🏃‍♀️ Engagement & Retention | Strava

🏃‍♀️

Engagement & Retention | Strava

PART A - Engagement

Section - 1 : Company overview, features, current stats

What is Strava? 🏊🏻‍♀️ 🚴🏻‍♀️🏋️

Strava is a social health and fitness tracker app. The app allows fitness enthusiasts to record, track and share their workout with the community. Advanced features include in depth analysis of the physical activity, route planning, becoming part of multiple clubs.

The platform offers a holistic view of your active lifestyle, no matter where you live, which sport you love and/or what device you use. Everyone belongs on Strava when they are pursuing an active life. The goal of the company is to become the next great sports brand of the 21st Century.

Major user segments are users who are training for a bigger goal like Iron Man, users who want to be consistent with their training habits and users who want to start their fitness journey and stay on track.

Number snapshot:

Year Founded	2009
No of employees	400+
Valuation	$1.5 Bn (2020)
No of app downloads	iOS: ~30M+ Android: 50M+
Ratings	iOS: 4.8 Android: 4.5
Signed-up users	100mn+

If it is not on Strava, it is not done

Section 2: Core Value Prop, Natural Frequency, Engagement Framework

Core value proposition 💎

The core value proposition of Strava is allowing its signed up users to track their physical activity on Strava. Strava achieves this by providing the below functionality to its users:

Record: They let fitness enthusiasts choose the type of workout the want to record ranging from Walking to Swimming, from Running to Hiking
Analyse: Post recording the activity it gives an analysis of their performance metrics such a distance, pace, elevation and heart rate, This data is also summarised on weekly and monthly basis
Navigation: Provides users with tools to accurately record their workouts using GPS technology and the route they are taking. Users can generate maps and routes and share with their friends
Network Effect: A feed is shown to users where they can track their friends performance and give kudos to encourage their friends
Community Building: Fitness Enthusiasts can join communities and challenges to train and achieve their goals

Overall, Strava's core value proposition lies in its ability to empower users to set and achieve their fitness goals, connect with like-minded individuals, and enjoy a sense of accomplishment through their athletic pursuits.

First principle of health and fitness apps is to help individuals lead a fitter and healthier life

How do users repeatedly experience the core value prop of Strava? 🔁

Summary analysis: The more you workout the more summary analysis strava can provide of all the workouts done in the past week and month. It can show you calendar-wise segmentation on which days you worked out and how can it be improved. This snapshot gives users encouragement for the next week and month to push themselves harder
Cross-device tracking: Users can easily track their cycling, running, swimming, and other activities using GPS technology through the Strava mobile app or compatible GPS devices and sync it on Strava seamless without any manual intervention
The Network Effect: Strava doubles down on the network effect, allowing users to connect/follow and share workout with friends and fellow athletes. Users can give and received kudos for their recorded activities.
Group Challenge: Users can either create or join challenges created for specific goals in mind. This helps them level-up and take their fitness journey to the next level. Strava shows latest challenges for the week and month which users can join and stay consistent
Rewards: Strava has a reward system where they assign badges and virtual trophies for achieving personal records. Users need to complete atleast 5 no of workout in a period of time to receive a batch.

What is the natural frequency of Strava?

Based on primary and secondary research done with users we can categorise users as per the below frequency:

Casual : Few times a month when they want to record a significant workout or engage with friends. Trend shows that users get a record on strava 1-2 times a week
Core : 3- 4 times a week. They engage with communities, follow friends. Frequently join challenges to maintain their fitness journey cadence. Strava helps them in keeping their goals on track
Power : Highly engaged users who come back daily to record and track their workout. They try atleast 6 times a week to include their workout. These are users who are training for a goal like Iron Man, Triathlon, Half marathon. Like to compete with their peers and stay motivated by looking at other people’s workout.

Sub-product/Feature natural frequency map ☘️

Based on the features available, we have mapped out the frequency and engagement with each feature type for Casual,. Core and Power user.

Feature name:	Choice of Sport	Segment Leader Board	Community and challenge creation	Route planning	Advanced train option
Feature details	Option to choice what type of workout they want to record	Comparing, filtering, and analysing segment efforts	Find motivation and connection with your friends on Strava.	Create routes from scratch	Set weekly, monthly, annual, segment, and power goals for select sport types
Casual User frequency	Stick to one type of activity at max 2 - Running or cycling	Not engaged	1 community joined	Not engaged	Not engaged
Core User frequency	They have 2-3 types of activities which include endurance and weight	Once a month to compare perf	Part of 2- 3 communities and challenges.	Use routes of existing users twice a month	Use it once in couple of months to set intent and goal for the quarter
Power User frequency	2 -3 types of workout which is more holistic - Functional/Cardio/Weight s	Weekly usage to compare performance	Part of multiple communities across sports	Create routes based on their needs for weekend runs and trails - 2 times a week	Update and check this 2-3 times a month.

Which engagement model works best for Strava? 🤝

For Strava the Breadth framework works the best for users to experience the fullest potential of the app and their value prop will increase by engaging in more features and sub-products as listed above.

Selection Parameter 📊	Parameter Meaning 🎯	What to evaluate over a week 📅	Selected - Y/N
Breadth 🌐	Experience the core value prop more holistically	Interaction with various sub-products and features on strava like - route planning, photo upload, Community building, segment analysis	✅ Yes - Primary
Frequency 🔄	How often is the product used	No of times in a week has the user logged in their activity	✅ Yes - Secondary
Depth 🏊‍♂️	The core value prop intensifies with increased usage in time or money.	No of hours/minutes spent on Strava	❌ No

🟢 Breadth of Engagement: (WINNER) The more number of feature usage just elevates the experience of athletes and makes them more productive. The more features i use the better i will get with my fitness journey

🟡 Frequency of Engagement: The more number of times users log their activity the betetr the app experience gets as they have more data to analyse and track their progress. Their friends can view more activity and encourage them

🔴 Depth of Engagement: Is not important on Strava as there is no improvement in the core value prop if the user is spending more time on the app by joining communities, or doing a very lengthy workout infrequently and following friends. By first principle basis of this app is to help people in their fitness journey and in Health and Fitness Consistency is key. It is not about how much but how often.

