Get App | Operational Strategy Analysis Report

Since its launch in 2016, the Duode APP has developed rapidly. In just a few years, it has a large and stable user base and has firmly established itself as the leader in the knowledge payment industry.

1. Product Introduction

1. Product Background

(1) Field of business

In 2016, the knowledge payment industry exploded. As an early mover, the Get App was the first to invite industry leaders to collaborate on developing innovative product forms such as column courses and listening to a book every day. At the same time, it leveraged the number of fans accumulated by "Luoji Siwei" over the years to divert traffic to the Get App, amassing a large number of users in a short period of time.

(2) Product positioning

A software that provides knowledge services to lifelong learners.

2. Business Logic

(1) Target users

They are mainly distributed in first- and second-tier cities, with a higher proportion of males. The user group is roughly between 20 and 40 years old. User portraits can be roughly divided into the following categories:

• College students: They have plenty of time and subscribe to courses based on their personal interests or learning needs;
• Newcomers in the workplace: They are under great work pressure and confused about the future. They take the initiative to use their commuting time, before bedtime and other fragmented time to learn work-related skills, hoping to improve their competitiveness.
• Workplace elites: Competition is fierce, and they are gradually entering a "mid-life crisis", hoping to broaden their thinking and improve their horizons;
• Parents: Systematically learn about children's health, education, etc.

(2) Demand scenarios

• Want to use fragmented time to learn systematic knowledge and skills;
• Want to obtain high-quality content and improve screening efficiency;
• Want to constantly update knowledge to adapt to the demands of the rapidly developing social environment;
• Want to get a more macro and cutting-edge perspective;
• Relieve anxiety, gain class labels and social topics.

(3) Core functions

Subscribe to quality courses, free columns, and listen to books

2. Product Experience

1. Product structure diagram

2. Business process diagram

3. Determine the life cycle

The DuoDe App was first launched in 2016, and has been in operation for nearly four years. It has over 38.7 million users. Although the basic and core functions of the product are basically complete, the business of DuoDe App is still expanding, and it still maintains an iteration speed of twice a month. Therefore, the App should be in the growth stage at present.

4. Analyze operational strategies

1. Start-up period (May 2016~April 2017)

The demand for start-up products has yet to be verified, and the focus of operations is not on acquiring a large number of users, but on finding early seed users, helping users understand the product, and preparing to serve a large number of users in the future.

(1) Seed user acquisition

① Public account traffic diversion

Before the launch of the GetApp, the "Luoji Siwei" public account had accumulated a group of core users through the paid membership system. When the App was officially launched, the official account further directed this group of high-quality users to the App, effectively solving the problem of acquiring early seed users.

② Cooperate with senior media person Li Xiang to create "Li Xiang Business Insider"

Thanks to Li Xiang's influence in the industry, the column received a lot of attention as soon as it went online, and was also trusted and endorsed by bigwigs such as Liu Chuanzhi, Jack Ma, Lei Jun, and Kai-Fu Lee, which increased the authority of the column and brought a wave of traffic to the Duode App.

(2) User acquisition & brand communication

① Evidence of Righteousness

Duoduo spent 100,000 yuan to buy Ma Boyong's new work "Ming Dynasty Under the Microscope" and provided it to Duoduo App users for free. In return, users will help promote Duoduo App and share a promotional poster called "Zhangyi Zheng" with friends, but this is a gentleman's agreement and users are not required to share.

As Obama delivered his farewell speech, which attracted a lot of media and public attention, the Dedao App launched the "You help me promote Dedao, and I will teach you Obama's speaking skills" campaign. Similarly, just sign and promise to help promote it, and you can get Obama's seven classic speeches for free, with explanations attached.

2. Growth period (April 2017 to present)

The demand for "knowledge services" has been verified. In addition to existing players such as Zhihu, Himalaya, and Fan Deng Reading, Internet giants are also launching related layouts, and the market competition is fierce. The focus of operations at this time is to attract new customers, promote activation, try commercial monetization methods and establish brand image.

(1) User acquisition

① Creative marketing for office workers

Cooperating with Beijing Subway Line 4, during the event, take the "Listen to a Book Every Day" special train and scan the QR code in the car to have a chance to get 7-day audiobook VIP.

Cooperate with Didi Chuxing to create a mobile audiobook library. During the event, open Didi Chuxing and choose the "private car" service. After the trip begins, you can enter the mobile audiobook library through the entrance at the bottom of the itinerary page and listen to books.

Not only did it bring novel and interesting experiences to passengers, it also sparked a wave of discussion on social platforms. It also used the typical scenario of fragmented time on the commute to connect users' desire to use fragmented time for self-improvement with the Get App, thereby strengthening users' perception of the brand.

(2) User Activation & Conversion

① Membership system

The launch of audiobook VIP, e-book membership, and tips membership services, on the one hand, provides users with products with better cost-effectiveness and more comprehensive content than independent purchases, thereby stimulating user payment conversion. On the other hand, based on the psychology of loss aversion, once paid, in order to avoid not making back the cost price, users will actively increase the frequency of product use, which is conducive to the formation of usage habits and the establishment of brand loyalty.

