Engineering Self-Propelling Engines of Growth
Mobile-first marketers often celebrate installs, downloads, and clicks, but true growth lies in signals like repeat rate, shrinking engagement gaps, loops, and advocacy. Leaders at Uber, Akzo Nobel, Polarsteps, and Prematch share why the quietest growth signals often matter most.
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Marketers love their dashboards. They glow with installs, impressions, and clicks — neat rows of numbers that look like progress.
But here’s the catch: the shiniest metrics aren’t always the ones that matter. Growth doesn’t live in vanity; it lives in value. A thousand downloads mean little if none of those users come back.
The real game-changers are the subtle signals. The repeat visit, the shrinking gap between sessions, the loop that brings a new user in, and the real recommendations. These are the moments that show if your product has slipped into a customer’s life or if it’s already on its way out.
That’s why some of the sharpest voices across Uber, Akzo Nobel, Polarsteps, and Prematch are rethinking how growth is measured. Not by surface stats, but by the signals that reveal habit, trust, and advocacy.
The Power of Repeat Rate
Every brand obsesses over installs, downloads, and impressions. But those numbers tell only half the story.
Praveen Ramaswamy, Program Leader, Rider Experience – EMEA Mobility Community Operations, Uber, points out that the real growth signal is repeat rate, how many users come back after trying a product once.
A strong repeat rate reveals more than product-market fit; it shows that customers felt value worth returning to. If they don’t, no amount of marketing spend will cover the cracks. “Repeat rate forces you to focus on sustainable growth, not just vanity metrics,” says Ramaswamy.
For leaders, this means looking past surface growth and asking harder questions:
- Did customers find clarity in the journey?
- Was their problem solved without friction?
- Did the experience feel worth paying for again?
By reframing growth around return engagement, brands shift from chasing installs to building loyalty. And loyalty, unlike vanity metrics, compounds over time, turning each user into a long-term relationship instead of a short-term stat.
Measuring the Gap Between Moments
Engagement isn’t just about ‘if’ customers return. It’s about ‘when’ they return.
For Garima Singh, Global Strategy Lead – Commercial Marketing, Akzo Nobel, an overlooked yet powerful metric is the time lapse between user engagements. This gap reveals how quickly users are forming a habit with a platform.
- “A shrinking interval means your product is embedded into daily routines.”
- “A widening gap signals fading interest.”
Garima explains how nudges, incentives, and timely messages can shorten the distance between moments of use, strengthening retention. “By tracking and reducing that gap… we were able to drive real retention,” she adds.
Think of it as measuring the heartbeat of user behaviour: consistent and frequent interactions indicate vitality, while irregular spikes suggest something is off. Many teams chase new signups but ignore how habits form.
The truth? Frequency beats reach. A loyal user who engages regularly is far more valuable than dozens who churn after one try.
The Value of Loops and Network Effects
Growth doesn’t just come from retention. It multiplies when users bring others along.
Laurens Jansen, Head of Growth, Polarsteps, highlights how his team measures Loop Yield Ratios to assess whether paid users are inviting new users.
This metric goes beyond cost-per-acquisition, shifting the focus to growth acceleration through network effects.
“For us, most importantly, is growth acceleration, and we want to make sure that paid users invite new users as well,” says Laurens. In practical terms, it means paid marketing isn’t just buying temporary attention; it’s seeding loops that expand organically.
When one satisfied customer pulls three more into the ecosystem, the efficiency of every marketing dollar skyrockets. Brands that track and optimise for these loops aren’t just filling a funnel; they’re engineering self-propelling engines of growth.
Network effects, once unlocked, don’t just lower costs. They build defensibility, making it harder for competitors to break into your circle of influence.
Listening for Organic Advocacy
Lastly, but most importantly, not every valuable metric lives in a dashboard. Some are seen in conversations, shared in group chats, or dropped into recommendations between friends.
Niklas Brackmann, Co-Founder, Prematch, points to organic advocacy, how often users recommend a product without being prompted, as one of the clearest signs.
“When people advocate for you without being asked, that’s the clearest sign your marketing is really working,” says Niklas. Unlike paid referrals or incentivised shares, organic advocacy can’t be faked or bought. It reflects authentic connection and emotional resonance.
For brands, this metric requires listening differently. Tuning into social chatter, monitoring community signals, and, importantly, engaging with customers in ways that inspire pride in association.
Advocacy transforms users into ambassadors, creating exponential reach beyond any media budget. And in an era of scepticism toward ads, a friend’s recommendation carries unmatched weight.
The lesson is simple: delight your users, and they’ll market for you.
Takeaway: Focus on Signals, Not Just Stats
In the end, dashboards will always light up with numbers. But the marketers who win are the ones who look past the glow and ask harder questions:
- Did users come back?
- Did they come back sooner?
- Did they bring others with them?
- Did they care enough to tell a friend?
Growth isn’t about chasing the loudest metric; it’s about tuning into the quietest signals. Because loyalty, advocacy, and trust don’t just add up — they compound. And that compounding is what turns a product from a one-time trial into a habit, from a brand into a movement.
As Garima Singh reminds us, “Retention isn’t built on the first purchase — it’s built on how quickly you inspire the next one.”
Hear from Praveen Ramaswamy, Program Leader, Rider Experience – EMEA Mobility Community Operations, Uber; Garima Singh, Global Strategy Lead – Commercial Marketing, Akzo Nobel; and Laurens Jansen, Head of Growth, Polarsteps at the Unlocked: Mobile & App Growth Summit Amsterdam.