Section 3: User Segmentation, Active user, ICP deep-dive, Usage & Goal based Segments

User Segmentation

Define - An active user on strava is the one:

Who regular updates their workout on the platform
Who analyses their weekly summary and consumes the data
Engage with community by sharing pictures, giving Kudos
Participates in Monthly challenges

Nature frequency of Casual, Core and Power users based on user research:

Casual users: 1-2 times a week
Core users : 3-4 times a week
Power users: Almost daily to 6 times a week minimum

ICP Deep-dive. (Also added at the end of the report)

Source file: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1apuBzOLInahKlRZwQ4bR44-fSKtvqB9JfblCQW8t0k0/edit#gid=0

Below are three ICPs based on their natural frequency, usage and goals.

Category	Questions	Umang (Power)	Mike (Core)	Vani (Casual)
Product Usage	Since how long are you using strava	4 years	3-4 years	2022
When did you start your Fitness Journey	7-8 years ago. But a very streamlined and measured journey maybe 7-8 months ago	20 years ago	2017
Free/Paid	Free	Free	Free
Where did you first hear about strava	From peers and work friends	App store + organic search. Recommended app and prolly heard about it before	Through office collagues
How often do you use strava	Almost daily to 5-6 times a week	3-4 times a week	1-2 a week, when i want to log my activity or see a notification from a friend.
What type of workout	Swimming, strength training, running, Yoga	I use it for Biking and sometimes for Kayaking	Walking
what features do you like the most	Monthly challenges, Personal best performance reports and seeing other peoples workout especially my peers really motivates me to get back on track. Am training for iron Man with a friend and we both track each others workout on Strava	Social sharing very fun.	The time and GPS tracker is the most intuitive feature. And also the social network aspect
what features do you like the least	Graphical tracking- No value addition	Apple watch UI is not very good. Need to make the display bigger for old guys like me where I have a hard time reading the numbers. While running i need to check the stats	The map that it posts afetr every walk is very useless. I don't see it
Has strava helped you in achieviing your fitness goals	Yes,by adding a layer of social consciousness	Nice to get the numbers and nice to see progress on my workout	It has not helped me am still finding my feet.
Basic Details	On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your fitness and physical activity level. (We are not professional atheletes here so be generous in grading your self)	8	Average	Scale 7.. I use to be active before the lockdown, but since then i have reduced my physical activity and only focusing on diet control
Age Range	30-35	55+	32
Profession	Financial Analyst	Founder at a tech start-up	Consultant
Other fav apps	Twitter, Linkedin, Moneycontrol, Tickertape	Asana, confluence, facebook. your own app And for workout i use apple watch	Social Media, Food ordering. Slack

Usage Based Segmentation 🏃‍♀️‍➡️

Segmentation based on the usage of the app in terms of frequency and breath

Usage	Criteria	Characteristics
Casual	- They log 1-2 times a week or sometimes in a month - Social feature does excite them and motivate to maintain consistency - Follow their friends and give kudos	Either starting their fitness journey or resuming it. Want to maintain a healthy lifestyle without the need to achieve any goal. Physical movement is what matters
Core	- Long their workout 3-4 times a week to maintain a streak and level up - They join and form communities and accept challenges - Share their workout on social media consistently	These users have been exercise and have a fitness level of 8 in regular life. They use 2-3 types of sport to log activity
Power	- Daily activity - Use route planning, advanced segment analysis to breakdown their activity	- They are champions and eyeing a formal event related to Iron Man or Marathon. Or have done it in the past and want to continue maintain the streak and inspire others

Fitness Goal-based segmentation 💪🏻

After speaking to users (approx 12), many users come on Strava to achieve a fitness goal

User Description	Goal	Frequency	Features used
Aspirants - These users are just trying to stay active and get their average weekly steps done. Are not interested in achieving a milestone or level-up. They are happy with bare minimum (Casual Users)	Keep moving. Probably get in some steps for the week	1-2 times a week	- Track and Record - Social sharing
Strivers - These users want to maintain their streak and weekly cadence. They are looking to level up and get better in their workout regime. (Core)	Attain a certaim level of fitness and maintain consistency	3-4 times a week	- Track and Record - Route Planning - Advanced Analysis
Pros - The are influencers in their micro community and are training for formal events or have trained in the past (Power)	Influence and initiate in bringing communities together. They want to compete in Iron Man, Marathon’s or other formal events	Daily	- Track and Record - Route Planning - Advanced Analysis - Segment Planning - Multi workout forms added

Section 4: Product Hooks and Campaigns to drive Engagement

Build Product Hooks to Increase Engagement

Product Hook 1: Nudge your friend 🫵

Overview: Sometimes we all can do a little with external motivation and push. Since Strava allows you to share your workout with your friends, here’s is what we can do.

Strava can build an engine to detect or sense users who have reduced their natural frequency for a month.
Once these users have been identified, the app can show up the list on the home screen or notification centre
A nudge option to be shown so that they can send a reminder to their friend who has not been able to log exercises

For eg: “Shikha, could use a nudge. Send her a reminder to record her activity”

Goal: Nudge a friend on Strava’s whose natural frequency has dropped for consecutively 4 weeks & to drive more activities recorded on the platform from them

Success Metric:

Drive more activities recorded on the app the user
Increase the weekly average of activity

Problem Statement

Sometimes life happens and other things take precedence and results in stalling our workout habits or routines
A nudge or reminder from a friend or a community member can go a long way in motivating and getting a user back on track
The nudge should not shame the user and be a positive reinforcement instead

Current Alternative

Users might be doing steps or some form of workout which they are not logging in on Strava or have forgotten to manually record their workout on Strava

