Finding the channel that paid the bills
A pet care app with an in-app vet chat could not tell which channels were bringing paying subscribers. We fixed its tracking, rebuilt the revenue model and moved budget to where subscribers really came from.
The challenge
The MMP showed one picture, the analytics tool another, and App Store revenue a third. Each team quoted the number that suited its argument.
SKAdNetwork conversion values had been set at launch and only tracked installs, so iOS campaigns were flying blind.
What we did
- 1
Reconciled the numbers
We compared events across three tools, removed duplicates and documented one definition for a paying subscriber.
- 2
Redesigned conversion values
SKAdNetwork values were mapped to trial starts and first payments, so iOS campaigns could optimize for revenue.
- 3
Ran holdout tests
Geo holdouts on the two largest channels showed one of them was mostly taking credit for installs that would have happened anyway.
- 4
Moved the budget
Spend shifted toward the channels with proven incremental subscribers, without raising the total budget.
The results
- agreed definition of a subscriber
- 1agreed definition of a subscriber
- gap between MMP and store revenue
- −9%gap between MMP and store revenue
- iOS paying users per dollar
- +27%iOS paying users per dollar
“For the first time, marketing and finance walked into the monthly review looking at the same numbers.”
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