Description
Today’s guest has consulted with major mobile companies such as Zynga, Glu, Viber and more. You will discover the intricacies of launching in Asia, app monetization strategies and best practices to increase retention.
Josh Burns is the founder at DigitalDevConnect consulting for the Mobile & Gaming Industry.
Show Notes
The Intricacies of Launching in Asia
In 2009, you might say that users in China do not spend any money but things have changed a lot because as of this time, China is one of largest mobile gaming market in the world. The monetization per user in some genres and the cost per install in iOS are probably higher than the US. The revenue opportunity is massive but the complexity is massive as well. Markets all over the world have similarities especially in the gaming market but the challenge in Asia is that the three largest markets –South Korea, China and Japan –are totally different from each other. As a foreign company, you have to have different strategies for each market. It is an interesting puzzle figuring out what to do and what not to do and a lot of developers as stuck in analysis paralysis.
For iOS, all games need to be reviewed by the government before they can be released. This goes for first time launches as well as updates. There is no automated process and it takes months to get reviewed. To submit to this process, who has to be a wholly-owned Chinese entity so if you are foreign developer, you can’t even enter that review and evaluation process. A work-around is to work with a partner who can facilitate getting into that review process.
Best Practices to Increase Retention
Early retention is key so this should be inherent in your product. Tutorials and on boarding are areas you should focus on as users should understand how to use your app for them to stick around. Analyze every minute detail of customer experience in this area to figure out where you can optimize to increase Day 1 retention — 40% – 50% should be the percentage that you should aim. Look at Day 30 retention as well and aim for 10% – 14%. Your per user monetization will no longer matter if you will no longer have customer left hanging around.
Show Mention
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