Three principles of acquisition strategy
First, there are three key principles to your acquisition strategy:
Understanding these principles will help you france telegram phone number list avoid the most common mistakes in acquisition strategies. Let's take a closer look at the first two principles.
1. Channel Dynamics: The Law of Habit Transfer
At the heart of Channel Dynamics is the Law of Habit Transfer: the idea that for a new product or service to be successful, it must leverage users' existing habits.
Why are existing habits important?
We live our daily lives with many different habits, such as:
Check the news every morning on your smartphone
Use music streaming services during your commute
Communicate with friends on social media
These habits are deeply ingrained in users’ daily lives, and to be successful, any new product or service needs to successfully “piggyback” on these existing habits.
Change existing habits into new ones
The goal of an acquisition strategy is to leverage users' existing habits to form new habits to use your product or service. This means:
Understand existing habits : Identify the products, services, devices and places your target users use on a daily basis.
Piggyback off existing habits : Slip your product or service into the places and situations where existing habits are formed.
Form new habits : Create an environment where users naturally adopt your products and services.
Habit shifting in action: Twitch’s growth strategy
To understand this principle more concretely, let's look at Twitch's growth strategy.
Twitch Strategy :
Existing Habit: Gamers watch other players' gameplay videos on YouTube
New Habit: How to watch live streams on Twitch
: Record your live gameplay sessions and post them on YouTube, then link to Twitch from there
YouTube Strategy :
Existing Habit: Users express themselves on Myspace and blogs
New Habit:
How to share and watch videos on YouTube : Allow users to embed videos on their Myspace pages and websites
Thus, every successful service grew by exploiting users’ existing habits to form new ones. This means that every new channel and company builds on existing channels.
Key points for leveraging channel dynamics
Deeply understand your target users’ daily lives : what products they use, where they spend their time, and what devices they prefer.
Consider how to naturally integrate your product into existing habits : Offer your product in a way that enhances users' daily routine, rather than disrupting it.
Plan a gradual habit transition : Instead of asking for a big change all at once, start with small steps and gradually form new habits.
By understanding and leveraging channel dynamics, you can create more effective and sustainable acquisition strategies.
The rules of the channel are beyond our control
The key thing here is that we can't control the rules of the channel . We can only control the elements of our product and business. This is critical when thinking about growth strategy. If we can't control the rules of the channel, we need to find a way to adapt to the channel .
for example:
Google SEO : Google controls the ranking algorithm, the format of search results, and competitor actions.
Facebook Ads : Facebook controls the CPC/cost algorithm, ad formats, and targeting capabilities.
Email : ISPs control spam/promotion algorithms and inbox experience.
These rules are changing at a faster pace than ever before. With each rule change, new tactics are born and go through a lifecycle. As channel rules change more frequently, the lifecycle of tactics rotates more quickly.
2. Product-Channel Fit: Products are tailored to fit the channel
The second guideline for acquisition strategy is product-channel fit .
A common mistake I see in a lot of organizations is to first invest a lot of time and money into building a great product or feature, and then think, "Okay, now we have this great product, let's test it across all channels and see what works."
The problem with this is that it treats your product and acquisition strategy as completely separate entities. Treating them separately is like trying to force a square peg into a round hole.
Because products should be made for the channel , and the channel can't change for the product, because as I said, we can't control the rules of the channel.
Example of product-channel fit
Let's look at some examples:
B2C UGC SEO : You need to create millions of unique pieces of content that users can search for.
Viral : Your network of users needs to have an inherent benefit to use your product, it needs to appeal to a large portion of your network, and it needs to provide value quickly.
Paid Advertising : You need to provide value quickly and have a short feedback loop.
All of this is talking about product elements at a very high level, and how they need to adapt to the channel. You need to think about your product and your acquisition strategy together, not in isolation.
Product-channel fit in the gaming industry
Looking back at the history of the gaming industry, the importance of product-channel fit is clear.
1980s to early 1990s : Companies such as Nintendo and Sega establish themselves in the home video game market. These companies thrive on a business model that combines hardware and software.
Sony launches the PlayStation, pioneering a new channel for 3D games using CD-ROM. Square (now Square Enix) takes full advantage of this new platform with Final Fantasy VII, which becomes a huge success.
Early Online games emerge. Many traditional game companies try to enter the online gaming market but are unsuccessful. Instead, new companies such as Nexon and GungHo emerge.
Late The spread of smartphones led to a rapid growth in the mobile gaming market. Initially, many traditional game companies tried to port console games directly to mobile devices, but failed. Instead, mobile-focused companies such as Gree and DeNA were successful.
Mid-to-late 2010s : The mobile gaming market matured and traditional game companies adapted. Nintendo achieved success with titles like Fire Emblem Heroes and Mario Kart Tour, while Square Enix produced hits like Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.
Present - Future : New technologies such as VR and cloud gaming are emerging. For example, Sony entered the VR market early with PlayStation VR, but has not yet achieved great success. It remains to be seen which companies will be successful in these new channels in the future.
Because your product needs to be built with the channel in mind from the beginning . Your product needs to adapt to the channel.
