2. Determining if Your Product is MUST HAVE

Question 1

What do all fast-growth companies have in common?

Answer 1

They make a product that a large group of people love.

Question 2

What is the baseline requirement for rapid and sustainable growth?

Answer 2

Building a must-have product.

Question 3

What common mistake do start-up founders often make?

Answer 3

They try to drive customers to a product that isn’t loved or understood.

Question 4

Name two examples of innovative products that failed due to lack of consumer interest.

Answer 4

• Google Glass
• Amazon’s Fire Phone

Question 5

What was the fate of the Microsoft Zune?

Answer 5

It never generated more than a single-digit share of the market and was discontinued in 2011.

Question 6

What must growth teams know before pushing for growth?

Answer 6

They must know their product is must-have, why it’s must-have, and to whom it is a must-have.

Question 7

True or False: Marketing can make people love a substandard product.

Answer 7

False.

Question 8

What are the two opportunity costs of pushing for growth too soon?

Answer 8

• Spending money and time on wrong efforts
• Making early customers disillusioned critics

Question 9

What is a common misconception about growth hacking?

Answer 9

That it is primarily about building virality into products.

Question 10

What is the ‘aha moment’?

Answer 10

The moment when the utility of the product really clicks for the users.

Question 11

What was Yelp’s initial struggle against?

Answer 11

Stiff competition from Citysearch.

Question 12

What feature led to Yelp’s growth?

Answer 12

The ability for users to post reviews of local businesses.

Question 13

What does an ‘aha experience’ contribute to a product’s growth?

Answer 13

It is too remarkable not to value, to return to often, and to share.

Question 14

Fill in the blank: For Uber, the aha moment was _______.

Answer 14

You push a button and a black car comes up.

Question 15

What did Twitter discover about user engagement in its early days?

Answer 15

Users who followed at least 30 other users were more engaged.

Question 16

How many responses did Qualaroo find necessary for trial users to see value?

Answer 16

50 responses.

Question 17

What threshold of messages sent and received did Slack identify for user engagement?

Answer 17

2,000 messages.

Question 18

What is a vital step in determining if a product has aha potential?

Answer 18

Seeking out truly avid fans by mining user data and feedback.

Question 19

What can sometimes lead to further product development or a substantial pivot?

Answer 19

Identifying what a product’s aha moment is.

Question 20

What is the primary purpose of seeking out avid fans of a product?

Answer 20

To determine the product’s ‘aha potential’ and uncover value differences in usage

This helps identify features that may appeal to less enthusiastic users.

Question 21

What is the first question in the Must-Have Survey?

Answer 21

How disappointed would you be if this product no longer existed tomorrow?

Response options include ‘Very disappointed’, ‘Somewhat disappointed’, ‘Not disappointed’, and ‘N/A—I no longer use it’.

Question 22

What percentage of ‘very disappointed’ responses indicates sufficient must-have status?

Answer 22

40 percent or more

This threshold allows the team to proceed with growth efforts.

Question 23

What should be the focus if less than 25 percent of respondents answer ‘very disappointed’?

Answer 23

Identify if the audience is the wrong fit or if the product needs more substantial development

This indicates a need for significant product improvement.

Question 24

What question helps identify the chief competition for customers?

Answer 24

What would you likely use as an alternative to [name of product] if it were no longer available?

Responses can reveal competing products and their appealing features.

Question 25

What is the retention rate?

Answer 25

The percentage of users who continue to use or pay for your product over time ## Footnote It is tracked monthly or weekly, depending on product usage frequency.

Question 26

What is a common retention rate for mobile apps after one month?

Answer 26

10 percent ## Footnote The best mobile apps retain more than 60 percent of users after one month.

Question 27

What is the typical annual retention rate for SaaS products?

Answer 27

North of 90 percent ## Footnote This indicates strong customer loyalty in business products.

Question 28

What should be done if the product hasn't achieved must-have status?

Answer 28

Conduct deeper user interviews and understand objections and barriers ## Footnote Avoid guessing potential features; focus on user feedback.