In addition, by becoming an e-book member, you can not only read 90% of the e-books in the store for free, but the more books you read, the greater the renewal discount, which further increases user activity and membership renewal rates.

② Invite users to become “focus spokespersons”

As long as users upload their own concentration photos on the event page and write down the stories behind them, they can become a "concentration spokesperson". Users who share the posters can also receive a 100 yuan exclusive reader coupon. Through this activity, the reader will be linked to the concept of "concentration", which will distinguish the reader from other readers and attract users who want to improve their concentration and engage in immersive reading to purchase it.

(3) Brand communication

① Creative activities

From June to 18, 2018, Duode App held a cross-border art exhibition titled "The Vegetable Market Meets Economics" at the Sanyuanli Market in Beijing. Users can visit the exhibition for free in person or participate in the exhibition online.

In this era of information explosion, information is often buried shortly after it is spread. The scene of the vegetable market, which sounds unrelated to economics, successfully attracted everyone's attention. During the event, posters were all over major social platforms, and the WeChat indexes of "Sanyuanli Vegetable Market" and "Xue Zhaofeng" increased by 762% and 348% respectively.

5. Advantages & Disadvantages Analysis

1. Content Operation

In terms of content planning, the Duode App takes the boutique route by inviting big names in various fields to jointly polish and produce courses. On the one hand, through the professional endorsement of big names, the user trust of the APP is enhanced and the brand elite image is established. On the other hand, by leveraging the influence of the big names themselves, the product can receive continued attention and greater user appeal.

In terms of content format, the App is mainly audio-based, supplemented by visual materials. First of all, the audio restriction scenarios are small and highly private, and users can use their time during commuting, doing housework, exercising, etc. to acquire knowledge anytime and anywhere. Secondly, compared to text, audio can convey richer information through tone, timbre, rhythm, etc., which is more conducive to the lecturer's personality display and the establishment of emotional connection with users.

However, because the Duoduo App did not manage users' psychological expectations well, it gave users overly high expectations, resulting in some users not forming a rational understanding of the product. Moreover, due to the high degree of non-standardization of knowledge service products, it is difficult to measure their value with relatively unified standards, and it is even more difficult to fully meet the differentiated needs of all users. This has resulted in a large number of critical comments on the Duode App, with some people believing that the product "only knows how to sell knowledge anxiety but cannot solve practical problems" and "is a pure waste of time and it's useless to learn it."

2. User Operation

In terms of user activation, the Duode App uses common "gift packages for new users" and strategies that are different from other learning service platforms, such as "you can choose 5 courses for free trial" and "you can try 10% of e-books for free at any location". These strategies lower the user decision-making threshold, allowing them to experience the complete service at a low cost and form an initial value perception of the product.

In addition, the free areas of "Luoji Siwei", "Shao Heng Headlines" and "Li Xiang Business Insider" also give users reasons to open the App even if they don't pay, which is conducive to cultivating user usage habits and dependence, and promoting user retention and activity.

In terms of building a user incentive system, compared with material rewards, the Duode App focuses more on spiritual and emotional incentives for users. Through mechanisms such as "credit calculation, learning time recording, and step-by-step medal acquisition", it encourages users to maintain an active interest in learning, continue to use the App in depth, and accumulate more data into the product, thereby building user migration costs and forming a product moat.

However, since most of the courses on the Duode App do not have evaluation mechanisms such as periodic tests or final evaluations, users are unable to verify their learning outcomes and do not have a clear sense of achievement in the courses. This has to some extent reduced users' enthusiasm for learning and satisfaction with the product.

VI. Suggestions

According to iMedia Consulting data, in 2019, the user scale of China's knowledge payment industry reached 360 million people, and the industry market size reached 27.8 billion yuan. It is expected to exceed 67.5 billion yuan in 2021. The scale of the industry will continue to expand, and the future knowledge payment market still has considerable potential. To maintain its dominant position, Dedao App can focus on:

Strictly control quality, accumulate copyright-level content that can capture user cognition, and strengthen differentiated competitive advantages. At the same time, manage user expectations and, by objectively describing product value, allow users to have a clearer understanding of what they are about to get, narrow the gap with actual experience, and improve user satisfaction.

Improve the content ecological layout, provide tiered and diversified knowledge services for users with different levels and types of knowledge needs, and form a stepped product matrix. On the one hand, we will deepen professional content vertically to meet users' needs for in-depth learning and increase user stickiness; on the other hand, we will expand content coverage horizontally to improve the completeness of each discipline.

Build a service chain for the entire user learning process. First, improve the end-of-course services, establish after-class exercises, final evaluation and other assessment and acceptance mechanisms, and strengthen users' sense of gain and participation. In addition, based on user learning behavior, we recommend advanced knowledge products in the same field or cross-field related knowledge products to them to fully tap the value of unit users.

Author: Chun Ran

Source: Chunran