tapple increases LTV with subscriptions

MatchingAgent increased tapple's LTV 30% with subscriptions on Google Play.

Background

MatchingAgent is the creator of the Japanese dating app tapple, which links people up by hobbies and interests such as food, movies, or sports. It has 5 million members and has made over 200 million matches.

Tapple offers three purchase plans: standard subscription, premium subscription, and pay-as-you-go (in-app purchase). Many of the app’s features are free, but users must make a purchase to unlock the direct messaging feature they use to contact matched profiles. MatchingAgent wanted to maximize the Lifetime Value (LTV) of subscribers, so planned and executed multiple experiments using Google Play subscription offers , Firebase Remote Config, and Firebase A/B Testing.

What they did

Efforts to increase LTV have been underway since the service launch almost 5 years ago. For MatchingAgent, LTV has three components: subscription registration rate, subscription continuation rate, and one-time paid or option subscription plan rate. Of these, MatchingAgent started by focusing on maximizing the subscription registration rate.

In 2017 MatchingAgent realized they needed a broader strategy and ran discount campaigns on the paid subscription plans (three-month, six-month, and annual) that saw a 20% increase in subscriptions. MatchingAgent also launched pay-per-use options, which doubled sales.

In 2018, a new premium option plan (new subscription) was launched. In parallel, MatchingAgent ran a number of tests to determine the optimal point in the user’s journey to promote the paid plan. MatchingAgent also ran time-limited subscription discount promotions. To support these activities, the paid plan landing page was optimized.

In 2019, MatchingAgent continued to look at landing page optimization, running a 7-day A/B test for subscribers using Firebase. In particular, they were interested in improvements in the conversion rate and Average Revenue Per Paying User (ARPPU).

Results

The changes MatchingAgent have made since 2017 achieved an approximately 30% increase in LTV.

“We always evaluate our trials based on the data, to see how much revenue can be increased by implementing the action,” says Yuhei Yamaguchi, project manager at MatchingAgent, K.K. “If the trial does not exceed our KPI, we won’t roll out the change.”

Before the testing, MatchingAgent could not decide the right price point and increased the price range twice. As a result of their rigorous testing, MatchingAgent have now identified the price point that enabled them to drive up LTV.

For the future, MatchingAgent plans to increase user satisfaction in addition to focusing on their business goal.

The benefits of Google Play subscriptions

The subscription business model is one of the best ways to make more regular, reliable, and recurring revenue on Android and Google Play. In fact, both developers and users welcome subscription apps and Google Play has seen growth of over 10X in consumer spend over the past three years and double the number of active subscribers in the past year.

There are four key elements to generating revenue through subscriptions and building a successful business:

  • Unique and easy-to-use UI/UX, providing a stable service

  • Encouraging users to subscribe at the right time

  • Providing value that exceeds expectations

  • Building relationships of trust with users

Google Play and Firebase offer a range of tried and tested tools you use to run tests that help optimize all aspects of your subscription lifecycle.

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