Solution

Summary: A flow for power and regular users to nudge their friends to restart at their fitness journey or come back and start working out again
Detailed flow:
- Power user (Friend 1) opens the app and sees a notification in the notification center
- Strava would calculate and show the name of friends who has been losing their cadence and weekly average in the last month
- The pitch would be asking them to nudge their friend (say Kamal) to come back and start their workout
- On click of the notification Friend 1 can either simply nudge their friend to get back
- Option 2 would be they invite them for a run
- They would have an option to set-up the time and trail for the run
- Once the user has selected the type of nudge they can trigger a notification
- The notification would be received by Kamal (Friend 2) which will be personalised

Metrics to Track:

User Engagement: Measure the number of power users who actively use the nudging feature to encourage their friends.
Retention: Track the percentage of friends who receive nudges and return to exercise, thereby maintaining or reestablishing their streak.
Streak Continuation: Monitor the rate at which friends who receive nudges successfully continue their exercise streaks.
User Growth: Evaluate whether the feature leads to an increase in user activity on the platform

Ramp-up milestones:

Internal Testing: Start with a small group of casual or core users and their friends to internally test the nudging feature
Beta Release: Roll out the feature to a broader group of users who opt into the beta testing phase. Monitor initial engagement
Gradual Expansion: Gradually expand the availability of the feature to more users based on the feedback
Full Release: Once the feature has been thoroughly tested and refined, release it to all eligible power users on the platform.
Promotion and Awareness: Promote the feature through in-app notifications, emails, and social media to ensure maximum visibility and encourage adoption

Product Hook 2: Better community building and in-app messaging platform 💬

User Quote: “We often create clubs and challenges on Strava and then go to slack or discord to chat and discuss the stats with each other”

Goal:

Improve communication and engagement among club and community members on Strava by providing a more robust messaging channel within the platform, so that users don;t have to move to other messaging tools. Provide enhanced experience for my users

Success Metric:

Average time spent by users has gone up as they are engaging more on the messaging platform
Able to create more communities and clubs
Log more activities

Problem Statement: Current messaging options on Strava are limited, leading club and community members to seek alternative platforms like Slack or Discord for better communication and interaction.

Current Alternative: Club and community members currently resort to external messaging platforms such as Slack or Discord to discuss and communicate effectively due to the limitations of Strava's messaging features. Users also use Whatsapp to share updates and details about their workout plan if they don’t want to make it public on Strava

User Flow:

Discoverability: Users can easily find and access the messaging channel within their club or community page on Strava.
Messaging: Users can send direct messages to individual members or participate in group discussions within the messaging channel.
Notifications: Users receive notifications for new messages and replies to ensure timely responses and engagement

Metrics to track:

Session Duration: Avg time spent by the user on the app
Active users: The number of users who are actively using the messaging feature
Time Spent: The total amount of time users spend using the messaging feature per session and per day.

Ramp-Up Milestones:

Feature Planning: Define the scope and features of the messaging channel, taking into account user feedback and requirements.
Development: Implement the messaging channel within the Strava platform, ensuring seamless integration and usability.
Beta Testing: Roll out the messaging channel to a select group of club and community members for beta testing and gather feedback for improvements.
Gradual Release: Gradually release the messaging channel to a wider audience of club and community members, monitoring usage and addressing any issues or concerns.

Product Hook 3: Let’s train together, Find a buddy 🫂

Goal: Strava has a lot of data of runners and the route the take, the type of workout they do, the time they workout. We can encourage newly joined users or users who have moved to another city or country on how to get started, which route to take and who to Jam with.

Success Metric:

Increase in user engagement measured by the number of successful buddy connections and completed workouts. Move from Casual to Core users.

Problem Statement:

Many athletes and fitness enthusiasts struggle to find workout partners who share their interests and availability. Existing social platforms lack specialized features for coordinating workouts, leading to missed opportunities for collaboration and motivation.

Current Alternate:

Currently, users rely on generic social media platforms or word-of-mouth to find workout partners. However, these methods often result in mismatches in fitness levels, workout preferences, and availability.

User Flow:

Initiating the Search: Users select the "Find a Buddy" option within the Strava app.
Workout Preferences: Users specify their desired workout type (e.g., running, cycling, swimming, strength training) and preferred time slots.
Buddy Matching: Strava's algorithm matches users based on workout preferences, location, and availability.
Confirmation: Once the request is accepted, users coordinate the workout details and location within the app.
Workout Completion: Users meet their workout buddy at the designated time and location, tracking their activity together on Strava.

Metrics to Track:

Number of users utilising the "Find a Buddy" feature.
Number of successful buddy connections made.
Completion rate of workouts initiated through the feature.

Ramp-up Milestone:

Beta Testing- Develop and integrate the "Find a Buddy" feature within the Strava app.
Monitor initial metrics including user engagement and successful buddy connections.
Officially launch the feature to all Strava users through app updates and announcements.

Product Hook 4: Lets Streak it out! 📆

Goal:

Increase user motivation and consistency in workouts on Strava by introducing a "Maintain Your Workout Streak" feature, inspired by the streak features in Duolingo and Headspace.

Success Metric:

Increase in user activity and possible movement from Casual to Core to Power
Increase in frequency of engagement

Problem Statement:

Many users struggle with maintaining a consistent workout routine due to lack of motivation or accountability. Without a tangible way to track progress and consistency, it's easy for users to fall off track and lose momentum in their fitness journey.

Current Alternate:

Currently, users may manually track their workout streaks using external methods such as calendars or spreadsheets. However, these methods lack integration with their fitness tracking apps, making it less convenient and motivating to track progress.

User Flow:

Streak Activation: Users opt into the "Maintain Your Workout Streak" feature within the Strava app settings.
Daily Reminder: Users receive daily reminders and notifications to complete their workout to maintain their streak.
Streak Tracking: The app prominently displays the user's current workout streak on their profile, dashboard, or homepage.
Celebration of Milestones: Users receive congratulatory messages and visual rewards for reaching milestones (e.g., 7-day streak, 30-day streak).
Social Sharing: Users have the option to share their workout streak achievements on social media platforms, fostering a sense of accountability and encouragement within their social networks.
Streak Challenges: Users can participate in streak challenges with friends or Strava communities to further incentivize consistency and healthy competition.

