Achieve +50% MRR in 5 months: Growth strategies revealed

We achieved +50% MRR 🎯 in 5 months. This is how:

I was given free rein to grow one of my client’s apps, which had plateaued. In 5 months, we ran over 30 experiments on the product, resulting in a 50% increase in MRR.

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‍What we did that worked:

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1. We got trustworthy data

We implemented event tracking to have good visibility and created funnels on Amplitude. This showed us what our activation, monetization, and retention funnels looked like. It helped us highlight our rate-limiting step and biggest opportunity. Turns out, the app was a leaky bucket, and we needed to improve monetisation and customer retention strategies before focusing on acquisition. 💡 Where to push people through.

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2. We ran JTBD interviews

So we could understand our audience's underlying motivation, anxiety, needs, hopes, and fears. Based on the findings, we hypothesised. 💡 How to pull people through.

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3. We experimented

Focused on improving our activation flow. We tested our copy, our paywalls, their placements, pricing, content hierarchy, algorithm, features, and visuals. We tested over and over again. 💡 Apply the “test, learn, iterate” feedback loop.

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4. We had a small team

Doing scrappy experiments with zero spent on acquisition. No politics, no opinions, pure insights, and data-driven decision-making, which allowed us to move fast and let results guide decision-making, avoiding decision paralysis. 💡 Execution over discussion.

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5. We used data and insights for real

We had well-defined hypotheses that focused on specific points in the funnel where we had identified the biggest opportunity, with potential solutions drafted from the insights that came through user interviews. 💡 Data & insights over opinions.

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6. We used the right tools

We used one of my favorite tools, Purchasely, for all paywall testing, which helped us move fast, and Amplitude for the rest of the experimentation and analytics. We didn’t build anything in-house to focus on what mattered. 💡 Only build solutions for the problems you’re here to solve.

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‍🎉 The results:

• MRR ~+50%
• ARR ~+43%
• MoM retention ~+20%

🔓 This allowed us to move 5x to 10x times faster than much bigger teams I have worked with that build everything in-house and go through heavy processes.

🔓 We could take more risks to test bigger bets, as we could react faster and needed fewer resources to execute them.

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What is Aperture?

Hello, you, reading this. Aperture is a growth agency that specialises in creative advertising and product optimisation. That means we can develop your creative strategy, run your ads, and optimise your product.

Some of the companies we've worked with are Memrise, TomTom, The Smurfs, Juno, and Mindful Mamas.

Led by Hannah Parvaz (App Marketer of the Year, 4x Head of Growth), Aperture is a team of experts assembled from the best companies such as Bumble, DICE, Busuu, Luno, Bauer Media to bring in-house knowledge to your team and help you find your focus.

Snapshot by Aperture

Snapshot is our newsletter. Once a fortnight, we'll tell you stories like how we reduced a Meta CPA by 94%, produced UGC with 92% thumbstop rates, and experimented our way to a 59% increase in MRR.

Come on then — take a look behind the scenes. You're invited.

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✍️ By Léa Samrani. Léa is a Product Growth Consultant at Aperture that specialises in subscription apps and product led growth. She has over a decade of experience growing top-grossing apps, such as Bumble, Badoo, Busuu and Uptime. Find her on LinkedIn here.

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