App Growth
Playbook
Amir Ariff × BCG
15 years scaling consumer apps — from funnel optimization to lifetime value
Track Record
The Numbers
RM20M
Digital ad revenue generated
Across portfolio
200%
Organic engagement lift
Content & SEO
2×
MAU growth
Suria FM app
25%
Customer engagement increase
FWD Insurance
RM17.8M
Digital revenue
Astro
6,000
Leads at RM7/lead
FWD AI chatbot
Methodology
Growth Framework
The AARRR pirate metrics framework — mapped to real execution across every stage.
Acquisition
SEO, paid media, content marketing
Tripled organic traffic at Suria FM — 400K → 1.6M monthly visits
Activation
Funnel optimization, onboarding flows
Built acquisition-to-conversion funnels at FWD with GA + Looker Studio
Retention
Lifecycle CRM, push/email/SMS, fatigue controls
SFMC journeys at Astro; segmented push campaigns at Suria FM
Revenue
Monetization, ARPU & LTV optimization
RM600K → RM1.3M at Star Media; RM17.8M digital revenue at Astro
Referral
Viral mechanics, WhatsApp chatbot
6K leads via AI Raya greeting card chatbot at FWD
Proof of Work
Case Studies
Growth Opportunity Analysis
CelcomDigi App
Malaysia's largest telco — 20M+ subscribers, new unified app launched October 2025. Massive growth opportunity hiding in plain sight.
20M+
Total Subscribers
12.9M prepaid · 7.1M postpaid
5.5M
App Registered
As of Dec 2025
1.6★
App Store Rating
7,400+ ratings (iOS)
72%
Migration Gap
14.5M not yet on new app
🔍Problems Identified
72% Migration Gap
5.5M / 20M
Only 5.5M registered on the new app out of 20M+ subscribers after 3 months. Old Celcom Life & MyDigi apps deprecated Dec 2025. Every unconverted user is a churn risk.
1.6-Star App Store Rating
1.6 / 5.0
7,400+ ratings on iOS App Store with 1.6 stars. #2 in Utilities category but rating is destroying organic installs and brand trust. Negative reviews compound — each 1-star review costs ~20 potential downloads.
Batch Payment Removed
Top complaint
Users with multiple family lines can no longer pay all bills at once — must pay each individually. Regression from old apps. Directly hurts high-ARPU family plan users (postpaid, highest LTV segment).
Multi-Line Visibility Broken
Verified Nov 2025
Users with 3+ numbers under one account can't see all lines after migration. Critical for family plan managers who control 3-5 lines — these are your highest-value customers.
App Perceived as Bloated
Play Store reviews
Users report the app is 'unnecessarily heavy' with 'too many bells and whistles.' Top-up flow described as a 'nightmare.' The old apps were lighter and more intuitive.
Shallow Engagement Loops
7-day streak only
Daily streak is a start, but lacks depth. No progressive rewards, no milestone unlocks, no gamification tied to actual usage (pay bill → reward, refer friend → reward). Wednesday 3:21 PM surprise is gimmicky without retention data backing.
📋Growth Playbook — What I'd Do
Migration Funnel Rescue
Close the 72% gap
- ●Instrument migration funnel: old app prompt → download → sign up → verify → first action
- ●Identify exact drop-off point (hypothesis: eKYC verification is the wall)
- ●A/B test simplified migration: 'Transfer my account in 1 tap' vs current multi-step flow
- ●Push/SMS campaign to remaining 14.5M users segmented by tenure and plan type
- ●Incentivize migration: bonus data, exclusive rewards only on new app
📈 Target: 60% migration rate within 6 months (+7M users)
App Store Rating Recovery
From 1.6★ to 3.5★ in 90 days
- ●Implement smart review prompts: trigger ONLY after positive moments (successful bill pay, reward claimed, streak milestone)
- ●Never prompt after negative events (failed payment, long load, error screen)
- ●Suppress prompts for users who already rated or dismissed 2×
- ●Build in-app feedback channel — catch complaints BEFORE they hit the App Store
- ●Respond to every 1-2 star review within 24 hours with resolution + 'we fixed it, please update your review'
- ●Ship quick UX fixes (batch payment, multi-line) then trigger 'We listened! Rate us again?' prompt to previous negative reviewers
📈 Every 1-star increase in rating = ~25% more organic installs
Lifecycle CRM Engine
Push, SMS, email — done right
- ●Segment users: New migrators, Active payers, Dormant (no open in 14d), Churned (30d+)
