Basic App Metrics to Track

If you can measure it, you can change it.

In my previous post, I introduced Meetr — an app I built as part of the CodePath Android bootcamp to make group scheduling easy and applied Stanford d.school’s Design Thinking framework.

Below I will apply Dave McClure’s AARRR Startup Metrics model to describe Meetr’s product marketing efforts. The 5 steps are: Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, & Revenue.

I learnt these concepts at Product School and during my M.S. Software Management program at CMU Silicon Valley.

Applying the AARRR model to Meetr.

Acquisition — How users will find Meetr

1. Facebook ads (Because two thirds of online adults claim to be Facebook users)
2. Tumblr Ads (Because 13% of Internet users between the ages of 18–29 use Tumblr.)

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators that I will measure) :

1. No. of app downloads.
2. Cost of Acquiring a Customer: Cost of running ads over a time period ÷ No. of users acquired in that window

Activation

Activation for Meetr is when a person that has downloaded the app, signs up as a registered user. To improve activation, once the user opens the downloaded app, Meetr will allow users to browse events around them without having to sign in to the app. They can then choose an event or create an event. The user will be able to invite friends to the event without signing in by entering their email id. They will be prompted to sign in using the respective channel if they want to add Facebook friends, Google contacts or phone contacts.

KPI:

Conversion rate: % of downloads that convert to sign-ups.

Retention

1. In order to get users to keep coming back to the app, Meetr periodically proposes a plan, e.g.,“Plan a movie night” and also fills in the event details, “Friday at 8pm at AMC Mercado”. It is up to the user then to modify the details and send it out.
2. Seasonal push notifications — when days such as Halloween or St.Patrick’s Day are around the corner, the app sends a push notification to its users to prompt them to plan an event — and shows local places that are offering a deal/happy hour, etc.

KPIs:

1. Daily / weekly and monthly (1–7–30 day) retention rates: Of the people that signed up, how many are still users of the app? Perform time based cohort analysis to measure this. Also see whether a group that signed up close to long weekends, festivals, etc., retains better.
2. Engagement: Monthly Active Users.
3. Stickiness: Daily Active Users ÷ Monthly Active Users.

Referral

1. Ask to invite friends just after the “aha moment” of having converged on an event plan with friends.

KPI:

1. Referral Rate — percentage of users who come from existing customers.
2. Viral coefficient calculated using:

• Initial set of customers
• Number of invites sent to each new customer
• Percentage of invites that convert

Revenue

Currently not focussing on revenue.

Originally published at medhaghatikesh.com.