User operation: user growth under growth hacker thinking

The e-commerce track is about innovation and iteration of models, as well as competition and retention of users. To achieve sustained and stable profit income, the prerequisite is to ensure a healthy and clear user growth system.

User retention is the retention and activity of existing users, and user acquisition is the scale and conversion of incremental users. The two complement each other and constitute the stage journey of user operation, which is also the starting stage of the life cycle LTV that we often talk about.

1. Platform value positioning, clarify the duration of the surprise moment

When it comes to user experience, any platform/product hopes to allow users to quickly and accurately get the core value, and even extend the product's added value to attract more people. We will temporarily call this process the user's "surprise moment". The surprise moment is a sensory experience and can also reflect the market competitiveness of a product. “Aha moments” can also be quantified and defined. Different platforms have different core functions, so the performance of surprise moments will naturally be different.

Here we take the O2O e-commerce platform as an example. We might as well take three mature O2O platforms as options (Hema/MissFresh/Dingdong Maicai). Correspondingly, we select 10 old users according to the part of the platform's audience with the widest user portrait. A total of 30 users are seated in cross seats without interfering with each other, and each person is provided with a test fee of 70 yuan (70 yuan is closest to the average customer unit price of O2O).

There will be no restrictions or time limits before the test. We only require all users present to spend 70 yuan to buy the most urgently needed items or the most potential items. The purpose of the test is to count and judge which platform takes the shortest time for old users to purchase urgently needed products.

This conclusion also tests the best user experience duration of the platform in terms of product selection, precise reach, shopping path and promotion (assuming that the average consumption time of a single user at Hema is 3 minutes, then this 3 minutes is used as a reference value for the surprise moment). This length of time is all of our "surprise moments".

2. Crowd density positioning to increase the audience of surprise moments

On the one hand, the shorter the surprise moment is, the better. This requires good coordination and polishing on both the product and operation sides of the platform to create the ultimate shopping experience. The other side of the coin is what we call audience breadth.

Following the above case, our sample is the largest part of the user portrait, for example, the female group aged 40-45 years old accounts for 30%. At least this 30% of user groups are the closest to the "surprise moment", and the next 70% is a lot of room for improvement. Refining each population package is the highest priority event at this stage.

We now need to stratify the 70% user packages, break down this part of users scientifically, compare them with the initial 30%, and rate them. The user groups with the highest scores will be the source of our audience breadth.

Practical process: We split the target 30% user portraits using consumption order/consumption frequency/last order time (RFM model). During the splitting process, we divide the three dimensions according to the weight ratio. Secondly, we started to split 70% of users according to these three dimensions and paid attention to comparison and scoring.

Obviously, through the RFM analysis of the remaining 70% of users, we can basically identify user group ABCD as the potential user range for surprise moments. Based on the user portraits, age groups, occupations, etc. of these groups of people, the surprising moments of product value and the applicable high-potential groups of users are identified. This provides a solid and well-founded direction for our future growth. Solving a big pain point is who we should look for to convert our core users!

3. From point to surface, from touchpoint to scale growth

User growth is a process, a process from small points to large areas. During this period, various branching paths will be experienced, and only a few users will ultimately generate conversions; therefore, the only effective way to achieve large-scale explosion in the process of high funnel and low conversion is to continuously expand the basic traffic pool and traffic sources.

1. Growth through channel integration

Channel integration specifically refers to the mature channels that the company currently has, such as the official account matrix/mini program matrix and other channels that already have existing users. In this link, what we need to focus on is how to efficiently direct traffic to the target platform.

All channels and existing inventory are inseparable from a fixed group of old customers and a mature product experience. To achieve large-scale migration of users, the prerequisite is to utilize existing product links to allow old customers to naturally accept the migration and realize their value.

(1) Opening up the product chain

Taking the official account as an example, we can add channel-exclusive prices for the official account user group, so that the discount rates and products enjoyed by these users are independent. And make use of the multiple touch points of the official account to reach out: custom menu/follow replies/channel-specific topic page tweets and formulate user package push.

(2) Old customers drive new customer growth

This part already has brand stickiness, and the first step after user migration is to improve conversion and retention. In addition to pushing preferred categories from the perspective of products, it is necessary to increase the exposure of high-frequency and high-moving products.

The subsidy rate of coupons can be kept in sync with new customers and gradually reduced, transitioning between conversion and retention. After stabilizing old customers, increase the subsidy capacity for attracting new customers and start inviting new customers. Subsidies are calculated based on the CAC cost of each user and subsidies are given to old customers.

2. Growth in the form of private domain traffic

Private domain traffic management is a better way to achieve user retention and repurchase. Based on the existence of friend relationship chains, private domain traffic has also become one of the best solutions for user scale growth.

We usually break down private traffic into two parts. One part is the private traffic under the WeChat ecosystem, which uses a powerful friend relationship chain and also has a natural social communication channel. The other part is the private traffic pool within the APP. The advantage of this traffic pool lies in the core precise users, who have loyal brand stickiness and can also become the seed group for old users to bring in new users.

(1) Traffic closed loop under the WeChat ecosystem

Multi-touchpoint, multi-style and multi-content communication is the channel attribute of the WeChat ecosystem. The diversity of attributes will inevitably require us to have a very clear and differentiated approach in content output. For example, WeChat groups promote hot products, coupons, and support methods to create a lively atmosphere of mutual assistance within the group; Video accounts are typical content platforms, with high-quality product information short videos and magical viral brand communication while adding page jump links;

The official account is a typical passive marketing platform, which can be linked to the mini program as an active channel for reaching out. For example, users’ subscription reminders and event reservation notifications can all be reached through the official account. Good public account services are definitely a powerful tool for customer acquisition and growth, such as logistics information reminders after shopping/group buying progress during the transaction process/notifications after the transaction is completed.

