Why retention is the central metric

On the podcast: product-driven retention as the foundation for lifecycle marketing, working backwards from results to nail activation, and why talking to individual users can lead you astray.

This conversation is shorter than usual and will be featured in RevenueCat’s State of Subscription Apps report. Each episode in this series will explore one crucial topic and share actionable insights from top subscription app operators.

Top Takeaways:

🎯 Product-driven retention is the foundation for lifecycle marketing
Lifecycle marketing hacks and perfect push notifications won't save you if the core product doesn't deliver results. Work backwards from what users say in five-star reviews to identify the results that matter, then build the product loop around consistently delivering those results.

📊 Teach features in the moment, not in onboarding
Users adopt features at far higher rates when coached during the action itself. In-context prompts while users are actively engaged are far more effective than FAQs or standalone tutorials.

⚡ Surveys beat user interviews for consumer product decisions
Individual interviews with five to ten users can lead you astray in diverse consumer markets. Large-scale recurring surveys provide stronger signal and reduce the risk of over-indexing on outlier feedback.

About Ben Gammon: 

🚀 VP of Product at Ladder, a fitness app dedicated to providing the world's best strength training plan from the world's best coaches, every single day.

👋 LinkedIn

Follow us on X: 

• David Barnard - @drbarnard
• Jacob Eiting - @jeiting
• RevenueCat - @RevenueCat
• SubClub - @SubClubHQ

Episode Highlights:
[0:00] Introduction to Ben Gammon, VP of Product at Ladder
[1:08] Ben explains product-driven retention at Ladder
[1:55] Retention is the key metric for Ladder's success
[2:50] Activation: Work backward from user results to simplify the experience
[3:53] Introducing the journal feature to track progress and boost retention
[6:10] The journal as a reinforcement loop for ongoing user engagement
[6:37] The widget: A powerful external tool for retention and reminders
[7:30] Using subconscious interactions with the widget to maintain user engagement
[8:09] Balancing user feedback with business goals and company vision
[9:23] Collecting feedback through chat, surveys, and AI tools
[10:19] Using feedback to create a positive feedback loop for improvements
[11:47] Nutrition tracking: The next major retention challenge
[14:15] Hybrid users (workout + nutrition) show higher retention rates
[15:03] Secondary product-market fit: How nutrition complements fitness goals
[17:03] User expectations vs. behavior: Asking for features but not always using them
[18:08] AI and data help guide product iteration and decision-making
[19:02] Ladder's vision for product expansion and retention growth
[19:33] Ben discusses building a product-first team and a strong culture
[20:01] Closing thoughts on user-focused product development