When customers first engage with a product, they will always ask the absolute question:
“How will this make my life better?”
While (most) of us just leave them wondering.
We measure conversion funnels usualy when it ends with a signup completeion, or a purchase that has been made. That is not a conversion.
Completing a signup is not a value. Filling your preferences or having your Facebook profile linked is not a value. Downloading an app is not a value. Entering your credit card number is not a value, either.
Your customers are not really your customers until they have gotten a value from your product (Or atleast some value).
The social value
Facebook has once said that a strong long-term usage predictor is wheather you have added atleast 7 friends (or you havn't).
People who has 7 friends added - stick around. and it makes sense - you can actually imagine a group of 7 friends with good odds of someone already posted a funny status, uploaded a photo from last night's party, etc.
That's a social value, and the customer gets it pretty quick.
For other products - a photo share might be the value, or creating a document, playing a video, finding a pair of sunglasses, etc.
What's their value ?
You might be uncertain about what your customers would consider “value”.
Ask.
Take out some active users and ask them how would they describe your product to a friend. The capabilities they mention will be strongly aligned with the value they’re getting.
The "cold start" problem
Not all products can provide immediate value
Some social products, ie Yammer, have to deal with a “cold start” problem (if you are the first person in your company to sign up for example, it is unlikely you will encounter valuable content on your first visit.)
It is also relevant for products that 'needs time' to give that user value, for example Apps that needs user data to produce results, etc.
So, if your product can't get customers to see value right on their first visit, then a critical part of your flow needs to ask “how do we bring them back?”
And to be honest, unless their life's or job's are dependent on your product, people will forget about it. Email, push notifications, retargeting, in-product virality: somehow, you need to remind people to return to your product so they can get value.
We ask ourselfs:
“How will this make my life better?”
While (most) of us just leave them wondering.
We measure conversion funnels usualy when it ends with a signup completeion, or a purchase that has been made. That is not a conversion.
Completing a signup is not a value. Filling your preferences or having your Facebook profile linked is not a value. Downloading an app is not a value. Entering your credit card number is not a value, either.
Your customers are not really your customers until they have gotten a value from your product (Or atleast some value).
The social value
Facebook has once said that a strong long-term usage predictor is wheather you have added atleast 7 friends (or you havn't).
People who has 7 friends added - stick around. and it makes sense - you can actually imagine a group of 7 friends with good odds of someone already posted a funny status, uploaded a photo from last night's party, etc.
That's a social value, and the customer gets it pretty quick.
For other products - a photo share might be the value, or creating a document, playing a video, finding a pair of sunglasses, etc.
What's their value ?
You might be uncertain about what your customers would consider “value”.
Ask.
Take out some active users and ask them how would they describe your product to a friend. The capabilities they mention will be strongly aligned with the value they’re getting.
The "cold start" problem
Not all products can provide immediate value
Some social products, ie Yammer, have to deal with a “cold start” problem (if you are the first person in your company to sign up for example, it is unlikely you will encounter valuable content on your first visit.)
It is also relevant for products that 'needs time' to give that user value, for example Apps that needs user data to produce results, etc.
So, if your product can't get customers to see value right on their first visit, then a critical part of your flow needs to ask “how do we bring them back?”
And to be honest, unless their life's or job's are dependent on your product, people will forget about it. Email, push notifications, retargeting, in-product virality: somehow, you need to remind people to return to your product so they can get value.
We ask ourselfs:
- Do you know what your customers consider valuable about your product?
- Do you know what percent of your newly acquired users ever realize that value?
- Do you know how long it takes your average customer to get to first value?