How to quickly build a user growth system from 0 to 1?

The user growth system has always been a necessary means for products to increase user retention and activity after a certain stage. It is a form of mutual influence between users and platforms. For users, a good user growth system helps guide users to use product functions, satisfy users' sense of accomplishment, and gain better product privileges. For the platform, recording the user growth process through a growth system makes it easier to conduct refined operations targeting users and allocate product strategies and resources more effectively.

For Ganji.com products that focus on the recruitment field, creating a unique growth system is undoubtedly a very suitable choice for the current product positioning. Based on the business attributes, we have also built a growth system "Dream Shop" from the initial creative stage.

01 The value of the user growth system

The user growth system is a necessary means for Ganji.com to attract user retention and improve user activity. It attracts user traffic in a low-threshold manner through gamification and storytelling, allowing users to receive corresponding incentives and recognition, thus creating a greater dependence on the product, increasing user activity, enhancing user stickiness, promoting product business conversion, and improving product value.

02 From the user's perspective, help users find a sense of belonging

Considering products and businesses from the user's perspective, conducting real user surveys on product users, and obtaining users' true voices can design a growth system that meets users' expectations. In the early stages of the project, after multiple rounds of surveys with users with blue-collar backgrounds, we understand their current work status and expectations for future life. Many users' answers are simple and plain. Some hope to acquire a skill, and through hard work, they will continue to make progress in their respective career paths and achieve greater success.

There is also a large number of blue-collar workers who are very satisfied with being self-employed and hope to save money in the future to open a small shop and become their own boss. This is an emotional sustenance for blue-collar users, helping them gain a sense of belonging, and is also the point of convergence for the productized operation of the growth system.

Finally, based on everyone's voting conclusions, we chose "Dream Shop" as the theme of the growth system. Users can earn coins by continuing to operate the store and completing tasks, so that the scale of the store can continue to expand, gaining a certain sense of satisfaction and the possibility of controlling their own future.

03 Standardize the design and make the system scalable

1. Deconstruct functional modules to ensure basic experience

As the first experience of Ganji.com's growth system, considering the future scalability and function iteration, we first divide the overall structure into five core modules from the interaction level, namely information display area, game interaction area, function expansion area, core operation area, and task list area, to ensure the integrity of the overall structure.

Of course, clarity at the structural level is far from enough. A complete interactive and interesting growth system needs to achieve three experience goals: clear functional guidance, attractive visual performance, and accurate communication of core information.

2. Leave enough space for the scalability of the growth system design

Future scalability and the growth value recovery mechanism should be considered at the beginning of system design. If the game progresses to the maximum level quickly, users will lose interest in the game. Using appropriate methods, such as downgrading or increasing the level, to achieve sustainable development of the system is an important factor in determining the growth of the system.

Ganji Growth System 1.0 starts from the theme of "Dream Shop", takes the continuous upgrading of shops as the basis of the game, restores the appearance of real shops on the street, and establishes the future growth path. In version 1.0, a total of 5 levels are planned, namely, level 1 convenience kiosk, level 2 convenience store, level 3 small supermarket, level 4 comprehensive market, and level 5 supermarket. More expansions will be made in the future.

3. Provide diverse visual solutions to achieve real perception and create a sense of reality and control

Various styles have been tried in visual expression, such as the gamified 2.5D expression, which is characterized by a strong sense of space and a bird's-eye view of the overall interface, which makes it easy for people to integrate with the game. There is also a 2D first-person perspective design, which is closer to the sensory state of the human eye, and what you see is what you get.

By trying different styles, the aim is to effectively present the three elements of function, vision and information from a visual experience. The final design plan chose to use a two-dimensional composition with a positive perspective. This plan is closer to the design concept of true restoration that we want to express in terms of interactive experience and restoration of visual details. It is like standing on the street and seeing your own store, giving users a first-person sense of vision.

4. Add scene animations to add design highlights and guide users’ concentration

Situational animation is added to the design to increase detail highlights for the design, and screen animation is added for different levels. Characters such as pedestrians passing by on the street, guys on motorcycles, and cats on the eaves are made to move, which enriches the interactive experience of the interface and increases the fun.

5. The user onboarding process is clear and concise

A clear guidance process is essential to help users quickly understand the gameplay and page functions.

6. Establish a complete closed loop of consumption scenarios

A complete user growth system must have a consumption scenario. The construction of Ganji Market has enabled the user growth system to form a complete consumption closed loop, which is a necessary place for users to redeem and obtain direct benefits.

04 Conclusion

Although the Ganji growth system is still in its early stages, its main goal is to attract users with a low threshold. Once a sufficient user base is obtained, the system will be iteratively improved to include new social scenarios and add more communication attributes. In the future, it will not only meet product-level needs, but also pay attention to some spiritual demands of the current blue-collar community, allowing users to gain greater satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. Deliver positive social value attributes through products.

The last sentence is for everyone to encourage each other. There are a wide variety of industry design methods and knowledge, but practice is always the best choice on the road to growth. Think more, produce more, and change from quantitative change to qualitative change. Without taking small steps, one cannot reach a thousand miles!

Author: Zheng Xiaowei

Source: VMIC UED