Customer Retention Formula #1: Building Product loops

WHAT IS PRODUCT LOOP?

For any business to exist there exists an intrinsic interaction with the customers. For establishing a flourishing startup, understanding these businesses to consumer interactions holds a primary concern for any setup. These business interactions to engage and retain the customers constitute a ‘Product Loop’
In case of social networking sites like Facebook, these interactions could hold on daily basis but for a business like travelling agency, these loops are less frequent. But regardless, of the frequency, there is always a loop that exists within a process.
This article will give you some insights about the Customer retention formula #1 and “looping” process and how to imply the same in a contrived manner to help your business grow.

WHY IS STICKING TO “CORE LOOP”  IS ESSENTIAL?

1. Understanding of a core loop is an initial step for starting any product sales.To get a better hold of your product sales you need to identify the core loop and improve your business decisions accordingly.
2. Let’s take the case of Flipkart for convenience. Flipkart began its process by selling books. The core loop involved in the process of selling online books involved is as follows:
   
   FlipKart (seller) : I want to order online books -> Find Flipkart ->Search for books on Flipkart ->Check the availability ->Check the Price ->Place the Order-> Repeat
3. When you begin a startup you might have a lot of ideas and features, to begin with. For example, Flipkart later added Electronics to its industry but it began its business by selling e-books.
4. Tracking down the major points and cutting down on some features which could be added later is a tricky process. That is what “spotting core loop” is all about.
5. Prioritising the major product and developing a loop around it adds up to the confidence of the startup. Every other nice idea and feature can be added later once you have established the process.
6. Some other examples of product loops for different business process:
   
   MakeMyTrip : I want to book flights -> Find Make my trip -> Input the destinations and date ->Check for flights availability -> Check for the prices -> Fill your details -> Book flight and make payment
   

ENGAGE CONSUMERS IN YOUR LOOP:

1. A customer will use your product only when required and hence to make it more beneficial you will have to keep adding features.
2. For example, Flipkart expanded their business by adding electronics.By features to their product, they made sure that customers keep visiting their website.
3. Sometimes customers might leave the loop for either they don’t like what you have to offer or probably they like what the competitor might have to offer.
4. To keep customers coming back to check your product you can send them notifications and emails of the current sales.You can send them mails on festivals and events.
5. In order to send a notification, you need to persuade a user to allow you to send them updates or notifications.
6. You need to know your customer to send them a personalised message. For example, in case of Flipkart if you know that your consumer shops a lot of books, you can send them notifications regarding new book releases.
7. So you can divide the whole section of society into different groups and send them notifications accordingly.

FROM PRODUCT LOOP TO GROWTH LOOP:

1. Create personal bonding on emails which will make customers comfortable.
2. Ask for constant feedbacks and conduct surveys. Apply those changes to your original loop
3. You can buy pay to various social sites to advertise to more and more customers and hence adding profits.
4. Viral Loops: You can create viral loops for your products where your consumers encourage other consumers to use the product.
5. You can advertise your product on social sites with comments from already existing users which will create credibility for your product.
6. You should build features in your product that makes sharing easier and faster.
7. Also, you need to maintain a large set of data befitting each consumer.

ESSENTIALITY OF THE “LOOPING PROCESS”:

1. Makes the whole process of launch into simplified organised steps.
2. Diversified ideas could put you off track, but a core loop gets you back to the primary proposal.
3. Customer engagement can be increased by keeping a track of feedbacks and modifying appropriate responses.
4. Providing customer delights to gain more brownie points.
5. Lastly, advertising your product using viral loops will help you in boosting and retaining the business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE “PRODUCT LOOP”?

The key factors involved in a successful story behind any Loop are:

1. Identifying the core loop in accord with your startup process is the initial critical baseline for any startup
2. Every loop involved within the process should have a meaningful impact on the consumer.
3. Frequency of the some of the loops is very less. Therefore, in order to entice more consumers business schemes should be discovered.
4. Every now and then new features can be added in the core loop to sustain the growth of the business.

REPEAT:

Keep building product loops and perfecting it each time before moving on to the next one – Recipe for Success