When dealing with products in different periods, how can operations grasp the rhythm?

If you want to borrow some knowledge, sense of rhythm is the accuracy of the human body's grasp of "rhythm". It is an intuition that allows people to capture, feel, and express the rhythm, charm, interest, passion and other rhythmic beauty of music.

So, we have to explain "rhythm" again. Rhythm here actually refers to a uniform and regular process.
When we look at the data, we often see such data fluctuations:

This is the rhythmic fluctuation. Of course, this is not a good rhythm.

A good wave might look like this:

Then, when we look at the data over a long period of time, it will present a so-called S-shaped or J-shaped continuous curve.

And we usually think about such data: what causes the fluctuations in the data, or the rhythm of the data?

If we exclude the interference of external factors and only discuss the influence of its own factors, we usually limit the influencing factors to:

1. Product iteration

2. Operational superposition

So, is the superposition of operations as simple as organizing an activity when there is a need to boost indicators in the short term?

Obviously not.

So, the question is, if operations is not just a short-term booster, how should it operate?

Here we have to talk about "sense of rhythm".

Good operations always come in waves, continuously making the product feel present and allowing users to feel that the product has vitality.

"Operational planning" is a term that front-line operators rarely come across, but in fact everyone will be involved in the part of "operational planning".

Even if it is as small as planning an event, you always have to tell your leader what kind of event you want to do, when it will start, how much budget it will require, where the money is planned to be spent, which indicator can be improved by spending the money on this event, and what resources you need to support the realization of this event.

Whether it is the operation of a team or even a company, you still have to tell your leaders or investors what our KPI definition is this year, why it is defined this way, what the expected KPI results are, what capabilities this team or company needs to have on the operational side in order to achieve the KPI, whether additional talent is needed, what the approximate capability structure of these talents is, how much money will be spent this year, what benefits will it bring to the team or company, when to start commercialization, what areas of commercialization are you going to try, what other support is needed besides money, and so on.

Therefore, we usually need to complete the operations planning actions very regularly, including:

Annual planning, quarterly planning, monthly planning, and even weekly details.

This is why almost every operations team works at least in weekly units, and some operations teams in the exploratory phase even work in daily units.

Once you understand this, you will know that the so-called "sense of rhythm" largely starts with planning.

Operations are never a short-term job, so we need plans and tools .

The tools are a long story.

Event management, data analysis , operation location management, etc.

Usually, as we plan, the tools we need will gradually emerge.

You can match or design the tools yourself according to your needs, or directly use third-party ones. What matters is that it is handy, meets the needs of the time, and is scalable.

If we want to meet the needs of rhythm, we actually need a time node management tool.

In the past at Shanda, we had an activity management method that we learned from games , called the "activity calendar" - that's right, games work on a daily basis, and every hour, there are fixed activities, even sudden activities. Of course, fixed activities are fixed in the game in the form of business rules.

One thing we’ve learned from managing our events calendar:

Rhythmic operations not only save a lot of costs for the operation team, but are also an action that is very easy for users to develop habits.

By analyzing operational actions similar to habits, we can gain insight into how long it will take for users’ sense of freshness to reach its peak and when there will be a significant loss, so as to decide how to make the next adjustments.
Next, we need to understand that rhythm is created.

When I was at Shanda, I found it difficult to understand my leadership’s requirements: to have activities every day.

In fact, I only realized later that the leader’s requirement was not to hold activities every day, but to have a reason every day that could drive users to use our products.

From this perspective, if we continue to dig deeper, we will find that what the leaders actually require is:

Let your operation work show a certain sense of rhythm, such a sense of rhythm can make users revolve around you unconsciously.

Such design is almost a standard feature in online games, or it can be said to be the basic skill of online game operators and product designers.

We can take a look at the very popular game “Clash Royale”, although most people will complain, MDZZ, I have to spend money to open the treasure chest I won.

Actually, it’s not like that.

The game has designed 4 kinds of reward treasure chests. If you don't spend money, their unlocking time is:

3 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours.

Each player has 4 treasure chest slots, additional treasure chests that refresh periodically, and chests given away after completing daily tasks.

In this way, in fact, if you open the boxes strictly according to the rhythm designed by the game, you can open a maximum of 8 3-hour treasure chests, 3 8-hour treasure chests, 2 12-hour treasure chests and 1 24-hour treasure chest in a day.

At this time, you will find that almost no one can tolerate the long system automatic startup time.

Therefore, using diamonds to speed up the opening of the treasure chest became an inevitable choice.

Once you use diamonds to speed up the opening of the treasure chest, you will find that the diamonds are not enough. So what should you do - spend money quickly.

From the operational strategy point of view, the game is very cunning in making the "optimal match" for the battle in the background:

A series of wins will inevitably lead to a series of losses, and the more you lose, the more you want to turn the tables.

As the match progresses, you will definitely find that your cards are not of the right level or type.

So, the second inevitable choice emerged: continue to spend money and then spend money to open the best treasure chests.

This is the rhythm of the game, one thing after another, perfectly encircling those impatient players who want to win but are afraid of losing.

So, what about applying it to Internet products?

Everyone can recall the rhythm of Uber and Didi’s subsidies.

Take Uber for example. When it first entered China, it offered heavy subsidies in order to seize the market. Through User Referral, for every successful invitation of a new user, two people would each receive a reward of RMB 100 balance. Half a year later, the balance became RMB 50; after another half a year, it became RMB 30; next, it was a ride worth RMB 30; now, it is a ride worth RMB 15.

But you will find that after many people get used to it, they will feel it is reasonable and are willing to continue using products with reduced subsidies.

Of course, more people will choose to use whichever company offers higher subsidies. So, when Didi continues to subsidize Uber, its share will become lower and lower. Not to mention that the merger between Didi and Kuaidi has quickly made the market competition lose suspense.

