Growth of an app is measured largely on the incremental number of users acquisition and the topline and bottom line of revenue it generates. As the user journey continues from a new user to a loyal user it is the value that your application or product have created a mind share and the digital share in the users space. The product owner should think of when to start the monetization journey with the user and it is not always a standard duration as every user are unique, and every user experience and association with the application are unique.
In the B2C market and the app more towards entertainment segment it is always competitive to retain the customer and on top of it generate revenue from the customer. The App should have the USP for which the customer will tend to pay / subscribe.
USP for the App — The Product Owner should think of the USP (Unique Selling Point) on what the end customer will be ready to pay for. It should be the content that the user is getting only here for which they will be ready to pay for or it should be goods or service or utility the user gets with the app which they do not get anywhere else free of cost. It is competitive and most of the utility are provided free of cost by various OEM or by apps.
Long Tail or Short tail ? — With the retained and loyal users they are more of addicted towards the service they receive from the App. The product owner should look for long tail or short tail approach which will lead to incremental user revenue. The core service will lead to the long tail which the user will be ready to pay or stick for longer duration and no compromise on the line of service. Eg: Netflix for Videos/entertainment, Swiggy for food ordering, Ola for Cab service. They should bring innovation, offers, integrations to make sure the core service is maintained with no compromise, so the user stick on the long tail. Short tail are the value adds the users will get from the product and they are for shorter duration. for eg. seasonal sale or offer in the application.
Monetization through Advertisements — As the loyal users will be mostly addictive and they tend to pay on the quality of service or offering provided by the application, the other set of users will have less stickiness due to the line of service which they look this app as one of the platform or source and they have multiple options to consume. If that is the case for those users make it as application which would contain advertisements. These advertisements are to be specific to users and they be given option to pay / subscribe to get advertisement free experience.
Monetization back to users — The New business model is not only the application product owner is benefitted by generating revenue instead it is two way. As end users I get a revenue pie out of the value I contribute towards the digital platform. I spend more time on the application so I generate revenue to the product owner however I do also get a revenue pie of out of it so that it encourages me to do more and keep adding to the value chain.
Growth is factor every business is looking for and revenue share is the factor now users are looking for. Plan and play a level zone!!
