https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URiIsrdplbo&t=3s

Growth Strategies and Metrics Key Formulas and Concepts

1. Growth Accounting Formula This formula helps in understanding the net growth of users over a specific period:

Net Growth=(New Users + Resurrected Users)−Churned Users New Users: Individuals who have signed up for the first time. Resurrected Users: Users who had previously churned but have returned. Churned Users: Users who have become inactive or unsubscribed.

2. Retention Metrics Retention is crucial for sustainable growth. Key metrics include:

Retention Rate: The percentage of users who continue to use the product over a given time period. Cohort Analysis: Examining groups of users who started using the product at the same time to understand their behavior and retention patterns.

3. The "Magic Moment" Identifying the specific experience or action that makes users realize the value of the product, leading to increased engagement and retention. For example, on Facebook, this could be the moment a user connects with a certain number of friends.

4. North Star Metric A single, crucial metric that reflects the core value users derive from the product. This metric guides the company's growth efforts. For instance, Facebook focuses on daily active users as its North Star Metric.

5. Virality Factors Understanding and leveraging virality involves:

Viral Coefficient: The number of new users an existing user generates. A coefficient greater than 1 indicates exponential growth. Cycle Time: The time it takes for a user to invite others and for those invitees to become active users. Shorter cycle times lead to faster growth.

6. Growth Tactics Schultz discusses various strategies to drive growth, including:

Internationalization: Adapting the product for different languages and cultures to expand the user base globally. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Improving the product's visibility in search engines to attract organic traffic. Email Marketing and Push Notifications: Engaging users through targeted messages to encourage retention and activity.

7. Importance of Speed and Execution Rapid experimentation and implementation are vital. Schultz emphasizes making decisions with sufficient data and iterating quickly to stay ahead in the market.

MAU vs. Retention Curve In his lecture, Schultz highlights the importance of analyzing the retention curve to assess product viability. A key insight is:

Retention Curve Analysis: Plotting the percentage of active users over time since acquisition. A viable product's retention curve will flatten out, indicating a steady state of user engagement. If the curve trends towards zero, it suggests poor retention and a need to reassess the product's value proposition.

Source: Medium Article on Retention Importance

Using Data to Make Decisions

• Gain empathy

• Predict the future

  • Future is here not evenly distributed
  • Retention curves
  • AB tests

• Make decisions faster

  • Data wins arguments

First 100 Users

• It isn’t scalable
  • Friends & make them pay
  • Research and reach out
  • Social media & PR
  • Buy ads

2. Targeting

• Behavioral is the most important

  • Trigger-based is the most important within that

• Demographic is typical but much less important

• Keyword ID and UID can be dealt with the same way