Metrics to Track:

Number of users activating the "Maintain Your Workout Streak" feature.
Average length of workout streaks among users.
Percentage of users who maintain their streaks for various milestones (e.g., 7 days, 30 days, 60 days).

Ramp-up Milestone:

Develop the "Maintain Your Workout Streak" feature within the Strava app, integrating it seamlessly with existing features.
Conduct internal testing to ensure the feature's functionality and user experience meet expectations.
Iterate on the design and user interface based on feedback from internal testers.
Roll out the feature to a select group of users for beta testing.
Analyze beta test data to refine the feature's algorithms and notifications for optimal user experience.
Officially launch the "Maintain Your Workout Streak" feature to all Strava users through app updates and announcements

Product Hook 5 : Recommendations for a novice 👊🏻

Goal: Strava is a gold mine of data where Millions of users record their activity. Strava should use this data to build a personalisation engine for users and recommend them:

Routes
Athlete's to follow
Clubs and communities to join

Success Metric:

Increase in user interaction and retention, measured by metrics such as time spent on the platform, frequency of activities, and number of followers gained through recommendations.

Problem Statement:

Many users struggle to discover new routes, explore different workout types, and connect with like-minded athletes on Strava. Without personalized recommendations, users may feel overwhelmed by the vast amount of content and miss out on opportunities to enrich their fitness experience.

Current Alternate:

Currently, users may rely on manual exploration of the platform, word-of-mouth recommendations, or general popularity metrics to discover new routes, workouts, and athletes to follow.

User Flow:

Data Collection: The recommendation engine analyzes each user's past activities, including route preferences, workout types, performance metrics, and interactions with other athletes.
Profile Mapping: Based on the user's activity history and preferences, the engine builds a personalized profile mapping their fitness goals, interests, and activity patterns.
Route Recommendations: The engine suggests new routes based on the user's location, terrain preferences, distance, and elevation profile, taking into account similarities to routes the user has previously enjoyed.
Workout Type Suggestions: Users receive recommendations for different workout types based on their activity history, fitness level, and stated goals. Suggestions may include running, cycling, swimming, strength training, yoga, and more.
Athlete Recommendations: The engine suggests athletes to follow based on similarities in fitness goals, activity levels, and workout preferences. Users may discover new training partners, mentors, or sources of inspiration through these recommendations.

Metrics to Track:

No of clubs and challenges joined by users
Increase in recommended athletes follower count and attribute it to the recommendation engine
Percentage of users engaging with recommended routes, workout types, and athletes.

Ramp-up Milestone:

Build the personalisation engine: Take the data input and build ML models on top of it, based on past user data
Test this personalisation engine with a few Beta users to see adoption and engagement
Once there is a feature market fit for the recommendation engine and more and more people are engaging and going through with the recommendation start the roll out to production users
Create campaign and notifications around it to launch the feature

Engagement Campaigns

Campaign 1: Integrating Sporting Event like IPL with Strava ( Same can be applied to diff geographies like Euro Cup, Grand slam or Tour de France) 🏏🏃‍♂️

Product Hook	Fitness Fantasy League
Segment	Primarily focusing on casual and core users
Goal	Increase user engagement on Strava by leveraging the excitement and interest surrounding popular sporting events like the IPL in India or Tour de France in Europe
Pitch and content	Highlight the connection between sports events like the IPL and the importance of staying active and fit. Emphasize the camaraderie and competitive spirit among users participating in fitness challenges inspired by the IPL
Content	Notifications: ”Run as many kilometers as your favorite IPL team's total score and share it with yoru community” ”IPL happening in your city? Cycle to the stadium and add support your team and spread the cheer” Social Media: 🏏🏃‍♂️ Kick off the IPL season with Strava! Join our IPL Fitness Challenge and show your team spirit while staying active. Let's turn cricket fever into fitness gains! #Strava #IPLFitnessChallenge #GetActive
Offer	Exclusive badges or rewards for users who participate in IPL-themed challenges or complete certain fitness milestones during the tournament. Discounts or promotions on premium memberships or Strava merchandise for active participants.
Frequency	Notifications: Timely and relevant notifications sent to users' devices, such as reminders to complete IPL-themed challenges or updates on their friends' activities during matches. If T is the match date send a campaign on T-3 and one on the day of the match Social Media: Regular posts and updates on Strava's social media channels throughout the IPL season, featuring engaging content and user-generated stories.
Timing	Morning before rush hour 3 days before the IPL match and on the day of the match in the morning
Success Metric	No of users participating in the league How many users have moved from Core to Power and from Casual to Core

Campaign 2: Climate Change Warriors, #TheHumanRace 🗑️

Segment	Core & Casual
Goal	Encourage Core and Casual users to get out one more time during the week and be activity and log their activity.
Pitch	The pitch will be around how humans can undo the climate change and be more conscious. Strava community members will gather on weekend to weekend and collect the garbage and plastic around their area of running or biking route.
Content	Notification: "Trash it! Collect trash and get rewarded on Strava. Your bit for climate change starts now! CTA - I am in!"
Offer	The more tonnes of garbage collected will be the more number of rewards assigned to that group and batches will be assigned to each individual. The groups will compete against each other across geographies.
Frequency	Since activity will be every weekend. The notification can be set up like this - 1. Monday ask people to enroll and join the community 2. Thursday send a reminder message to enrolled user 3. Sunday morning before the cleanliness drive send a nudge
Timing	Users who have signed up since 3 months and done an avg activity of 6-7 workout a month
Success Metric	1. No of users who have registered for the event and joined the challenge in the club 2. Photos uploaded and activity recorded 3. Average distance covered while users are engaging with the clean-up activity 4. No of likes and kudos gathered

