Should MobiKwik prioritize expanding its merchant network for wider acceptance or focus on improving the user experience of its existing digital wallet?

Introduction

The trade-off MobiKwik faces is whether to prioritize expanding its merchant network for wider acceptance or focus on improving the user experience of its existing digital wallet. This scenario highlights the classic growth vs. optimization dilemma many fintech companies encounter. I'll analyze this trade-off by examining the current product landscape, potential impacts, key metrics, and experimental approaches to guide our decision-making process.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Based on MobiKwik's current market position, I'm thinking user acquisition might be a key challenge. Could you share our current user growth rate and how it compares to competitors?

Why it matters: Helps determine if expanding the merchant network is critical for user acquisition. Expected answer: Growth rate is slowing compared to competitors. Impact on approach: Would lean towards merchant network expansion if user growth is lagging.

• Considering our revenue model, I assume transaction fees are a significant portion. What percentage of our revenue comes from merchant transactions versus other sources like P2P transfers or bill payments?

Why it matters: Indicates the potential impact of expanding the merchant network on revenue. Expected answer: Merchant transactions account for 60-70% of revenue. Impact on approach: Higher percentage would justify prioritizing merchant network expansion.

• Looking at user behavior, I'm curious about our wallet usage frequency. What's the average number of transactions per active user per month?

Why it matters: Helps assess whether improving user experience could significantly increase usage. Expected answer: 3-5 transactions per active user per month. Impact on approach: Lower frequency might indicate a need to focus on user experience improvements.

• From a technical standpoint, I'm wondering about our current app performance. What are our app crash rates and load times compared to industry standards?

Why it matters: Indicates if there are critical user experience issues that need immediate attention. Expected answer: Slightly below industry average performance. Impact on approach: Poor performance metrics would shift focus towards improving user experience.

• Regarding our team capacity, how are our engineering resources currently allocated between new feature development and existing product maintenance?

Why it matters: Helps understand our ability to tackle both merchant expansion and UX improvements simultaneously. Expected answer: 70% new features, 30% maintenance. Impact on approach: More balanced allocation might allow for pursuing both strategies in parallel.