🚀 Flo is an amazing success story
$190M+ ARR, 50% of revenue from users 1+ year old
Hey there, it’s Jacob at Retention.Blog 👋
I got tired of reading high-level strategy articles, so I started writing actionable advice I would want to read.
Every Tuesday I share practical learnings you can apply to your business.
Do you know Flo?
#1 Women’s Health App
50% of revenue comes from users who installed more than 1 year ago
25% of revenue comes from cohorts 3+ years old
$190M+ ARR
From their CEO, Dmitry Gurski:
This is pretty unheard of in most apps
But this doesn’t happen by accident
For any app, the majority of initial conversions happen during onboarding and I’m sure this is also true for Flo (it also happens that they retain waaay better than most)
Did you see the recent article from Andrew Chen: “Every time you ask the user to click you lose half of them.”
I’m not so sure, Andrew.
Flo has nearly 70 screens in their onboarding experience…
What do they do great in onboarding?
Priming for more than just opt-in permissions
Many apps prime for push notifications, Flo does this for almost all question types
It’s almost like users appreciate when you give them context for why you ask questions…
Heavier emphasis on the “trust-building” screens at the beginning of onboarding
Don’t dive straight into all your questions
Slowly build up to more difficult or detailed questions
At later onboarding they ask more questions in a row, but never too many without breaking them up with explanations or reassurance of the value
They put more deposits in the “trust bank” early in onboarding
For longer onboarding, think about it like a symphony. You want to have high notes and low notes that carry users through and slowly build to a crescendo.
Flo reassures you that your answer is okay, no matter the choice.
When you select an answer, it expands and lets you know this is OK and you’re normal
They also follow up with a quick benefit Flo offers related to your answer
It’s marketing 101, but we’re all guilty sometimes of not focusing on benefits over features.
They use social proof very well to show value:
“3.5M+ 5 star ratings”
“Over 2.2 billion cycles tracked”
7-8 different unique testimonials from positive reviews
“The #1 women’s health app”
I was most impressed by their use of stats inserted throughout the entire flow.
I counted 15+ statistics!
“90% of users say Flo accurately predicts the start of their period”
“89% of users say Flo has helped them feel more informed and educated about their cycle health”
“83% of users say Flo taught them what is, and isn’t a normal cycle”
“71% of users said the app helps them improve how they manage menstrual symptoms”
“69% of users say Flo helps them sleep better”
Plus at least 10 more!
I talk about how you can add these types of stats at the end of this newsletter from a few weeks ago.
Flo has a trial toggle on the paywall
It’s defaulted to no trial
Converting a small percentage of users directly to annual can be a large win (especially at Flo’s scale)
They don't give up if you turn down the first paywall, and offer a “gift box”
This gift is a discounted annual plan.
They use the highest possible priced plan to make it seem like a larger discount (77%)
The trial period shifts to 7 days, from 14 on the first paywall
The offer is also discounted forever so it renews at that same price
The thoughtful guidance doesn’t end at onboarding
After onboarding, they use a mix of just-in-time tool tips and guidance integrated into the UI to get you started.
Want more guidance on how to build tutorials in your app?
The real answer is don’t use a tutorial but follow the instructions of a mobile OG, Luke W: https://static.lukew.com/MobilePlanet_03013019.pdf.
This is an oldie, but goody and still relevant. Go to slide 30. (Spoiler: it’s exactly what Flo does)
I had to shorten and condense some of what I wanted to share because of all the amazing things Flo does in their app.
These were some of my favorites, but check Flo out yourself and I’m sure you’ll learn something I didn’t cover here.
Check out the Whimsical board here to see the full onboarding Flo(w)
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