After the product is launched, the first thing you think of is to spend money on advertising?

1. Why start with user loyalty ?

Perhaps in many people’s minds, the first thing that comes to mind after a product is launched is to spend money on advertising, especially in traditional industries where promotion and sales are very common. After accumulating a certain amount of user base, we will think of various ways to improve user loyalty.

However, in the Internet promotion and operation, we should actually change our thinking. We should start with the loyalty of a small number of users, and then use word-of-mouth and appropriate external promotion to drive product popularity. The giant companies we are familiar with, such as Didi , Momo , Xiaomi, etc., all started from seed users. There are several reasons for doing this:

1. The product has just been launched and is not very perfect. Seed users can help us improve the product;

Generally speaking, when our website or product is just launched, there will be many poor user experiences . At this time, you are in urgent need of a group of users who can help you find problems and continuously help you improve your product experience, so as to gain the best opportunity for the rapid iteration of subsequent products. Seed users are indispensable for this role.

There are even many users who adopt an invitation system to interact directly with seed users at the beginning. New user registration may also be based on an invitation system. Registration will only be opened after the product is almost perfect and the activity of the first batch of seed users has been mobilized!

2. In many cases, we don’t have much money and resources to promote on a large scale at the beginning;

Many times, when a product has just been launched, there is not much money or resources available for large-scale promotion. At this time, it is wise to choose a small number of seed users as the focus of operations. Because it doesn’t cost too much money to find seed users (many of them are based on mutual communication and a sense of identification with the product), there are many channels for free acquisition.

3. It is easier to provide user experience for a small number of people;

After accumulating the first batch of seed users, in addition to daily interactions, we must continuously improve the product user experience to meet their needs. We know that seed users are very accurate, and there may even be opinion leaders in certain fields, so the valuable suggestions they put forward are of great help to the later iterations of the product.

On the one hand, the suggestions put forward by seed users are more valuable. On the other hand, the overall number of seed users is not large, so our efficiency will be higher. We can spend more time maintaining them, continuously building up word of mouth, letting them know that we are making products with our heart, and letting them realize that our products grow together with them.

4. As long as you have the seed users, according to the 250 rule, the users recommended by friends will be more accurate;

Li Wanqiang mentioned in the book "Sense of Participation" that the 60 million fans accumulated by Xiaomi Forum evolved from the initial 100 seed users. This shows how powerful the influence of user communication is, and these 100 seed users also truly witnessed the growth of Xiaomi mobile phones.

While the seed users are spreading the virus , another very valuable aspect is the transmission of trust. The seed users will pass on your new users to their friends around them, and so on, and your word-of-mouth communication will continue to amplify.

2. What should a seed user look like?

We have mentioned the term "seed user" more than once above. The impression that seeds give us is that they can germinate and eventually grow a lot of fruits. The role of seed users in product promotion is actually very similar to the seed germination and fruiting model. As long as we take good care of it, it will eventually bring us unexpected results.

So what kind of users can become our seed users?

1. Have a strong sense of overall identity with the product and can tolerate minor defects

Through mutual communication, they can have a certain sense of identification with your products or services. Even if there may be defects in some details of the product at the beginning, it will not affect their recognition of you in the big picture. After recognizing you, they will have an emotional drive, and even without the stimulation of monetary benefits, they will be very proactive in using and spreading the products. They will even help you find these detailed defects, which will be of great help in the continuous improvement of your products;

2. Frequently give you some feedback;

We will often give you feedback on our usage experience, whether it is good or bad. We can continue to optimize and strengthen the good information, and make timely adjustments to the bad information. Therefore, we must maintain such a group of seed users in the early stage.

3. Like to share, which will help you promote invisibly;

Like to share your opinions on social networking sites, which can lay a good foundation for your subsequent word-of-mouth publicity. In fact, Xiaomi’s first 100 seed users were discovered from major forums, and they all like to share and spread on forums and social networking sites.

4. Opinion leaders in a certain field;

Why is it best to choose an opinion leader in the industry? Because his views will influence many people. For example, those who do SEO know the great ZAC. Many SEO people will find the views he expounds in his blog very valuable for reference.

For example, what internet celebrities wear and what products they recommend during live broadcasts will invisibly influence the impression of their fans. This is also the fundamental reason why "live broadcast + e-commerce " will be the general trend in the future.

For example, the Zhihu community initially invited people mostly from familiar circles, almost all of whom were from the IT startup circle. Most of them were well-known media figures or entrepreneurs who had more or less some influence in their own fields. This was especially true after Internet giants like Lei Jun and Kai-Fu Lee joined. The answers and contributions of these industry leaders served as very good publicity.