Question 29

What is feature creep?

Answer 29

The addition of unnecessary features that complicate the product ## Footnote It often detracts from core value and user experience.

Question 30

What is essential when conducting customer interviews?

Answer 30

Be dispassionate about your product and focus on listening ## Footnote Selling during interviews can lead to unhelpful feedback.

Question 31

What did Etsy do to understand customer needs better?

Answer 31

Sent a team to craft fairs to meet with prospective sellers and customers ## Footnote This approach helped Etsy identify community needs and motivations.

Question 32

What is one benefit of taking a product into the marketplace for testing?

Answer 32

To observe how users interact with it and gather real feedback ## Footnote This can reveal usability issues or unexpected user needs.

Question 33

What is an effective method for gathering user feedback?

Answer 33

Conducting additional customer surveys and market testing ## Footnote This helps refine product offerings based on direct user insights.

Question 34

What is the role of data analysts in the growth team?

Answer 34

To analyze user behavior and provide deeper insights beyond basic metrics ## Footnote Their analysis aids in understanding user engagement and retention.

Question 35

What should teams do to maintain retention rates?

Answer 35

Continue working to improve retention rates over time ## Footnote This is critical for sustaining growth.

Question 36

What is the relationship between new user acquisition and churn?

Answer 36

A company can gain new users while simultaneously losing earlier adopters ## Footnote Monitoring churn helps identify retention issues.

Question 37

What role did early adopters play in Etsy's market development?

Answer 37

They acted as recruiting boards for new sellers and hubs of discourse around the feminist crafting movement. ## Footnote Early adopters provided feedback that guided Etsy's strategies for growth.

Question 38

What was the primary driver of Etsy's growth strategy?

Answer 38

Promoting organic, word-of-mouth and online community building. ## Footnote This approach was favored over expensive traditional marketing campaigns.

Question 39

What tools and resources did Etsy build to help sellers succeed?

Answer 39

* Forums * Seller Handbook blog * Tools for customer communication * Order management resources ## Footnote These resources were designed based on early adopter feedback.

Question 40

What percentage of Etsy's traffic came from organic channels as of recent years?

Answer 40

87 to 91 percent. ## Footnote Paid ads accounted for only 2 to 7 percent of traffic.

Question 41

What was the growth of Etsy just before its IPO in 2014?

Answer 41

Over 54 million members and $1.93 billion in sales.

Question 42

How did Tinder manage to grow its user base rapidly?

Answer 42

By focusing on college fraternities and sororities for initial growth. ## Footnote This approach targeted tightly networked groups to speed up word of mouth.

Question 43

What unique challenge did Tinder face compared to Etsy?

Answer 43

Users were only interested in finding dating prospects nearby. ## Footnote This localization influenced Tinder's initial growth strategy.

Question 44

What was the result of Tinder's focus on college campuses?

Answer 44

Growth broke out organically as users shared the app with friends and family.

Question 45

What community did PayPal target for insights to improve their service?

Answer 45

eBay sellers. ## Footnote They analyzed how eBay sellers were using PayPal and how to promote it.

Question 46

What tool did PayPal create to enhance its visibility on eBay?

Answer 46

AutoLink, which added the PayPal logo and a call to action for buyers.

Question 47

What is the benefit of conducting surveys and interviews for product feedback?

Answer 47

They can yield clear insights with moderate numbers of responses. ## Footnote Simple questions can often reveal deep insights.

Question 48

What are minimum viable tests (MVT)?

Answer 48

The least costly experiments that can be run to adequately vet an idea.

Question 49

What is A/B testing?

Answer 49

A method to compare two different messages or designs to see which performs better. ## Footnote It helps identify effective messaging strategies.

Question 50

What was the outcome of Highrise's A/B test changing the sign-up page language?

Answer 50

200 percent more sign-ups.

Question 51

What is the limitation of A/B testing tools?

Answer 51

They often rely on surface-level metrics rather than long-term customer loyalty.