Campaign 3: Did you Strava today? #LetStrava ✨

Segment	Casual users who could do with a nudge
Goal	Encourage users to incorporate daily exercise into their routine by leveraging the "Did You Strava Today?" campaign as a motivational reminder Goal is to get them to work out 3-4 times a week
Pitch and content	“Did you strava today? #LetStrava 🤝 Log that 20 minute walk to work and maintain your streak on strava” ”Make every day count! Whether it's a quick jog, a bike ride, or a leisurely walk, focus on your health and happiness with Strava. Did you Strava today?” ”Join the movement! Log your activity on Strava and let's make every day an active one. #DidYouStravaToday”
Offer	1. Rewards and batches on their profile 2. Shoutouts and Kudos from influencers on strava
Frequency	Twice a week
Timing	Starting of the day on Tuesday and Thursday
Success Metric	Increase in number of the daily activity by Casual user from 2 times a week to 4 times a week

Campaign 4: Nudge your friend to workout 🫂

Segment	Core users
Goal	Core users who are maintaining a streak regularly but have decline in last few weeks on the platform will receive a nudge from their social network on Strava The idea is to get them to continue with their weekly cadency
Pitch and content	“Ready to elevate your fitness journey? Finish your workout on Strava and let's conquer our goals together.” ”{Friend_name}, you recorded 50 Kms last week. Keep it going and do more. Onwards and upwards”
Offer	Both friends get batches for being an influencer and a doer.
Frequency	Once a week only from a single friend
Timing	This should be timed once users activity on strava has decline
Success Metric	1. Weekly activity is maintained by the user 2. No of nudges sent 3. No of nudges engaged and activity recorded

Campaign 5: Recommendation Engine Campaign When Travelling

#travelwithStrava ✈️

Segment	Power Users
Goal	When power users travel for work on vacation they mostly like to stay activity to maintain their healthy routine. This campaign will do two things: 1. Recommend routes in new city 2. Recommend offline events like marathon that are happening and provide a way for them to register
Pitch and content	“Ready to embark on your next adventure? Let Strava be your guide! Discover personalized activity recommendations tailored to your travel goals” ”Start your journey today! Explore personalized activity recommendations on Strava and turn your travel dreams into unforgettable experiences. #DiscoverYourAdventure”
Offer	Offer: 1. New scenic routes 2. Explore new events and meet the community
Frequency	Need basis, depending on users settings
Timing	When detected a change in the IP or a new GPS route discovered when user logs their activity
Success Metric	1. Track the number of recommended activities completed by users, indicating successful conversion and participation 2. Evaluate if users who engage with this feature retain better as compared to the ones who don’t opt for this

Campaign 6: Pokémon GO meets Strava 💎

Segment	Casual users
Goal	Gamify the experience for users on strava when they are doing their activity like - Running, Cycling, Walking or Hiking. Ask them to collect virtual gems in routes popular in their geolocation Scatter virtual gems across users' maps at regular intervals, encouraging ongoing exploration and engagement.
Pitch and content	Embark on a thrilling quest with Strava Adventure Quest: Gem Collection! Explore new paths, conquer challenges, and uncover hidden gems along the way.” Join the adventure! Collect virtual gems on your Strava map by completing activities and exploring new routes. Each gem unlocks exciting rewards and achievements!”
Offer	Gem collected will act like virtual points on the platform which can be used later on to redeem subscription for free for a month
Frequency	Send a nudge to users three times a week
Timing	The trigger will be the next day of the user completing their action
Success Metric	1. No of activities done in a week 2. Gems collected

PART B - RETENTION

Section - 1 : Retention Metric deep-dive

It was difficult to get actual numbers from the company or product team, hence taken data from secondary sources and added links n references

Zoomed out view

Current Retention Rate:

As per industry reports Strava is a product that is aimed to build a daily or weekly habit forming loop. So we will look at D0, D7 and D30 retention rates.
Retention rate definition for Strava: We are taking the natural frequency use case for strava and the active user definition i.e. the user is considered retained if the perform the core action again within the retention time frame mentioned

Overall Metric	Meaning	Value	Source
D0	% of users who signed-up experience the CVP on the same day	37%	https://www.businessofapps.com/data/health-fitness-app-report/
D14	% of users who signed-up continue to experience the CVP 14 days from sign-up	12%	https://www.airship.com/blog/building-a-habit-for-health-fitness-apps/
D30	% of users who signed-up continue to experience the CVP 30 days from sign-up	9%	https://www.businessofapps.com/data/health-fitness-app-report/

Screenshot 2024-04-13 at 4.49.54 PM.png

source: Alchemer | Excel

Retention Curve flattens mostly after D14 onwards
iOS seems to have a better integration with apple watch metrics and iPhone strava app as compared to android
Even though in absolute since the number of app downloads on android is higher, iOS users seem to have more stickiness with the product.

Zoomed in view

What channel drives more retention?

Referral/Word of Mouth: As we have commonly seen in the user research, the most common channel that drives retention is Word of Mouth. Users tend to stick more on the platform if their friends are also using it, as they can join challenges and clubs together and train.

What sub features or sub products drive the best retention?

Social Connection:

User Research and secondary reports have shown that the connect with friends is the primary motivator why users continue to use strava and log their exercise. Strava users across the generations cited social connection as their top reason for exercising with others. Out of the active users interviewed 6 out of 8 users said they keep coming back for Social angel.

Report:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1apuBzOLInahKlRZwQ4bR44-fSKtvqB9JfblCQW8t0k0/edit#gid=0

https://gearjunkie.com/technology/strava-annual-year-in-sport-report-2023#:~:text=how people exercise.-,One,-of the standout

Strava Segment

Users find this feature helpful in route planning and also seeing what routes are other users following from segment leader board

https://seewahcheng.medium.com/looking-at-strava-as-a-user-and-as-a-product-manager-538385f3f116#:~:text=people I follow.-,Virtual,-recce

