First post on IH...
by Mike RothFirst post on IH... Slogging through the trough of sorrow. I'm 8 months post-launch on my app and still struggling to get traction... Anybody have thoughts on my product? How to bust through the trough of sorrow? Reading the book "Traction" right now, hoping to get some new ideas.
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imho - the landing page looks a bit scammy. The app UI also looks "aged". As James mentioned it, add "How it works" and if possible get a new landing page.
Good idea, but the question is - where is the catch? I think a lot of people will ask this when they visit the page first time.
One more thing - it says on Google Play that the app is incompatible with my phone. It has the latest stock Android, so you might have a serious technical issue on your hands.
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I will absolutely update the landing page with How it works, I think that should help. Beyond the content, do you feel the landing page needs significant changes to it as far as aesthetics?
As far as the incompatibility, I'm not sure. I have it installed and operation on 5 Android phones at this time including an S9 that is pretty new. Anybody else seeing that issue?
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As far as the incompatibility, I'm not sure. I have it installed and operation on 5 Android phones at this time including an S9 that is pretty new. Anybody else seeing that issue?
Installed fine for me on Pixel 2 with latest Android.
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Beyond the content, do you feel the landing page needs significant changes to it as far as aesthetics?
Yes, speaking as a seasoned marketer about this - the site is not conversion-friendly.
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This is a cool idea!
I don't live in Omaha, but I tried installing the app for fun. One thing that stuck out to me is that there's a lot of friction just to get going.
The very first interaction I have with the app is that I'm prompted to grant permission for the app to use my location data and my camera. The app doesn't explain why it needs that or why it needs it right up front. I can understand location, but camera was unexpected.
Then, I have to declare that I'm over 21. Okay, fine.
Then, there are five screens explaining how to use the app. To me, that felt unnecessary because I feel like I already understood the idea of the app without the forced tutorial.
Finally, I'm dumped at a screen where my only options are to sign up, log in, read the privacy policy, or read the terms of service. It seems like it's holding me in a very not fun place until I invest an unknown amount of work in signing up (am I going to be asked lots of detailed questions about demographics?).
My expectation would be that the app is kind of like Yelp, where I can use it without signing in and it shows me all the benefits I'll enjoy if I sign up. I feel like if it showed me all the cool bars near me where I could receive a free drink, that would motivate me to sign up. And then at that point, you can do all the boring stuff like demand the user declare that they're 21. And it feels like you can just tell the user to show the app to their server at the point where they click "redeem free drink." It doesn't feel like the user needs a ton of instruction in advance about how to do that.
tl; dr: To me, the app felt like it's asking me to do too much work before it provides me any value.
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Thanks for the detailed feedback. I had a trial version on the app landing page and then went for the current onboarding process. I agree that it might make sense to revisit that aspect of the app. I really appreciate you digging in that deep and giving me helpful feedback!
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Can really only echo what other folks have said about the website's look and feel, though to dig a bit deeper beyond that what exactly are you struggling with?
Is it low acquisition? Or low retention? How many people are using your product, and of those how many continue to use it? How often do they use it and would they recommend it to a friend? What feedback have you gotten from your current users? Good and bad, it's important to note where your product eases pain and provides a benefit as that's the value proposition that you can sell.
You can have the most beautiful landing page in the world, though 8 months with little traction could signal that you may need to pivot your concept.
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So far I am dealing with low acquisition rates and low usage rates. I have a lot of people download the app, register, and never use it to get a free drink. I do a lot of free month promotions to get people using it but am just not getting it going. People seem interested enough to sign up, but that's where I lose them.
I know that we have had some issues with our service providers not being able to execute the redemption in the past, but we have simplified the process for redeeming a free drink so that should no longer be an issue (like for the last 3 months).
I am finally engaging some of our users that used the app then quit to see how we could do better. After listening to the first 10ish podcasts by Courtland, it became clear that I need to start engaging my customers. Sometimes the most obvious answers are the least obvious...
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Thanks for the extra context!
So getting lots of people to download it is great, getting few of them to use it jumps out as the problem to me - I'd be curious where in the process they get stuck/give up.
It could be account setup, or the process needed to get a drink (seems like you've identified that one already), the drinks available... etc. You'll only know by asking and having a conversation with your users which it sounds like you've started doing which is great, keep doing it!
Anything interesting you've found as far as a pattern of feedback goes? Who's your target market for this btw? How are you marketing/acquiring users?
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Yeah, perhaps I need to reach out to more users... Unfortunately family commitments (2 kids, understanding but growing impatient spouse) preclude me from going out every night and engaging target customers.
My target demographic is 25-40 y/o, professionals, mostly the "happy hour crowd" if you will. I have attempted some ads on FB/IG, sponsored a few blog posts, provided coasters to my service providers, and provided "influencers" with keyed promo codes with a percentage of revenue from their subscribers. So far, only one of the Blogs has brought in paying customers.
I'm going to try to hit up local press to see if that can generate more interest now that my redesigned interface has been launched and once my app store listings are updated (grrr... Apple's new 2 factor ID requirement not working right).
Unfortunately at this point cash reserves are a bit low and not likely I can pour in much more, so I need to roll up my sleeves and go for the lower cost, higher effort methods.
I'm trying to think of synergistic functionalities that I could add that could help the app catch on, but I'm not sure what they may be...
Maybe a publicity stunt or two, channeling Richard Branson...
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Don't have to do it every night, but one night a week or having a call here and there with your existing users during the day on a lunch break is an excellent start.
Once you've gotten a chance to really sit down with folks you'll be able to see what catches their attention and gets them going and what really doesn't - which will help solve your retention problems.
As a fellow product manager (because we play that role in building our businesses) we need to solve for outcomes not features, and seeing how real people respond and think is invaluable compared to any feature we could build. I'd recommend signing up for the 'mind the product' newsletter https://www.mindtheproduct.com/ because it has a ton of excellent resources and guides on product management and idea valuation. It sends out weekly and is one of the better parts of my week.
As for marketing, I'd recommend blogging and other low-cost efforts as well because they build your brand recognition and give you credibility (Instagram is great for your concept too), the biggest benefit of blogging is giving you more space to occupy on the web and therefore more SEO benefits so you can get found easier, it's a slow and steady race.
As for any synergistic tactics or publicity stunts, I'd advise on getting your app to be 'sticky' before thinking about what to add on to it.
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Reading your landing page / app store and looking at the screenshots, the first thing I think is "I don't believe/trust it".
What's in it for you? I think I'd like to know that before I commit to downloading something like this because it sounds too good to be true. Think about adding a "How it works" section to your landing page (saw the "about" section but very easy to miss).
Also, the screenshots on the app store are not appealing to me and I'm not immediately sold the benefit. Have you done any ASO? Focus on adding captions to your screenshots to sell the benefit and also do keyword research to find what your target market search for find deals like these (e.g. coupons, cheap beer, the name of local towns you target, etc)..
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Thanks for checking out my site and for the constructive feedback! I hadn't considered the too good to be true aspect. I also need to spend some time with ASO, particularly considering that the screenshots on the app store are out of date. Sounds like I've got my day planned now! Thanks!
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Most ideas fail. Looks like you've had an MVP for 8 months and not much revenue. It's time to move on mate.
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You may be right but I'm not quite ready to fold shop on this one yet. Reading the book traction right now and there's still a lot I have yet to try
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Hi Mike - welcome to IH
I’m in a similar quandary myself, with an application that is unlikely to break 4 figures in monthly recurring revenue - I put that down to too niche a product in too niche an industry. Looking at your product and target market, I think you might have a similar issue.
