaviors, such as financial management users binding bank cards. Of course, it is also possible that they will find no content of interest and choose to leave the product.

By observing the user path, we can screen a group of users. Generally speaking, you need to observe whether there are any differences in the length of time a user stays in the product. If so, you need to filter out the top users who are very willing to consume your product, and then make a second recommendation and recall to slowly convert these users into your seed users.

2. Invite with sincerity and care with true heart

Through invitations, more benefits can be brought to sharers and those being shared, especially for community products. Through the invitation mechanism, users can be attracted through content and social relationships, and relationships between users can be established through products.

For example, in the early days, QQ Space stimulated users to interact by playing social games such as stealing vegetables and grabbing parking spaces. These were all means to establish connections with users more quickly.

In addition to community products, tool products also often use invitation mechanisms.

For example, financial management products will also attract users through profit rebates. After all, the core purpose of financial management users is nothing more than to get more money. Therefore, in financial management products, the invitation mechanism is used to the extreme, and even levels are distinguished. The more cumulative invitations, the higher the rebate, which stimulates you to share with more friends.

3. Platform activities: low cost and accurate positioning

For example, for a fitness product, users consume fitness courses. During the product launch and development phase, they continued to create high-quality content on WeChat and Weibo, and published articles in forums and groups in the fitness field.

For example, how to exercise to lose weight, before and after comparison after weight loss, how to eat to avoid getting fat - many of these articles have a good dissemination effect, and finally users who are interested in fitness follow their WeChat and Weibo and become seed users.

4. Some stupid ways are also good ways

For example, Didi Chuxing, in its early days, in order to get to know the industry and understand where its target user group (B-side drivers) was. The operating staff went directly to Beijing South Railway Station and other areas where there were concentrated "working hours" and had drivers download the app one by one. After a small number of drivers who had tasted the sweetness spread the word among the taxi fleet, Didi became popular among the drivers and attracted a large number of B-end users.

It is worth emphasizing that before promotion, it is necessary to first clarify the product type and user type and classify the user groups.

For example, community products can be divided into content providers and content consumers. Strategies for cultivating seed users should be formulated based on different roles, and one should not blindly pursue a single number of users.

04. User operation is essential

As the saying goes: "If you love someone, just take care of him."

User operation is a very important part of product operation. It is also the stage with the most frequent and intimate contact with users. How to operate users and make them happy is the core work of operation.

We often say that success depends on users and failure depends on operations. The original intention of any product is to meet the needs of some people and solve their pain points. Because the product is valuable, these people will promote, purchase and use the product. However, some companies have spent a lot of manpower, material and financial resources to finally find a considerable number of seed users, but because they do not know how to operate, they suffer from serious loss of seed users. Of course, too many competitors and poor service are only one of the key reasons for the loss of seed users. The lack of operation is the key.

Only by managing the initial seed users well can you attract the subsequent 100,000 users.

Common operating methods are as follows:

1. Product empathy

This method is usually suitable for products that have their own advantages, such as more complete products, better user experience, and more unique product concepts. It can give the product more value, and then invite target users to use it, let them pour their emotions into it, become advocates of the product, and spontaneously publicize and promote the product.

If an inner circle can be formed, users can gain a greater sense of superiority.

For example, Xiaomi’s F code was once hard to come by, and many users spontaneously established communities, hoping that everyone would help grab the F code and then give it to group members in need.

2. User engagement

Participation is the core factor in attracting users and the key to gaining loyal users. Before the product is launched on the market, let seed users participate in using the product, participate in various tests, find out the bugs in the product, and reward those users who provide important feedback. This can satisfy the user's sense of participation and increase brand awareness.

At the same time, in the process of continuous product iteration, users' sense of participation is satisfied, and the "three senses" are used to cultivate user loyalty.

For example, in the process of product updates and iterations, every design, research and development, and improvement process: invite some seed users to participate, let them try the latest products, and provide feedback, collect these feedbacks, adopt the suggestions that are beneficial to product development, and choose to publish them on popular related channels, spread them to more people, spread them quickly, and build word of mouth.

3. Build a community

With the first batch of seed users, in addition to allowing them to participate in product iteration, it is also necessary to establish a community to bring together users with similar aspirations and hobbies, allow users to interact and establish connections, and further convert them into business opportunities. This is an important step in the operation process.

When operating a community, you should pay attention to the fact that there should be organizers to organize various activities. After all, users are new to the group and are strangers to each other, so there will inevitably be barriers. Therefore, the community should establish a system that everyone is equal. Everyone has the right to speak and give feedback. Users should feel valued, and every user's ideas should be taken into consideration as much as possible.

4. Fan Economy

Product managers use their personal charm, appearance charm, knowledge charm, etc. to attract users to follow and use their products, or rely on their personal abilities and network of contacts to attract friends in the circle. This method can be called fan economy.

But if you don’t have enough personal charm, or don’t have much fame or money, it’s best not to choose this method. Of course, you can also start packaging yourself and building a personal brand from now on. After all, operation is not a short-term thing.

5. Create topics for discussion and create a tipping point

To create topics for conversation, users need to be eager to talk about them. This can be achieved through public opinion guidance, gossip, etc. Of course, it must be linked to the product. People should be guided to connect to the product, so that no one will use the product.

Alipay is a product that is good at creating trigger points. Its proposed password red envelopes, lucky red envelopes, VR red envelopes, circles, etc. have all triggered public opinion, so there is no need to worry about a lack of users.

6. In-depth communication and interaction

Communication is also a part of operation. If the distance between seed users and loyal users is only 0.01 meters, operation is to eliminate this 0.01 meter distance.

You should communicate more with seed users in your daily life. The topics are not limited to products. You can also talk about each other's lives, work, cities, future dreams, etc., just like communicating with friends. Don't treat them the same way you treat customers. Instead, recognize them as friends from the bottom of your heart and truly care about them, rather than just superficially. Answer their questions in a timely manner. When you treat them seriously, they will also treat you seriously and recognize you, thereby increasing their identification with the product.

After obtaining seed users, we need to retain them with a good experience and also make use of their role to attract more users to the product.

05. Final Thoughts

The focus of a cold start is to verify the feasibility of a project rather than to increase the volume.

Just like a seed growing into a towering tree, it has to go through at least two stages: one is the qualitative change from seed to sapling, and the other is the quantitative change from sapling to towering tree. The process of qualitative change, that is, from seed to sapling, the quantity at this stage is very small, only the form has undergone tremendous changes. This process is very important. Soil, temperature and water are all important prerequisite factors for its qualitative change.

If even one factor fails to meet the criteria, the project will most likely end in failure. The purpose of the cold start is to build a suitable internal and external environment for its qualitative change, allowing the seeds to germinate and grow into saplings. At this stage, if you just blindly pursue quantitative breakthroughs, you may deviate from the direction.

If you still can’t find seed users, or if seed users leave quickly after arriving, you may need to think carefully about whether you don’t know your users well enough. Is the demand itself a false demand? When the segmentation is very detailed, it is impossible to attract users with clear products. Even if there are more promotional resources and channels, how many users can be attracted?