Section - 2 : Churn reasons, Negative action, Resurrection campaigns

What are the reasons for voluntary and involuntary churn on Strava? 🤕

Voluntary churn 🙏🏼

Lack of motivation - Users have lost their motivation to exercise as they had a gap in the middle and find it challenging to restart their journey. They have lost their consistency streak and feel it will be tough to get back and they will relapse into inactivity
Social Fatigue - Some users are feeling overwhelmed with the whole social angle coming into play with their workout. They want to peacefully enjoy their own workout without competing or showing anyone else. A user quoted: - Strava Is Killing the Blissful, Beautiful Loneliness of Running
Pricing charges made on the app in 2022, which moved a lot of loved features behind a subscription model made a lot of users stop using strava as they stopped finding value in the free version. A lot of features which were previously free have moved behind a paywall eg: complete segment analysis, route, building a community
Privacy concerns - Users were uncomfortable with their route and map information available to anyone who follows them which may or may not be a part of their network on Facebook. The publishing of map route has also worried them and hence they stopped using it
Found better alternatives - Users have moved to better alternatives like MyfitnessPal or DownDog to do a guided workout and are provided with recommendations which workout users should do what day
Unhappy with app features - Lot of users have complained regarding the inaccuracy of the distance and GPS tracker.
Decrease in perceived value: After the recent updates and changes in the subscription plan users have felt that Strava is no longer adding any value and this has led to them questioning the worth of the app altogether
Larger Goal or target achieved - Users who join with the intention of training for a marathon, Iron Man and have completed their goal no longer feel the need to login on app and track their activity and be consistent
Lack of Features and option for customisation: Users desired features such as proving a goal plan and a route option where they can input the type of workout and route required. Strava can then suggest the route that matches closest to their requirement. Eg: 20 Km and 5Km of elevation

Some of the reasons mentioned require feature and design changes on the app - (Privacy concerns, compatibility issues, app feature parity). Best way to approach them would be to get on user interview calls, do more research on exact pain points. Merely doing campaigns won’t get them back and might further annoy them

Involuntary churn 🤷🏻‍♀️

Injury and health conditions - Users would most likely stop using Strava if they have had an injury which might be permanent or temporary and have been advised bedrest. In such situations almost no incentive can get them back to Strava
Natural disasters or events - Users who were heavily focused on outdoor activities like biking, running or walking might have been restricted due to environment and natural calamities in their region such as flooding, tornado, tsunami, earthquake or any political issues like war or clash between communities rendering it unsafe to venture out
Topographical changes by local government (eg: BMC) - The local govornment might have undertaken a lot of projects for upgrading the city or area which in turn has hampered the common routes of work out and will take some time to build no route for runners and bikers
Technical constraints - Users have changed or migrated to a device on which Strava keeps crashing and is not compatible
Remote location migration - The key feature of strava is GPS tracking during activities. it might happen that the user has moved to a remote location for work or personal reasons and may no longer have the GPS accuracy in that area which strava supported.
Climate change - Lot of users on strava have stopped training outdoors due to the extreme weather change in their city/state making it difficult to do any outdoor activity.

What are the negative actions for during to check if users are churning?🫠

On product signals:

Cancellation of paid plan: All users who are on the paid plan of strava will explicitly go and cancel it from the app and decide not renew. This is an indication of users who might slowly more to the lower orbit of engagement level
Deleted the app from other supported devices like smart watch - Apple or Garmin, which is an indication of the user showing lower commitment and not logging as many activities as they would have otherwise
Reduced frequency of engagement in likes and kudos given. When the engagement on friends post has gone down, this can be a subtle indicator of the user going to offboard themselves soon.
Deleting or archiving activity: Users who have stopped publishing or delete their activities could be a sign of users dont want their data to be available and might stop using the app soon as they no longer need to analyse or track their activity

Off product signals:

App store rating has drastically gone down after last few releases and users are complaining about a glitch or feature change for a long period of time
Support tickets created from chat has gone up considerable after the recent app updates and crashes
Users have unsubscribed from email campaigns and marketing notifications from their phone and email settings

Campaign Strategy to get back Voluntarily churned users

Campaign 1: Strava, a journey beyond your Marathon 🌅

Churn reason # 1 - Larger Goal or target achieved

Segment	Power users who were previously using Strava 6 times a week to train for the Marathon
Goal	Get them back to start their fitness journey - Slow and steady.
Pitch/Content	“Keep it going! Continue your journey beyond the finish line and inspire 1000 other runners to follow you” ”Don’t stop! Won’t stop! The journey of fitness is beyond a marathon. In this marathon of life, make sure you get your sprints right.” Channel: Notifications and Email
Offer	Show them a list of upcoming marathon or events similar to what they have participated in and ask them to register for i.
Frequency	Once a week on Sunday. Start of the week the motivation is high and users can start planning from Monday onwards. Initial plan will be to send it weekly and if non engagement then send it once a month.
Timing	Around Early evening by 4:00 pm
Success Metric	Activity logged 3- 4 times a week

Campaign 2: Reconnect, refresh, re-ignite your journey on Strava 💦

Churn reason # 1 - Lack of motivation

Segment	Core and casual users who were using Strava to start or maintain their fitness journey
Goal	Encourage users to start small and workout for as less as 20 mins daily
Pitch/Content	“It is never too late to restart your journey” ”Shikha, you logged 60Kms in 2023. With a weekly average of 40 kms. Let’s get this mojo back” Channel - Push notification and SMS
Offer	Give them an option to opt-in for a reminder service, which will send them notifications to workout for 20 mins 3-4 times a week. Which essentially gets them back to their previous workout cadence
Frequency	3 times a week
Timing	Personalise it according to users past workout timing. Create cohorts and split it into two Morning and Evening. The timing can’t be one size fits all
Success Metric	1. Increase in recording of activity with a natural frequency of 3-4 times a week for erstwhile core users and 1-2 times a week for casual users. 2. Increase in social engagement by providing kudos to others

Campaign 3: Complete 10 Kms and your next training is on us 🏷️

Churn reason # 3 -Pricing Change related churn

Segment	Core and Power users who were previously subscribed
Goal	Encourage these users to come back by giving them a free subscription for 3 month.
Pitch/Content	“It is never too late to restart your journey” ”Shikha, you logged 60Kms in 2023. With a weekly average of 40 kms. Let’s get this mojo back”
Offer	Give them an option to opt-in for a reminder service, which will send them notifications to workout for 20 mins 3-4 times a week. Which essentially gets them back to their previous workout cadence
Frequency	3 times a week
Timing	Personalise it according to users past workout timing. Create cohorts and split it into two Morning and Evening. The timing can’t be one size fits all
Success Metric	Activity logged 3-4 times a week 2. Route planning feature adoption 3. Segment analysis done

