For Fareportal's mobile app, should development resources focus on new features to drive engagement or on optimizing the booking flow to improve conversion rates?

Introduction

For Fareportal's mobile app, we're facing a critical trade-off between focusing development resources on new features to drive engagement or optimizing the booking flow to improve conversion rates. This decision will significantly impact our product strategy and user experience. I'll analyze this trade-off by examining our current product state, potential impacts, and proposing a data-driven approach to make an informed decision.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Based on our current market position, I'm thinking user retention might be a challenge. Could you share our current retention rates for the mobile app compared to industry benchmarks?

Why it matters: Helps determine if engagement or conversion should be prioritized Expected answer: Below industry average, indicating a need for engagement focus Impact on approach: Would lean towards new features if retention is significantly low

• Considering our revenue model, I assume bookings are our primary revenue driver. What percentage of our total revenue comes from mobile app bookings versus other channels?

Why it matters: Determines the potential impact of improving conversion rates Expected answer: Mobile contributes 30-40% of total bookings Impact on approach: Higher percentage would justify prioritizing booking flow optimization

• Looking at user behavior, I'm curious about our app usage patterns. What's the average session frequency and duration for our mobile app users?

Why it matters: Indicates current engagement levels and areas for improvement Expected answer: Low frequency (1-2 times/month) but longer duration (10-15 minutes) Impact on approach: Low frequency would suggest a need for engagement-driving features

• From a technical standpoint, I'm wondering about our current booking flow performance. What's our current conversion rate from search to booking on the mobile app?

Why it matters: Establishes a baseline for potential optimization gains Expected answer: 3-5% conversion rate, below industry average Impact on approach: Low conversion rate would prioritize booking flow optimization

• Regarding our development resources, what's our current team capacity and how are they allocated between feature development and optimization work?

Why it matters: Determines feasibility of pursuing both options simultaneously Expected answer: 70% on new features, 30% on optimization Impact on approach: Balanced allocation might allow for a hybrid strategy