Executive Summary

• Between the two competitors under review, 13 unique features have been identified that may be of interest for inclusion in the twoPLUGS mobile app.
• These features can be grouped in two categories, “Gamification” and “Quality of Listings”.
• Gamification refers to the use of game-mechanics to encourage specific behaviors – ie sign up, verify phone number and visit the site more frequently.
• Quality of Listings includes elements that help customers make better trading decisions.

Gamification

Simbi: Deal Suggestions Displayed on Guest Homepage

• When new users visit, the Simbi app cycles through a list of trading suggestions that appear to be live trades.
• This feature helps make the marketplace appear dynamic and alive, drawing in new users.
• Once a new user has registered these messages no longer appear.

The features in this section are related to game-mechanics that are used to increase user engagement.

 

Simbi: Skill Quiz

• New users are encouraged to complete a brief skill quiz to help them identify their own abilities.
• If the quiz fails, the user is advised to contact the Simbi Team directly.
• This is useful for helping new users get started offering skills they may not have thought of on their own.

 

Simbi: Badges

Simbi uses Badges to incentivize participation.

Available Badges are:

• Quickster – users who are the quickest to respond
• Star – fulfilled other users request
• Helper – fulfilled other users request
• Circulator – transferred large amounts of simbi points
• Social – member has attended a simbi swap
• Veteran – member has made at least 3 deals
• Recruiter – member has gotten 5 or more members to join
• Talented – offered 5 or more services
• Centurion – member with more than 100 deals

Bunz: Daily BTZ drop Questionnaire

• Bunz uses a cryptocurrency called BTZ and includes an integrated wallet in their app.
• Bunz hosts a daily BTZ giveaway.
• By offering BTZ for completing a brief quiz at specific times, Bunz incentivizes users to return to the service daily and accumulate BTZ.
• The data collected via quiz can potentially be monetized.

This accomplishes greater personalization and use profiling.

Bunz: Post Freshness

• Bunz displays the time each posting was made.
• By displaying the posts freshness, the listing appears more authentic and creates a sense of connection between users.
• Users can easily recognize inactive accounts or listings

Simbi: Verified – Facebook/LinkedIn (Badges)

• Simbi allows for account verification using Facebook, Google + and LinkedIn.
• Members link social accounts to attain verified status.
• By supporting these options Simbi encourages trust, familiarity and a sense of accountability.

Bunz: Integrated BTZ Wallet

• The Bunz app contains an integrated cryptocurrency wallet.
• This allows users to send and receive BTZ in real-time by scanning a QR code.
• Within the wallet users also have the option to earn BTZ through referrals.
• New users are encouraged to activate their wallet before they can transact through the service.
• The activation process also verifies the phone number associated with the account in way that’s smooth and frictionless.

Quality of Listings

The following features allow customers to make better decisions by identifying qualities they value in traders.

Simbi: Quality – Training & Qualifications

• By providing an optional Training & Qualifications section, Simbi makes it easier for new users to make trading decisions.
• Providing Training & Qualifications increases user confidence and is more likely to end in a successful trade.

Simbi: Quality – Availability and Preferences

• Availability & Preferences highlights the best times to contact a user as well as the type of trade they would prefer to make.
• This can help prospective buyers make better decisions based on convenience.

Simbi: Quality – Set Your Quota

• Simbi recommends that users set a quota for the number of times a month they can perform a service.
• By setting a quota, users avoid over-committing which results in better customer service and ratings.
  

Bunz: Google Maps View

• Bunz provides users with a Google Map view of the trader’s location.
• This creates a sense of familiarity, trust and community and helps users make trading decisions.

Simbi: Last Seen

• The “Last Seen” counter on Simbi indicates when the user last logged on to the service.
• This creates a sense of personalization and helps identify active traders, allowing users to make better trading decisions.
• This feature is similar to twoPLUGS “Update” value but “Last Seen” is more descriptive.

Simbi: Response Rate

• Response rate indicates the percentage of messages that the user has responded to.
• Response rate can be a leading indicator of reputation that can translate into a buying signal for new users by giving them confidence.

Recommendation

Monetization

Neither Simbi nor Bunz currently charge fees for their use. Without a clear monetization strategy apparent in the app, it’s likely that they’ve monetizing user data.

Customer Profiling

In the case of Bunz, the daily BTZ giveaway requires customers to provide personal information regarding various products and services. This could be the most practical way forward as online customers are generally quite reluctant to pay for digital services.

Subscription Fees

Subscription fees could be charged by twoPLUGS; however, care would have to be exercised in deciding which users to charge. In the case of school groups, students may be more price-sensitive but perhaps the school itself can be charged. The same could apply to other groups, where the owner of a custom twoPLUGS trading forum could be pay a fee to host the service.

Customizable Themes

Customizations to the app could be monetized as well, so that the twoPLUGS trading platform could be accessed free of charge, but visual customizations to the platform could come with an associated cost. These themes could be professional, ethnic or religious.

Account Packages

Various sized account packages could be made available in order to accommodate communities of different sizes. There could be a smaller account package including up to 500 users with larger accounts available for a separate fee. This feature may require an administrative dashboard so admins can keep track of their community’s growth.

Approach

The features listed below can be addressed in order of complexity and value. Depending on the interest in taking on high or low complexity first, they can be approached according to the following table.

Element	Complexity	Value
Deal Suggestions Displayed on Guest Homepage	Low	Low
Post Freshness	Low	Low
Badges	Medium	Medium
Verified – Facebook/LinkedIn (Badge)	Medium	High
Quality – Training & Qualifications	Low	Medium
Quality – Availability and Preferences	Low	Medium
Quality – Set Your Quota	Low	Medium
Google Maps View	Medium	High
Response Rate	Medium	High
Last Seen	Low	High
Skill Quiz	High	Medium
Daily BTZ drop Questionnaire	High	Medium
Integrated BTZ Wallet	High	High