The trifecta for finding success in B2C applications is Spark, Retention, Growth.

The spark is what gets people excited. It sounds like an exceptional solution to a problem that consumers may have. Are they looking for a better dating app, a better way to dress up, a way to impress someone…etc. Broad market consumers are often targeted lots of ideas that most people will feel a need towards. Everyone is looking for a better “something”. And advertising your solution will get you signups. You can start tracking the customer acquisition cost - a key metric for planning your growth stage.

Working on retention is the harder part of B2C businesses. Once you have people signing up, what is it that will make them come back? You have to deliver on your promise, and so spend as much time as possible on features that people love. If you are selling shirts, make sure they fit and look the best for your market segment. It’s possible that the retention comes from a different product. And so you’ll have to redo your marketing, and re-calculate your CAC. At that point, you should have either customer long-term value or an idea of the revenue you can generate with ads. The retention part can take multiple years to figure out, and is the most rewarding experience when you figure it out.

Growth is when you have an understanding of your cost, and the revenue you could generate, and a really deep understanding of your business. At that point, most people will give you capital. You have reached product market fit, or generally a business that makes sense. A startup really is a business that has extremely low cost of scalability which means the growth part can be executed quickly.

Building B2C can be extremely rewarding, let us know what you are trying to sell, or achieve with your customers today by reaching out directly to julian@buildtestrepeat.com