Of course, this is not what we are going to talk about today.

Web products will also have a sense of rhythm.

The most obvious example is e-commerce .

E-commerce is a product that actually runs activities every day.

Whether it is Amazon, JD.com, Taobao or Tmall , it is almost impossible to see an e-commerce brand without any online activities.

If you extend from e-commerce to other industries, you will find that even traditional businesses are full of this rhythm:

The change of seasons is bound to bring about clearance sales, and festivals are bound to bring various discounts.

When the operation of the product becomes more rhythmic, users will also give feedback. Whether it is positive or negative, the feedback will always exist.

And the sense of rhythm will always get the feedback it deserves: the continuous enhancement of user stickiness.

In the early stages of a product, also known as the exploration phase, the pace is slow because there are many product pitfalls and development bugs that require careful attention and risk control.

When the product reaches its development stage, the pace begins to accelerate, bringing with it more new users, more new activities, and more new features, which are overwhelming.

When the product reaches maturity, the rhythm begins to stabilize, the number of users also stabilizes, and the business model begins to exert tremendous power.

When the product reaches its decline stage, the pace begins to slow down, waiting for new products to pick up users and complete the delivery.

Start-up products

First of all, we need to define the start-up period. In Liang Ge’s opinion, start-up products usually have to meet the following characteristics:

1. The product is indeed in a very early stage, perhaps between version 0.x and 1.0;

2. There are very few users, so we need to consider how to obtain seed users ;

3. There may not be a lot of resources or money to make large operational investments.

OK, assuming that Brother Liang is currently taking over a start-up product, how should I reflect the rhythm of operations?

I think there are four key words:

Cognitive core, building capabilities, doing fewer activities, encouraging mistakes

Let me explain them one by one.

• Cognitive core: At this stage, all operational work is centered around helping users understand the product. Cognitive work is the core work of operations.

Building awareness is the first step that must be taken for any type of product. For start-up products, it is crucial to use the simplest and most direct expression to let users understand what you are, what you can do, and whether you are suitable for them.

How well the cognitive work is done directly affects the user's trust in the product, so it is critical.

• Build capabilities: Since the core of this stage is to establish user awareness, the priority is usually to ensure usability of the product. That is, to ensure that users encounter fewer bugs or even no bugs when using the product, and at the same time, to achieve a balance between various functions and performance.

You will find that at this stage, the operation and maintenance work is actually more arduous than the product design and development work. Then, when the operation opportunity comes, Brother Liang will communicate with the product manager , request the improvement of the operation tools, and will ask the developer to establish data reports and data monitoring (assuming there was no time to do it before).

After the tool is completed, ensure that all data is within the monitoring range and grasp the data changes of the product in a timely manner.

• Do less activities: Doing less activities does not mean no activities. The "less" here mainly requires that the frequency of activities should be less, but the activity design needs to be more cautious, and at the same time, experience should be summarized to prepare for the growth stage.

• Encourage mistakes: Usually, all KPIs are the product of a period of operation. Therefore, in the initial stage, it is necessary to verify data indicators, encourage operations to make bold attempts, and seek lessons from failure, and of course, experience from victory.

Many people dare not take any action in the early stages of a startup, for fear that something they do will disturb existing users. Please, you only have 100 users, what are you afraid of? I can understand if you are afraid when there are 1 million.

Growth stage products

If a product has passed the start-up phase, gained its own seed users , and started to accelerate its development, then it has entered the growth phase. During this period, the iteration pace will become stable and rapid, and there will be more and more new features. The use of these new features will help the product gain more active users.

If Brother Liang looks at the operating rhythm of products in the growth stage at this time, there are usually two key words:

Keep fast, fixed habits

Keeping it fast is actually a true reflection of what you often hear: "It's best to have activities every day." One wave of activities after another, using various methods to get users to participate in activity A and then activity B. Anyway, you do whatever it takes to make users active and addicted.

Fixed habits: when I see Double 11, I know there will be discounts; when I see October 1st, I know there will be big events; when I see Wednesday, I know there will be a new version released, and so on.

Product operation in the growth stage is actually much easier than in the start-up stage, because at this time, the core cognition left over from the start-up stage has become part of the fixed process, and the speed of user integration will be accelerated, so what follows is the acceleration of the entire operation rhythm.

In the initial stage, there may be no resources for development, and awards may have to be given out manually, but in the growth stage, it may all rely on the system. At this time, the judgment on the effect of the activity type and the relationship between the number of activity participants and the resources invested should be based on the accumulated experience.

So, if mistakes are encouraged in the start-up phase, then you should try to make as few mistakes as possible in the growth phase. But if the mistake is a new one, it is still worth it - as long as you can absorb it quickly.

Mature products

Mature products are stable in every way.

If Brother Liang takes over the product operation at this stage, then the rhythm of the previous two periods may not be fully applicable. The key words of rhythm at this time become:

Maintain stability, meet expectations, and focus

Maintaining stability means maintaining the stability of user scale and user structure. For community products, it is necessary to maintain those high-quality content producers, because many situations at this time have been fixed. Even if these content producers no longer produce content, the Matthew effect will not make them lose their voice. Therefore, it is very important to keep these people stable, and they must be cared for periodically in operations.

Meeting expectations is more about the feedback after paying the cost of participating in the activity. Of course, the feedback here does not necessarily mean giving benefits to users, but giving benefits that are in line with users' expectations.

Concentrate. This is actually very easy to explain. It means exactly what it says. Don't develop operational actions, just target a certain group of people and carry out operational work regularly.

Decline

Operations can only guide some users to new products from time to time based on the preliminary work.

The pace here is usually not only slower, but also less responsive.

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The author of this article @张亮 is compiled and published by (APP Top Promotion). Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting!