How to get started with user operations in 4 steps?

I believe that those who are engaged in operations have had this problem: user operation seems to be simple, but why is it so difficult to do it?

There are many reasons, but the core issues are as follows:

1. User tags are not accurate enough
2. It’s hard to grasp the user’s pain points
3. Ignoring the user lifecycle

So, how can we really attract users and convert them into paying users?

1. Lower the threshold and become an entry-level user first

If we break down the work of user operations, we can break it down into four key indicators: attracting new users, promoting activation, retention, and conversion. Each link seems to exist independently, but in fact they are closely linked. One wrong step may lead to all the wrong steps.

It sounds scary, but many companies really have problems in the process of attracting new customers, and the final result is predictable. After studying various failure examples, I found that they all had a common problem, that is, there was a problem with the user threshold settings.

For example, to obtain an electronic document, you need to invite 15 friends to follow it. In this era of increasing user acquisition costs, this "rogue approach" is truly a breath of fresh air. It can be described as the WeChat version of "cutting one knife". I advise such companies to learn from their mistakes.

Although such activities are generally only for the purpose of increasing followers quickly, such unreasonable activity settings will affect word-of-mouth and brand image to a certain extent. Not only will the company not gain users, but also gain a bad reputation, which is not worth the loss. There are also some companies that, when setting up an event, have never thought clearly about where to direct traffic, such as to the official account? Or personal WeChat? As a result, many users are lost before they are even added to WeChat.

Here we recommend that you direct traffic to your personal WeChat first, because directing traffic from WeChat to a public account is much easier than directing traffic from a public account to WeChat. You can pull the users of this activity into the community, post some public account content on a daily basis, and guide them to follow it. I believe you can still attract a wave of users.

Not only that, we can also communicate with users to accurately know their source channels and their precise labels, which will be of great help for later conversions.

When setting up an activity, you must learn to lower the user's learning and understanding costs, and the activity threshold should not be too high. If the activity does not involve any costs, it is best to be as low as possible. Because only when the user base is large can it be easier to select high-quality customers from it.

2. Set up tags to prepare for paid conversions

For every thousand readers, there are a thousand Hamlets. The same product is used by different users, and the reasons for using the product and the needs it satisfies are all different. The following situations may occur:

User A is attracted by the brand sentiment, user B is attracted by the product’s cost-effectiveness, and user C is attracted by the product’s service attitude. After spending a lot of budget and finally adding users to WeChat, many users were lost during their effective user life cycle because user tags were not accurately added.

If users are categorized by labels from the beginning, then when we organize activities, we can carry out targeted activities for each type of user. This will not only promote user activity, but also make them dependent on the platform and even pay for our products.

I usually like to use the RFM model for user classification management. RFM stands for Recentity (most recent consumption), Frequency (consumption frequency), and Monetary (consumption amount).

Here is a brief explanation of the composition of the RFM model:

• Recency: the most recent consumption, that is, the time from the user's last consumption to the current consumption. The shorter the time since the last purchase, the more valuable it is for us, and the more likely we are to reach them effectively;
• Frequency: consumption frequency, the frequency of consumption of a user within a product within a period of time;
• Monetary: consumption amount, that is, the value contribution of the user.

Based on these three dimensions, we can divide each dimension into high, medium and low situations, and construct a complete user value quadrant.

After completing the division of user groups, we start formulating strategies. Different measures will be taken for different user levels.

• Important value customers: set up exclusive welfare clubs to maintain the current status and make early warnings for loss;
• Important customer recall: refined marketing activities and continuous point-to-point stimulation;
• New users: set up new user benefits, product experience, etc.;
• Generally maintain users: solidify user usage habits, deepen user product usage frequency, and stimulate activity.

Although the above labels are not applicable to all companies, there will basically not be much difference if they are classified in this way. Through refined user classification operations, different services and guidance can be provided to different users, thereby maximizing retention rate and user value.

The "315 Gala" two days ago revealed that well-known companies such as Kohler and BMW installed cameras in many stores across the country to secretly collect user information.

These companies use facial recognition to collect information in order to better conduct marketing analysis within the company, such as analyzing which brands of 4S stores customers have visited and which car models they have seen, and then formulating targeted sales language and strategies based on these user tags to achieve better conversions.

Although this behavior of collecting information without consent is abominable, it also indirectly shows the importance of user classification operations.

3. Activity testing to find the best conversion path

I believe that friends who have done fission activities know that only after multiple tests and polishing can the best version of the activity be found. This optimal version may directly increase the conversion rate by 5%-10% or even higher compared to the initial version.

When setting up an activity for a user, the first thing we need to do is to determine the key joints and actions of the entire activity. Sometimes, as long as we grasp the key points, the overall direction of the activity will basically not be too bad.

Taking the public account fission activity as an example, the most critical factors are the launch volume + promotional posters + welfare bait + conversion process. The first action a user takes after scanning the poster is to follow the official account. After the user completes the designated task, it is crucial to know where the user can collect the corresponding reward.

If the prize is a physical gift, live class or electronic material, it is recommended to directly deposit it into a personal account or community to become your private traffic pool; if the prize is a redemption code, it is recommended to distribute it directly in the background of the official account, using the functions of the fission tool to reduce the amount of manual operations.

After streamlining the fission process, you also need to determine the final fission rules, such as how many people need to complete the support task to get the designated prize, as well as the overall fission gameplay. Many companies set the number of assistants at random without any basis. Here we can make a comprehensive consideration based on the prize cost and user action cost.

A promotional gift priced at around 50 yuan requires a user to invite 50 people to get it, so the action cost for this user is too high. In addition, you also need to consider the difficulty of the operation in the participation process, whether you need to fill in various information, etc. Following public accounts and adding personal WeChat are currently the simplest and most widely accepted operation paths.

4. Establish a system to keep users active for a long time

Now that we have attracted a group of new users through fission, how can we make these users retain for a long time and make them dependent on our products?

Here you can refer to the membership systems of major platforms, such as Meituan’s red envelope deductions, Ctrip’s level benefits, etc., which are often referred to as user operation systems. When building a user operation system, you should follow the following steps:

1. According to the goals of different stages, formulate the corresponding user group segmentation model and indicators (such as the RFM model mentioned above);
2. Formulate corresponding operation strategies through data analysis, including operation cycle and push method;
3. Establish evaluation criteria for data effectiveness and iterate strategies based on operational data.

Through a series of incentives and product mechanisms, users can be better encouraged and guided to perform specific behaviors within the product, which is mainly used to increase user activity or to guide users to complete certain specific behaviors. When setting up an incentive system, you usually need to consider the following aspects:

1. Identify which user behaviors need to be incentivized (which can be beneficial to the platform)
2. Build a virtual item or virtual currency system (such as points)
3. Create a competitive atmosphere among users (grading system/rankings)
4. User guidance at each stage (upgrade prompts, etc.)
5. The balance between money issuance and use

V. Conclusion

Although user operations are generally difficult to quantify and seem intangible, they contain endless value for companies and are the cornerstone of sustainable brand development. When the number of users is low, rough operation may be able to meet daily operational needs.

However, with the rapid expansion of product scale, facing more and more users, more and more diverse user needs and user scenarios, systematic operation strategies have become an important tool to improve work efficiency and effectiveness.

The road is long and arduous, but I will search for it up and down. On the road of user operations, we still have a lot to learn and explore. Remember that users are not leeks. If you only want to harvest leeks from the beginning, you are doomed to fail.

Author: An Weige

Source: Anweige