4 strategies to improve user retention!

Improving user retention is a big topic. Next, we will start from the essence of retention and slowly deduce various strategies to improve retention (using loan products as an example below).

1. The essence of retention

1. Satisfy active needs

1) Core requirements

If the core needs are met well, users will stay on the platform. It is convenient to go back to the platform to continue meeting the needs next time when there is a need. For example, after a user successfully borrows money using a loan product once, when he or she needs to borrow money again in the future, he or she may return to the original loan product to borrow money again.

2) Extended demand

When users come to the platform, in addition to core needs, they also have extended needs related to the core needs. If the platform can meet the extended needs of users, then users are likely to stay on the platform. For example, Huanbei is a loan product. In addition to borrowing money from Huanbei, users can also use the borrowed money to recharge phone bills, gas cards, order takeout, etc. The more extended scenarios there are, the more likely it is that users will use the platform more frequently.

3) Demand trigger

Public account push, app push, SMS reminder, etc.

A common method used by marketers to reach users, with the aim of promoting user activity or recalling lost users. For example, Luckin Coffee reaches users through its official account, pushes weekly coupon articles to remind users to collect coupons, and increases GMV. The user did not have the need for coffee at the time, but because of the loss aversion of the coupon, he developed the need for coffee.

For example, during the National Day, the Duode APP sent text messages to silent users, pushing an activity that offered a 20-yuan coupon for those who studied for 7 days during the National Day. The purpose was to recall lost users and increase user activity. Users originally had no need to study during the holidays, but because of their aversion to losing coupons, they developed a need to learn.

Targeted Advertising

Precision advertising is advertising that is delivered after analyzing the overlap between channel users and target users. For example, in the Toutiao information flow, when a loan advertisement is placed, the algorithm will recommend it to users who have borrowing needs, which will increase the chance of users using the product again.

2. Satisfy passive needs

If users invest a lot in a platform, such as investing time and energy, and generating data or social relationships on the platform, they will be more reluctant to leave.

For example, Youdao Cloud Notes stores a large number of notes recorded by users. Users have a loss aversion mentality and will not leave easily.

For example, on QQ or WeChat, users build up a chain of acquaintance relationships on the platform, which makes it almost impossible for them to leave unless there are new alternatives, and these relationships can be transferred over quickly.

2. Strategies to Improve Retention

1. Meet core borrowing needs

Taking into account that users have different demands at different life stages within the product, users are divided into three layers based on their life cycle: new users, active users, and loyal users.

1. New users: New users refer to the user group that has just started using the app and has not yet come into contact with the core functions;
2. Active users: Active users refer to the user group that uses the core functions of the product but only a few times;
3. Loyal users: Loyal users refer to the user group who use the core functions of the product many times and have trust in the platform.

2. Satisfy extended needs

Users' needs are often not fragmented, but rather present an interconnected chain of needs. Borrowing money is not the purpose. The real purpose may be shopping, traveling, training, etc. The demand chain is from borrowing money to using money.

1) Consumption demand based on life scenarios

Create high-frequency life consumption scenarios, use high frequency to drive low frequency, and improve user activity and retention.

Analysis of competing products for extended needs in life scenarios:

2) Content + Community Consumption Demand

The content has the characteristics of low consumption threshold and high frequency. Tool and transaction products often expand content scenarios to increase user activity and retention. The product form that often accompanies content is community, which can promote UGC content production and increase user stickiness.

Content + community driven competitive product analysis:

3) A membership system focused on saving money

The user's solution-level demand is "I want to borrow money", and the "problem-level demand" is that I want to borrow more money at a cheaper price. Further analysis into "human-level needs" shows that users are short of money, want to make money, want to compare with others, and want to take advantage.

The design of the membership system can usually meet users' needs for saving money, comparison and a sense of dignity.

Analysis of competitive products in the membership system:

4) User incentive system

The user incentive system uses material rewards or spiritual rewards to drive users to complete key action conversions. Material rewards satisfy users’ need to make money, while spiritual rewards satisfy human nature’s need to show off socially. Continuous and varied rewards stimulate users to take repeated actions, eventually forming habits and staying with the product.

3. Demand trigger

1) New user promotion

For example, after observing the data, we found that users are more willing to fill in information within the T+3 period after registration, and there is much room for improvement. Then we can encourage users to complete the information filling within T+3.

2) Active user promotion

For example, after observing the data, we find that after a user borrows money once, he or she is more willing to borrow money again within 60 days. In this case, we can encourage the user to borrow money again within 60 days.

3) Other motivations

• Marketing activity reminders: When new activities are launched, the system can automatically push activity reminders to increase activity participation;
• System function reminder: send coupon issuance and coupon expiration notifications, increase coupon usage rate, etc.

4. Satisfy passive needs

For loan products, it is natural for users to log in to the platform every month to repay the loan after borrowing money. So, for loan products with lower frequency, what reasons do users have to open them frequently?

Alipay’s Ant Forest and JD Finance’s fruit tree planting and development games have solved this problem very well.

Alipay is a payment tool, and users use it and leave. By "planting trees for charity", we can inspire users' love and attract them to collect and steal energy, thereby increasing the frequency of opening the APP and driving other businesses such as payment and social networking. User behavior is quantified as energy, which remains on the platform and retains the users.

JD Finance is a financial management tool and also has tool attributes. The Jinguo Money Tree mini-game gives users a reason to use the APP every day. You can collect gold fruits by logging in every day. The gold fruits can be exchanged for gold coins, and the gold coins can be exchanged for goods. Users' behaviors are quantified into gold fruits and gold coins, which remain on the platform and retain users.

Author: Fox Lemon

Source: Xiaohuxue Products

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