Campaign 4: Unplug from social media and go for a nature walk 🌈

Churn reason # 2 - Social Fatigue

Segment	Core and Power users who were previously subscribed
Goal	Encourage these users to come back by giving them a free subscription for 3 month.
Pitch/Content	“Like flying solo? Join #StravaSolo series.
Offer	Give them an option to opt-in for a reminder service, which will send them notifications to workout for 20 mins 3-4 times a week. Which essentially gets them back to their previous workout cadence
Frequency	3 times a week
Timing	Personalise it according to users past workout timing. Create cohorts and split it into two Morning and Evening. The timing can’t be one size fits all
Success Metric	No of activities logged

Campaign 5: Rediscover Your Strava Journey 🌻

Churn reason # 2 - Decrease in perceived value:

Segment	Casual users who have churned without completely experiencing the CVP
Goal	Reactivate the churned users and help them discover the value prop of Strava and how it can help them in their fitness Journey
Pitch/Content	“Your journey with Strava isn't over yet! Rediscover the value and excitement of tracking your activities” ”Ready to pick up where you left off? Dive back into your Strava journey today and experience the value of tracking your progress, celebrating achievements, and connecting with a global community. #RediscoverStrava”
Offer	Offer them a bonus month of the trail version and a plan to get started with for the first few weeks.
Frequency	Two times a week
Timing	The campaigns can be trigged if: 1. Users have launched the app but not engaged 2. Recorded their last run 6 months ago
Success Metric	1. No of users who take the paid version 2. No of users who record their runs 3 times a week after engaging with this campaign

Addendum - Complete User Research Notes

Active user:

	Questions	Umang (Power) ICP 1	Mike (Core) ICP 2	Vani (Casual) ICP 2	Micheal (Power)	Ankit (Power)	Parneet (Power)	Ravi (Core User)	Julie (Power User)
Product Usage	Since how long are you using strava	4 years	3-4 years	2022	7-8 years	2021 (Goal Oriented)	Since 2017	3 years	2 years
When did you start your Fitness Journey	7-8 years ago. But a very streamlined and measured journey maybe 7-8 months ago	20 years ago	2017	College athlete and then when i got series about endurance sports	Running once in a while and not working.		7 years ago	Since 10 years on and off. took a break in the midddle because of my kids
Free/Paid	Free	Free	Free	Subscriber	Paid version	Free	Freemium & didnt find any value add	Paid
Where did you first hear about strava	From peers and work friends	App store + organic search. Recommended app and prolly heard about it before	Through office collagues	Workout group i was part. Friends that i meet	One of my friends and asked him can you introduce me to your friends. Why don't you go on strava explore segment. Popular and train in these segements. Community	Figuring out how to track my runs and i was trying to get started in fitness journey. Started Nike Run app and started with on this journey. I started cycling in bangalore and i realised people use this strava and i realised it can be sed for runnin and cycling and found it holistic. Nike to Strava: Only one activity , very simple	Friends recommended	Gym friends because i ventured into running and marathon training
How often do you use strava	Almost daily to 5-6 times a week	3-4 times a week	1-2 a week, when i want to log my activity or see a notification from a friend.	3- 5 times a week. See friends and acivities	Daily	2-3 times a week.	2 -3/ Week	3-4 times a week
What type of workout	Swimming, strength training, running, Yoga	I use it for Biking and sometimes for Kayaking	Walking	Running and cycling, swimming.	Log as much as I can. It shows like a calendar, every date you have done some workout and it shows you have something. and it is like streak. It shows you that have been consitent. Calendar and they circle and add colour. I have done something everyday. All types : Log everything	Generally Cycling and occassionaly running 2:1 type of ratio	Only Running	Only running
what features do you like the most	Monthly challenges, Personal best performance reports and seeing other peoples workout especially my peers really motivates me to get back on track. Am training for iron Man with a friend and we both track each others workout on Strava	Social sharing very fun.	The time and GPS tracker is the most intuitive feature. And also the social network aspect	Route planning in paid version. Heat maps and see other people running. intelligent running. Understand the terrain by the app. I create my own maps and route	1. Love the progress it shows it weerk on week and month and month and then you can compare. Progress report. It is not very ibjective they have some formula . I push my friends to do workout and use to motivate your friends to workout 2. Follow a lot of athelete and added them as friends and turned on their notifications. I get motivated by seeing them. Cristiano Ronaldo and it gives you that motivation	Consistency and data and interface. Very easy to track overtime and you can analyse progress. Routine are consistent. Use the same track. No or timing. Helps to know how u are fairing. Especially on the run, and how your KM split were. Correlate information and pair very well with incline. Club Kms + and incline information, very easy to decipher. Does it	Accuracy of GPS, app is very easy to use, recording the runs is very quick, supports adding pictures. Helps me recall the experience of that run. Social Element and ease of app usage. Social element - Friends and Peers. We use the social networking element to compete in a healthy manner. Levelled up. Put in more work to compete with friends	I love the map creation feature that is available on the desktop paid version. I can generate my own route and share with friends. I can set my Kms and elevation once the track is completed. I travel a lot due to work and it gets difficult to find a running path in new cities. Strava really helps me with this
what features do you like the least	Graphical tracking- No value addition	Apple watch UI is not very good. Need to make the display bigger for old guys like me where I have a hard time reading the numbers. While running i need to check the stats	The map that it posts afetr every walk is very useless. I don't see it	community building , features around community can be better. Communication , missed opportunity.	Not really. Nothing really bothers me. It is very hard to pin point	Privacy concerns. Very explicit and in and around home. And Publish everything	Pre and Post Run analysis are not very helpful. Even during runs it does not help me. Condition of my heart-run. Good insight into what I can do better. Post and pre-run. During run it doesnt help me better. Doesnt tell me the consequence of my condition. DIY set-up	The lack of sync between desktop and app is horrible. We can't make changes to the map route on app and have to login on desktop to do this. I need more recommednations tailalored to my past needs and data. Sometimes i am not ready to workout but a little push from strava can go a long way
Has strava helped you in achieviing your fitness goals	Yes,by adding a layer of social consciousness	Nice to get the numbers and nice to see progress on my workout	It has not helped me am still finding my feet.	Harder time planning out my routes	It helped me in staying motivated , progress and how am i improving. It did not nudge me to	Marathon Training: It does have a very feature, it does not have streaks. Things that push you to comeback	Inspired and Motivated me to do better. So definitely	Definitely. I was able to do a 10KM marathon event because of strava
Basic Details	On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your fitness and physical activity level. (We are not professional atheletes here so be generous in grading your self)	8	Average	Scale 7.. I use to be active before the lockdown, but since then i have reduced my physical activity and only focusing on diet control	Very high , 10	Iron Man, Trialothone and Marathon	Running aspect i do half marathons , occasional treks. Doesnt work well with treks. For treks I dont use anyting. Nothing like a streak. Communituy based incentive is there. Social factor. It feels like an invasion of privacy	7	8
Age Range	30-35	55+	32	35+	30-35	30-35	26	42
Profession	Financial Analyst	Founder at a tech start-up	Consultant	Product Manager	Product Manager	Product Manager	Product manager	Sales Force Account Manager
Other fav apps	Twitter, Linkedin, Moneycontrol, Tickertape	Asana, confluence, facebook. your own app And for workout i use apple watch	Social Media, Food ordering. Slack	Workout doors , apple watch Not very updated. Workout door. "Actual recoprding on maps and other apps. Workout on instagram and stories. Peloton app and upload on strava "	Xiami and MI fitness Still use Garmin and also shows you the data. Never seen that data on Strava Garmin for daily steps and those things. They can allow you to push data to Strava, garmin will push the data to Strava automatically I just need to do one time set-up	Social Media apps : Twitter , Grapevine or Blind items. Nike to Strava: Only one activity , very simple	I tried Nike run app and didnt like it a lot. Muscle wiki.com . Which gives you muscle anatomy. Instagram, Twiiter, Reddit	TechCrunch, Robinhood

