[CXL Live 16] Optimizing Retention - The Silent Killer and King of Growth by Brian Balfour

RETENTION BY: BRIAN BALFOUR

WWW.COELEVATE.COM

http://www.coelevate.com

WHAT SEPARATES THE TOP 1% FROM THE BOTTOM 99%

IN GROWTH?

Brian Balfour :: @bbalfour :: http://www.coelevate.com

http://twitter.com/bbalfour

http://www.Coelevate.com


ANSWER…RETENTION! GRAPH CREDIT: WWW.ANDREWCHEN.CO & QUETTRA



http://WWW.ANDREWCHEN.CO

IF YOU HAVE POOR RETENTION NOTHING ELSE MATTERS





BAD RETENTION




GOOD RETENTION




AWESOME RETENTION $$$ Retention w/ Net Negative Churn




BUT THERE’S MORE…

INCREASE RETENTION

AFFORD HIGHER CPA

INCREASE LTV

INCREASE RETENTION

DECREASE eCPA

INCREASE VIRALITY

INCREASE RETENTION

DECREASE PAYBACK PERIOD

INCREASE UPGRADE RATES



EVERY IMPROVEMENT TO RETENTION ALSO IMPROVES VIRALITY, LTV, AND

PAYBACK PERIOD




HOW DO WE IMPROVE RETENTION?


IT ALL STARTS WITH COHORTS…




RETENTION COHORT CURVE

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

0 5 10 15 20

% ACTIVE

TIME




WHAT IS GOOD AND WHAT IS BAD?

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

0 5 10 15 20

% Active

THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT IS THAT IT FLATTENS

GOOD

BAD



IF RETENTION TRENDS TOWARDS ZERO YOU MIGHT HAVE A PRODUCT MARKET FIT PROBLEM NOT AN OPTIMIZATION

PROBLEM.




OPTIMIZING/IMPROVING RETENTION WEEK ONE RETENTION


SIDEKICK RETENTION CURVE DEC 2014

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

0 5 10 15 20

% Active

TIME

Problem #2: Not Flat

Problem #1: Over time W1 Retention Was Decreasing



STEP ONE SEGMENT THE CURVE




SEGMENTATION…

1 USER SOURCE

2 ENTRY PATH

3 TECHNOLOGY

4 PERSONA


CORPORATE VS FREEMAIL

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

0 5 10 15 20

Corporate Emails Gmail and Other Freemail

% Active

Time

Higher W1 Retention

Slower User Churn



STEP TWO WHAT PART OF RETENTION?





NEW USER EXPERIENCE (D1, W1, M1)

0%

25%

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0 5 10 15 20

% Active

W1 RETENTION

GET USERS TO EXPERIENCE CORE VALUE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE




MID TERM RETENTION

0%

25%

50%

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100%

0 5 10 15 20

% Active

MID TERM RETENTION

GET USERS TO CREATE HABITS AROUND CORE VALUE (RE-WIRE)




LONG TERM RETENTION

0%

25%

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100%

0 5 10 15 20

% Active

LONG TERM RETENTION

GET USERS TO EXPERIENCE CORE VALUE AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE




RESURRECTION

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25%

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100%

0 5 10 15 20

% Active

GET USERS TO REFORM THEIR OPINION

DORMANT USERS



STEP THREE DIG IN




1

2 QUANT INDICATORS

SEGMENTATION

3 1:1 QUAL DATA

Segmented retention curves by different factors: Acquisition source, email client, persona, type of email

Looked for quantitative indicators by comparing data between those who churned and those who retained.

Extremely targeted 1:1 emails to users asking open ended question.


FOR ANY PART OF THE CURVE…




NEW USER EXPERIENCE (D1, W1, M1)

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

0 5 10 15 20

% Active

W1 RETENTION

GET USERS TO EXPERIENCE CORE VALUE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE




SOME OF OUR FINDINGS

WTF?!




SOME OF OUR FINDINGS

“Didn’t have time to

figure out.”



STRATEGIES THAT WORKED FOR US

1 SEPARATING NEW USER EXPERIENCE

2 SEGMENTING BASED ON PERSONA

3 SWITCHING USER CONTEXT PERSONAL -> WORK

4

5

TESTING MEDIUM OF EDUCATION

CONTENT


RETENTION CURVES

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

0 5 10 15 20

Older Cohorts Newer Cohort 1 Newer Cohort 2

% Users Still Active

Time

Woohoo! Curves Shift Up In Latest Cohorts

Woohoo! Old Cohorts Flatten



USERS FORM AN OPINION IN YOUR NEW USER EXPERIENCE. AS A RESULT…





IMPROVING W1 RETENTION SHIFTS THE CURVE UP

0%

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0 5 10 15 20

% ACTIVE



THE CHALLENGE…





BALANCING PERMISSIONS WITH FRICTION TO CORE VALUE

PERMISSIONS FRICTION




MID TERM RETENTION

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

0 5 10 15 20

% Active

MID TERM RETENTION

GET USERS TO CREATE HABITS AROUND CORE VALUE (RE-WIRE)




LONG TERM RETENTION

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

0 5 10 15 20

% Active

LONG TERM RETENTION

GET USERS TO EXPERIENCE CORE VALUE AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE




RETENTION LOOPSTRIGGER TIME, LOCATION, PEER INITIATED, etc

CHANNEL EMAIL, SOCIAL,

PUSH, IN-APP

REWARD MESSAGE, PHOTO, CURIOSITY, etc




LINKEDIN

TRIGGER YOU GOT 5 PROFILE VIEWS. COMPLETE YOUR PROFILE FOR MORE…

CHANNEL EMAIL

REWARD MORE PROFILE VIEWS

BUILDING PROFILE HABIT (MID TERM RETENTION)




LINKEDINTRIGGER JON MILLER ENDORSED YOU FOR MARKETING. YOU SHOULD ENDORSE OTHERS TO GET MORE…

CHANNEL EMAIL

REWARD MORE ENDORSEMENTS

LONG TERM RETENTION



THANKS! MORE AT: WWW.COELEVATE.COM

http://WWW.COELEVATE.COM

[CXL Live 16] Optimizing Retention - The Silent Killer and King of Growth by Brian Balfour

Marketing

Transcript of [CXL Live 16] Optimizing Retention - The Silent Killer and King of Growth by Brian Balfour