Moments/Nearby Mini Programs/Discovery Mini Programs are all scene touchpoints under the WeChat ecosystem, and their joint use can also bring good results in terms of traffic. This is the multi-touchpoint operation matrix laid out by Tencent.

(2) Self-operated private domain traffic closed loop

As mentioned above, the advantage of self-operated private domain traffic is that there are already enough old customers, the target core group, and high brand stickiness. The greatest value of this group of users lies in the fact that old users can bring in new users and guide new users to bring in new users.

On the one hand, promotional customer acquisition, such as group buying, can add multiple dimensions to control points to increase the growth coefficient, such as the number of people in the group buying/promotional gradient price of the product. The actual price paid by each person in a group of two is 9.9 yuan, and the actual price paid by each person in a group of three is 7.9 yuan, and so on. Price guidance is used to guide old users to attract new users and increase growth.

On the other hand, the community within the platform needs to be built. The product form can be similar to the WeChat group, but the functional attributes are different. For the APP business model, if you want to jump from a WeChat group, the funnel loss will be huge. However, if the community is built within the APP system, efficient jumps and direct access are far more direct for conversion and retention than WeChat groups.

3. Growth through social fission

With the sudden rise of Pinduoduo, the application of social fission has spread from JD.com to Taobao, and links of bargaining and support are flying all over the place. As expected, Pinduoduo's user growth is a qualitative leap.

In social fission, we usually distinguish between marketing activities and social gameplay. Marketing activities are more focused on platform shopping scenarios, the growth process from the user's shopping environment to the introduction of new customers; social gameplay is more focused on communication scenarios, the communication growth process from user A to user B.

(1) Application of on-site marketing activities

There are many types of on-site marketing activities, and the layout of the activities is also different. The activities that can really help increase user growth focus on the new user topic. The page usually requires the selection of 10-20 SKUs. The prices are basically the lowest price for platform promotions. The cost of goods is used to attract new customers. Finally, a coupon package of 3-5 coupons will be provided to drive repeat purchases.

Attract new customers through the new customer special page, and continuously monitor the user's ordering behavior, from 1 order to 2 orders, from 2 orders to 3 orders, 4 orders+. The coupon subsidies enjoyed at different stages will also be different. The core purpose is to continuously cultivate the user's LTV.

(2) Design of social gameplay

There are several important factors in social gameplay: gameplay model, communication motivation, sense of achievement of participation, and cost accounting. If several key indicators are met at the same time, the effect of the activity will naturally not be bad.

The gameplay model is as short and simple as possible. Users can complete the entire process within 1-2 minutes. The rules and paths are clear and concise. Even textual explanation is not needed. The entire novice education can be completed by just following the guidance of buttons.

The driving force for communication is the embodiment of the perception layer, and it is also the core driving force for the autonomous dissemination of gameplay. Why do users need to spread it to WeChat groups and friends circles? Because the pain points just happen to resonate with their thoughts. The sense of achievement of participation is similar, and the difference from the driving force for communication lies in the logical relationship between the past and the present. The sense of achievement is the sense of public recognition gained after participation, which is brought by the outside world, while the driving force for communication is brought by oneself.

The final cost accounting is intuitively understood as the value obtained and the value invested. We need to ensure that ROI>1, indicating that the model is profitable.

Let’s take Jump Jump as an example. Behind Jump Jump’s 170 million DAU, the mini program has attracted nearly 10 million new customers, and this ROI does not need to be calculated. We break it down into the above dimensions. The gameplay model is quite simple. Click the screen to control the ball's bounce. There is basically no educational cost.

The driving force for spreading the game comes from the sense of novelty on the one hand, and from the atmosphere created within the WeChat environment on the other. Everyone is playing it, so I want to try it too; the ranking of friends after participating is naturally a reflection of a sense of accomplishment. The entire chain is simple and clear, but every link is worth pondering and learning from.

4. Talk about growth in the form of content marketing

There is never a lack of creative forms of content marketing. Short texts/long content/long pictures and texts/short videos/serial video series can all become sources of explosive growth.

Most of the products on the fresh food O2O platform are tableware and related daily ingredients. Therefore, the choice of seasonal fruits and vegetables becomes a point of concern before shopping. Most platforms choose to actively provide users with content (pictures/short videos), clearly explaining the nutritional intake and recommending seasonal products. This will definitely be a boon for most shoppers who have difficulty making choices.

Fan economy is the inherent advantage of KOLs, and live streaming and product recommendations are also boosters for the current development of the e-commerce industry. A short video from Baidu titled “What is this?” went viral on the Internet. The prototype of the auntie herself has a sense of intimacy and trust, and she uses the helplessness of being out of touch with popular social rhetoric to magnify the alienation between mother and child. There is a sense of moral kidnapping, but it also proves that the development of socialization is flexible and changeable. Today there are hundreds of millions of netizens’ hot memes, and tomorrow there will be Baidu to answer everything.

I have to say, this is a very meaningful and thought-provoking content marketing user growth case!

User growth is the first and key step. After you have a good grasp of the growth model and have a stable input of new customers, you need to consider how to retain them and gradually increase the surprise moments of these new customers to the target value.

Author:Leon

Source: Leon New Retail Notes (Leonnote123)