growth explained by zynga's director of product
TRANSCRIPT
Strategizing for GrowthPM @zynga, Product Lifecycle and Live Products
Shek Viswanathan
Who am I?
Shek Viswanathan Director of Product, Growth https://www.linkedin.com/in/abishekv
How do you know if
your
enjoy
your
The Big Question
players, customers,
users
playing, using
game, product, service
?><
><
><
Understanding and improving your product health comes down to breaking customer signals into a suite of metrics and identifying key levers that drive growth.
Understand the Core Loop
Model for Growth
Identify Leverage
Growth Playbook
Prioritize and Build
Step 4. Prioritize product features, build and iterate
Step 3. Identify which KPI influence growth
Step 2. Build a Growth Model based on core KPI from the product
Step 1. Establish the core loop. Measure Core Loop Engagement
Understand the Core Loop
Model for Growth
Identify Leverage
1. Understand the Core Loop
Prioritize and Build
Step 4. Prioritize product features, build and iterate
Step 3. Identify which KPI influence growth
Step 2. Build a Growth Model based on core KPI from the product
Step 1. Establish the core loop. Measure Core Loop Engagement
What constitutes a Core Loop?
Playing Words
Playing Hands
Posting
Grammin'
Completing the core loop is correlated to long term retention.
Someone who plays a Word in 24 hours after install, is more likely to return next
week than someone who doesn’t.
User with 7 friends in 10 days likely to retain forever
Measuring core loop engagement is key to understanding product health
Only core action will not do. Other features that complement the core loop need to be monitored.
Creating a game with others
Adding Friends, posting pictures, status updates, etc
2. Modeling for Growth
Understand the Core Loop
Model for Growth
Identify Leverage
Prioritize and Build
Step 4. Prioritize product features, build and iterate
Step 3. Identify which KPI influence growth
Step 2. Build a Growth Model based on core KPI from the product
Step 1. Establish the core loop. Measure Core Loop Engagement
Now that we know what core loop action to measure, how do we build a model for growth?
Modeling Audience Growth v1: Installs + Retention = DAU
Modeling Audience Growth v2: Over time WAU * Engagement = DAU
Modeling Revenue Growth v1: DAU * % Converting * ARPPU = Revenue
Building the model
Framework to think about for Growth
How did we apply that to gaming?Acquisition
Virality Paid Email ASO (Icon and Page) Keyword Search
How did we apply that to gaming?Acquisition
How did we apply that to gaming?Activation
FTUE/Tutorial Auth Social Network Auth Email Auth Phone Number
Social P/N Incentivization RTUE
How did we apply that to gaming?Retention
Core Loop! Daily Drip Events Leaderboards Clans/Groups
How did we apply that to gaming?Referral
Gifting Referral ID’s Gift Codes
So, now you know how to measure the core loop, and also have a model for growth. How do you iterate towards success state?
Success state is usually a single metric (such as audience growth or
revenue growth) or a suite of metrics that are directly correlated with
growth.
Product teams set goals for success state and rally the team around
those goals.
Example: Grow Active Users by x% YoY
Success State
3. Identify Leverage
Understand the Core Loop
Model for Growth
Identify Leverage
Prioritize and Build
Step 4. Prioritize product features, build and iterate
Step 3. Identify which KPI influence growth
Step 2. Build a Growth Model based on core KPI from the product
Step 1. Establish the core loop. Measure Core Loop Engagement
Understanding where your product is in its life cycle is important to establish what levers to pull to inflect growth.
Early Stage
Product Life Cycle
Mature Product
Growth Stage
Activation Core Loop Engagement Early Retention & Monetization
Stability in core metrics Long Term Retention Monetization Virtuous Loops & Virality
Identify Leverage Optimize Grow LTV
Time
Audience/Revenue
Product A adds 100k new users every day and retains 5% of users
after 30 days.
Product team has two ideas for features
Feature A - Increasing virality (installs)
Feature B - Increasing retention (D30)
Prioritization Exercise
In 1 QuarterFeature A:
Hits 2.5M Users, with
5% D30 retention
Feature B:
Hits 2.1M Users, with
15% D30 retention
In 1 Year
Feature A:
Product Hits 4M Users,
with 5% D30 retention
Feature B:
Product Hits 5.5M
Users, with 15% D30
retention
Once you’ve identified leverage points, switch your hat to that of a glorified note taker or a project manager and help the team prioritize and build the product roadmap.
4. Building Product Roadmap
Understand the Core Loop
Model for Growth
Identify Leverage
Prioritize and Build
Step 4. Prioritize product features, build and iterate
Step 3. Identify which KPI influence growth
Step 2. Build a Growth Model based on core KPI from the product
Step 1. Establish the core loop. Measure Core Loop Engagement
The fun begins..
Brainstorm
Ideate
DefineSet Goals Add to List
Prioritize
BuildMeasure
Iterate
We talked about 4 things…
Understand the Core Loop
Model for Growth
Identify Leverage
Prioritize and Build
Step 4. Prioritize product features, build and iterate
Step 3. Identify which KPI influence growth
Step 2. Build a Growth Model based on core KPI from the product
Step 1. Establish the core loop. Measure Core Loop Engagement
Question: Did all of this add up for the product over time? How do we measure this?
LTV (Lifetime Value) is
the revenue that a
customer will bring to
your company over their
life time
Most important health metric is LTV…
Retention
Average Revenue per
Daily Active User
How long do your players retain?
Is this improving with every
cohort?
What % of your players convert?
How much do they spend per
day?
Is the core loop engagement getting stronger
over time? Will manifest in stronger LTVs over
time.
Measuring LTV over time reveals changes in…
If retention is getting stronger - each same sized
cohort will generate more revenue over time.
Engagement
Retention
Monetization
Are players converting at the same levels over
time? If average revenue per daily active user
stabilizes or grows, it will show in increasing LTV.
Ultimately, breaking customer signals into a suite of metrics and identifying key leverage points is vital for strategizing and building a roadmap for growth.
Thank YouShek Viswanathan https://www.linkedin.com/in/abishekv