Zumba · dance fitness brand and app
Build the app for shy beginners with easy, high-quality classes
70-75% of new users say they're beginners; credited as a big retention shift
What they did
What happened
In their words
Optimizing Funnels, Pricing, and Retention at Zumba — Nicole Page & Lucy Levy, Zumba
Nicole Paigedoing Zumba, they just call it Zumba. And it it's so hard to find what you're looking for, and people would tell us that they would go through 5, 10, 15 videos, and they just don't have the time or patience to do that. So we really focused on high-quality content, and we did a lot of research to figure out what content it is that they wanted.
Nicole PaigeBeginner content, in the be- in the beginning, we had a lot of really varied content. We still have a lot of varied content, but we learned from users that a lot of people are looking for beginner content, because they're just getting started, they're getting back into fitness. So we started really filming a lot of high-quality beginner content that can get them started.
Nicole PaigeSo just getting the really high-quality content that users want, getting it in front of them, and guiding users to the content that they are looking for as soon as possible, so we can get them to that aha moment, which we've learned is three classes. So we see that once users get to three classes, they're much more likely to stay with us. So they really have to experience a little bit of it, and then they they stay and they love it.
Lucy LevyYeah, and just to add to the previous point regarding retention, I think one of the biggest shifts, which Nicole talked a little bit about it in the beginning, was really focusing on that audience, the beginner audience. We saw that about 70, even more
Lucy Levypercent of the people coming through onboarding were saying that they were beginners. We did research to validate that. So now really we're really focusing the product on on that beginner experience, the intensity of the classes, the complexity of the classes, to try to cater for that audience, to make them feel like they can accomplish,
Lucy Levyyou know, the workout and that they can feel as winners as they can be.
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New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from this episode
- Ask each user's goal, then put them in a matching workout programProgram users watched 2x as many videos; month-2 retention about doubled
- Let people pick a plan in the app, then pay on a bare web pageSign-ups fell 25% (35% at first) but lifetime value rose 17%
- On the web checkout, show Apple Pay or Google Pay first when availableHelped conversion a little; no numbers given
- Make onboarding longer: ask about goals and level, show value, recommend a programMuch higher paywall conversion than the short flow; no numbers given
- Show the paywall right after onboarding, before people see the appHelped overall conversion; no numbers given
- Give non-payers one free beginner class, then show the paywall when they stopHundreds of thousands of views; that paywall converts well, but no numbers
- Push new users to finish 3 classes: default weekly goal of 3 and a counterUsers who reach 3 classes are much more likely to stay
- After each class, celebrate, ask how hard it was, and suggest the next classMore people come back for their next class; no numbers given
- Send workout reminders at the day and hour each user usually works out
- Add chat threads where users talk about classes and their health journeyUsers didn't engage; feature turned off
- Drop the free trial on the monthly plan and cut it from $19.99 to $14.99Great results per the guest; annual mix rose from ~30% to ~60% (other changes too)
- Give only a 7-day free trial on the annual plan, priced at $99Trial-to-paid rose from the 30s to ~56%; no drop in trial starts
- Interview people who quit after one class, not just your biggest fansFound many churners leave for live classes; shaped the beginner focus
- Treat every launch as a test and check the numbers every morningGuests credit it for fast iteration; no numbers
- Run one instructor training and continue only if 60+ people show upAbout 120 came, double the bar; became the core instructor business
- Label the paywall button "Start Today"Won an A/B test of several button labels; no numbers
- Test sending paywall taps to a web checkout pageRealized LTV down 6% at first; fewer web subscribers turned off auto-renew
Tags: ios, android, beginners, content-quality, youtube-competition