- ●Build automated journeys per segment with personalized timing (ML-predicted optimal send time)
- ●Fatigue controls: max 3 push/week, suppress if opened app in last 24h
- ●Bill reminder sequence: D-7 gentle → D-3 reminder → D-1 urgent → D+1 overdue (different tone each)
- ●Re-engagement: 3-touch win-back (push → email → SMS with escalating incentives) for D14 churned users
📈 Target: 15% improvement in D30 retention, 10% reduction in involuntary churn
Engagement & Monetization
Turn opens into revenue
- ●Fix batch payment ASAP — directly unblocks NPS recovery for family plan users
- ●Personalize 'For You' section using behavioural cohorts (data-heavy, roamer, entertainment, basic user)
- ●A/B test upsell placement: post-payment 'Add 10GB for RM5?' vs homepage banner vs push notification
- ●Gamify beyond streaks: monthly challenges (refer a friend, try auto-reload, set up roaming), leaderboards for family plans
- ●Cross-sell streaming bundles (Disney+, etc.) at contextually relevant moments — not generic banners
📈 Target: 8% lift in ARPU, 20% increase in add-on pass adoption
Experimentation Infrastructure
Build the muscle
- ●Establish experimentation program: hypothesis template, statistical significance thresholds, guardrail metrics
- ●Target 5-8 experiments per month across funnel, engagement, and monetization
- ●Build shared learnings repository — every test result documented with 'what we learned'
- ●Weekly growth standup: review test results, pipeline new hypotheses, kill losing variants fast
- ●QA checklist for every experiment: audience sizing, runtime calculation, logging verification
📈 Compound effect: 5 experiments/month × 2% avg lift = 10%+ cumulative improvement per quarter
Sources: CelcomDigi FY2025 earnings report (Feb 2026), Apple App Store (Feb 2026, 7.4K ratings), Google Play Store reviews, Reddit r/malaysia (Nov 2025), Lowyat.NET (Oct 2025), Digital News Asia.
Roadmap
90-Day Growth Plan
A structured approach to driving measurable growth from day one.
Instrument & Baseline
- ●Audit existing funnel instrumentation (events, conversion points)
- ●Baseline all growth KPIs: MAU, D1/D7/D30 retention, conversion rates, ARPU, LTV
- ●Map user journey end-to-end, identify top 3 friction points via cohort analysis
- ●Set up / audit dashboards (weekly + monthly cadence)
- ●Quick win: fix lowest-hanging friction point
Experiment & Optimize
- ●Launch structured experimentation program: hypothesis → test → learn
- ●Run first 3–5 A/B tests on highest-impact funnel stages
- ●Build segment strategies for push/email/SMS: targeting, timing, personalization
- ●Implement suppression & fatigue controls to protect UX
- ●Establish experiment templates and QA checklist
Scale & Systematize
- ●Build reusable playbooks (experiment templates, segmentation standards, learnings repo)
- ●First monthly performance review with clear actions
- ●Identify and prioritize high-ROI levers for in-app engagement & monetization
- ●Document initial cohort findings and LTV improvement trajectory
- ●Propose next quarter's growth roadmap
Sample Experiments
Experiment Playbook
Structured, hypothesis-driven experiments with clear metrics and guard rails.
Onboarding Completion
Hypothesis
Reducing onboarding steps from 5 to 3 will increase Day-1 activation by 15%
Test Design
A/B test — Control (5 steps) vs Variant (3 steps, deferred profile completion)
Primary Metric
D1 activation rate
Guard Rails
Profile completion rate at D7
Push Notification Timing
Hypothesis
Sending push at user's personal peak-activity hour (vs fixed 10am) will increase open rates by 20%
Test Design
A/B test — Control (fixed time) vs Variant (ML-predicted optimal send time)
Primary Metric
Push open rate, D7 retention
Guard Rails
Unsubscribe rate, app uninstall rate
Re-engagement Campaign
Hypothesis
A 3-touch win-back sequence (push → email → SMS) for D14 churned users will recover 8% of dormant users
Test Design
Multivariate — Control (no outreach) vs 3-touch sequence with personalized content
Primary Metric
Reactivation rate (return within 7 days)
Guard Rails
Spam complaints, channel fatigue score
Capabilities
Tool Stack
Let's talk growth.
Ready to bring structured, data-driven growth to BCG's app portfolio.
© 2026 Amir Ariff. Built for BCG.