Churned Users:

	Questions	Ankit Solanki (At Risk)	Prachi (At Risk)	Kartik (Churned)	Hari (Churned)
Product Usage	When was the last time u you used strava	2018	2022	2021	2022. Under peer pressure
how many times did you use it in the past - weekly/daily/monthly	3 times a week for cycling	3-4 times a week	Daily	1-2 times a week
What type of physical activity did u log on Strava	I use to use it for cycling and running. I was training for treks at that time	Running	Swimming, Running, Cycling	Walks
What features did ulike the most	Statistics related to my workout which helped me improve my performance as i was training for a trek which requires a lot of endurance training	Stats and avg pace recorded and the social aspect	performance reports, comparision among peers in groups, graph splits for minutes of the workout, wattage of working out (idk what all is in the PRO category of the app but would be using that as well sometime when im back to using it)	Recording aspect of your workout
what featires did u dislike the most	It did not have a goal based plan that was generated. For eg if i have to train for a 21 km treak at 3000 ft above sea level altitude it should provide me with what type of endurance trainingi should do. And this should come in the free plan. But i was okay to pay also. I have to go to online forum and asl my friends to figure out the training plan	None	too many areas to promote their PRO, its hampering the info and experience part, i get it they want people to move to paid services but they are over doing it	I want a feature that allows me to share only a close group. I want some privacy and I hate the fact that any stranger can see my workout or follow me without my permission
what made you move away from strava	Life got busy and i had other priorities and was not able to focus on workout in a discplined manner. Now i try to go for works or play with my child and that is the only movement I. have	I got a knee pain and I was advised to rest and not do endurance training for a bit	The app lacks support for cheap wearables which are worn by masses in India. I have had Honor band 3,4,5,6 (all generations as i felt the requirement to upgrade) since the watch has always given me SUPER ACCURATE data capturing in my activities at only 2.5-3k INR. Strava doesnt support this watch's data. Would be back on Strava once i buy Apple Watch (maybe they are only catering to rich audience - thats ok)	The social network element. I am a very private person and prefer to keep my workout to myself. The whole social element was overwhelming me andi was ab bit skeptical to show my workout to anyone
if the issue is sovled will you come back	NA	Not sure	YES	For sure
Did strava help you in achieveing your goals or make your life better	Yes it did help me in someways but not completely	Yes	Since i can share my reports and it helps me get "bragging rights" or free advice from friends on poor performance days i think YES it has helped me reach my goals	No am uncomfortable with my data visible
When did you start your Fitness Journey in life	I have always been active in school and college but never done any formal training or workout. I use to play a lot of sports	2015	Early school days for multiple sports starting from swimming	2022
Free/Paid strava user	Paid	Free	Free	Free user
Where did you first hear about strava	I heard it through my VC community as i was working with Mumbai Angels	Instagram	college mates who were into running	2 -3 months ago, your friend a pro strava user
What alternate product are you using to track your fitness life and what do u like about it	Apple watch at the moment	Apple Watch	Google Sheets where i have made personal trackers for nutrition, activity, goals and targets. Manual entry is a pain but once i make certain entries, rest of the sheet is automated.	Google Fit and screen share on whatsapp with some friends
Basic information	On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your fitness and physical activity level. (We are not professional atheletes here so be generous in grading your self)	8	6	8	5
Age Range	36	32	25-30	29
Profession	Angel Investor	Designer	Product Manager	Project Manager
Other fav apps	Traxn, product hunt	Social Media	None	Reddit, Slack, Asana
Other Workout app	MyfitnessPal, Nike running and apple health inbuilt stats		honor band's original app (chinese development so it has v poorly translated copies of english)	Google Fit and then screen shot shared on whatsapp with my fit friends to show them proof