Of course, we may not be able to find such big names to join, but it is still possible to find some grassroots opinion leaders in your own industry, such as well-known public accounts , QQ group owners and administrators, certified QQ spaces with many fans, forum moderators, bloggers, etc. Finding them and winning them over, and managing them well, will achieve twice the result with half the effort in your promotion and operation.

So where do we generally accumulate the first batch of seed users? I have written an article before, which specifically talks about how we acquired our first batch of "seed users". Friends who are interested can look it up in He Yang's operation notes.

3. How do you carry your seed users?

After finding the seeds, we next need to choose the carrier that carries the seed users, that is, where you want to "ferment" the seed users and establish good interactions with them. You can use one carrier or a combination of multiple carriers. For example, forums can allow old users to settle down, public accounts can act as customer service, QQ groups can achieve instant interactive communication, and subscriptions to your emails can push valuable information regularly, etc.

If you have limited staff in the early stage, you can focus on one thing: continuously cultivating the loyalty of seed users. As long as your seed users are truly involved in the growth of your product, they will promote it for you for free later. At this point, many people will ask, how to cultivate user loyalty? Continue reading below.

4. How to improve the loyalty of seed users?

1. Lower the threshold for use;

Why should we lower the threshold for use? When others don’t know you, in addition to sincere communication between you and others, we also need to lower the threshold for user experience of products, especially for physical products. If it is a website or virtual product, you can invite insiders for free.

2. Feedback information will be processed first;

Seed users are your core users. The feedback and suggestions they give you should be given priority. This way, they will feel valued enough and will be more willing to help you spread the word. For example, we used to set up a QQ communication group specifically for seed users, which was directly maintained by the heads of the company's product and operations departments, so that any suggestions they had could be responded to as soon as possible.

3. Conduct more online interactions;

Communicate more with seed users, it can be about product issues, or any other aspects of life and work. Don’t think of them as your customers, but as friends from the bottom of your heart. Respond to any problems in a timely manner. People who recognize you will naturally identify more with your products!

4. When there is a benefit, think of the seed users first;

During the promotion and operation of the product, different user types must be treated differently, such as material rewards, authority allocation, exposure display, etc. Whenever there are "benefits" on the right, you should give priority to seed users and old users, and stimulate these users to help you spread outward. This is a wise move.

Xiaomi has done this almost perfectly. For example, in 2013, Xiami launched a micro -film called "100 Dream Sponsors", in which the names of the previous 100 seed users were printed on the racing cars in the micro-film as a token of gratitude and tribute.

Although this is not a tangible "benefit", it allows users to feel Xiaomi's dedication and gratitude from the bottom of their hearts. At least Xiaomi has not forgotten them. Sometimes spiritual capture is far greater than material rewards!

5. Use offline gatherings to build relationships;

When our user base reaches a certain number, we can also combine offline activities to bring us closer to users. The form can be to discuss products or to chat about life. It can be organized by the official, or users can spontaneously gather offline to communicate. The theme of the activity can be decided by the official collecting user feedback, or it can be decided by the official and online users voting.

There is only one purpose for organizing offline activities: to play with users, make friends, and communicate more. It allows users to find emotional sustenance while using your product!

6. Don’t disappoint seed users;

Many times when a new product is launched, the product experience is not perfect. In addition to sincere communication, we must also remember not to disappoint seed users. Don't be afraid of flaws. We will correct them in a timely manner and publish the improvement process in real time to let users know. We will give appropriate rewards to users who give us valuable suggestions. They can be material or emotional (such as establishing a contribution ranking list to display in your own community, etc.). We want users to know that their efforts are valuable and they have contributed to the growth of the product, so that they will be more willing to help you promote it.

7. Create more intersections between users and your product growth;

In fact, this point has been mentioned above. Thanks to the valuable suggestions from users, our products have become more perfect. In this process, our understanding of product growth has intersected with that of users, because they believe that they have contributed to the growth of such a perfect product, and at least they have participated in the process.

So some companies hope to make a 100% perfect product for users so that they can completely retain users. In fact, this is wrong. Not to mention that there is no 100% perfect product. Even if your product is good, there may be a better product or service in the market one day. If users do not fundamentally recognize you, they will still abandon you.

Even if your current product is not perfect, but you are willing to communicate with them sincerely, value their suggestions, and truly let users participate in the growth process of your product, then you will truly capture the hearts of users!