Question 52

What should A/B testing encompass beyond marketing promotions?

Answer 52

The entire customer experience funnel, including activation, retention, revenue, and referral.

Question 53

What is a multivariate test?

Answer 53

A test that compares every possible combination of each element of a message.

Question 54

What is essential for effective data analysis in growth teams?

Answer 54

The ability to parse data for useful insights and connect data sources. ## Footnote This involves collaboration between marketers, data scientists, and engineers.

Question 55

What type of metrics should teams track beyond surface-level data?

Answer 55

Metrics that reveal deeper insights into customer interactions and values.

Question 56

What approach should teams take for significant product changes?

Answer 56

Prioritize adjustments that improve results and enhance user experience based on strong hypotheses.

Question 57

What balance should teams strike in their experimentation efforts?

Answer 57

Between big, moonshot bets and incremental improvements.

Question 58

What is the purpose of tracking user behavior?

Answer 58

To analyze how people are using your product versus how you have planned for them to use it ## Footnote This involves collaboration between marketers, data scientists, and engineers.

Question 59

What is a data lake or data warehouse?

Answer 59

A single location where all customer information is stored for analysis ## Footnote It allows for exploration of user behavior and product use.

Question 60

What is event tracking?

Answer 60

The process of tracking key actions of users or customers ## Footnote Examples include clicks, video views, and form submissions.

Question 61

What should growth teams look for in customer behavior?

Answer 61

Behaviors that differentiate repeat customers from one-time users ## Footnote This includes features most used by avid users.

Question 62

Why is it important to divide customer data by attributes?

Answer 62

To discover correlations between customer attributes and behavior ## Footnote Attributes include demographics and usage patterns.

Question 63

What insight did Netflix gain from customer data?

Answer 63

The popularity of Kevin Spacey films and political dramas led to the development of House of Cards ## Footnote This illustrates how data analysis can drive content creation.

Question 64

What did RJMetrics discover about user behavior during trials?

Answer 64

Users who edited a chart were more likely to convert to paying customers ## Footnote Editing two charts increased conversion likelihood even further.

Question 65

What unexpected insight did Yelp discover?

Answer 65

Its most avid users were drawn by the ability to write reviews ## Footnote This was discovered through data analysis of user behavior.

Question 66

What pivotal change did Instagram make based on user data?

Answer 66

Redesigned the app to focus solely on photo sharing ## Footnote This change led to significant growth in users and revenue.

Question 67

How did Pinterest pivot its business model?

Answer 67

Changed from a mobile commerce app to a discovery and sharing site ## Footnote This decision was based on user behavior indicating a preference for collecting items.

Question 68

What was the original concept of Groupon?

Answer 68

A fundraising site called The Point ## Footnote It pivoted to daily deals after analyzing user behavior.

Question 69

What did HubSpot discover about customer training?

Answer 69

Customers who underwent product training were retained longer ## Footnote This led to making training mandatory for new customers.

Question 70

What is the significance of the 'aha moment'?

Answer 70

It is the experience that drives customer retention and engagement ## Footnote Companies aim to help users reach this moment quickly.

Question 71

What strategy did Facebook implement to enhance user experience?

Answer 71

Focused on helping users find friends quickly ## Footnote This was based on data showing that adding friends increases user activity.

Question 72

What did Twitter determine to be its core value?

Answer 72

Discovering news from friends and respected individuals ## Footnote This insight led to changes in the user sign-up process.

Question 73

How did Qualaroo improve user engagement?

Answer 73

By suggesting survey types that could achieve a higher response rate ## Footnote This was based on data linking responses to user activity.

Question 74

What is a common investment for companies to achieve user experience goals?

Answer 74

One-third of a company’s engineering time ## Footnote This highlights the importance of optimizing the new user experience.

Question 75

What happens after achieving product/market fit?

Answer 75

Companies can build a high-powered, high-tempo growth machine ## Footnote This sets the stage for systematic growth strategies.