Competitive Analysis

Overall strategy

Word-of-mouth marketing:
Clue grow mostly through users telling their friends about the app. but that is not enough. they also placing ads on Facebook, Instagram, the Apple App Store, Google Play Store and other places, try to shared minimal usage data in order to protect user privacy, now they have stopped sharing any usage data with Facebook.

Have a long-term relationship with users:
Clue sees itself as a health data point where women can find the answers
they need. They’re up to build a trustworthy brand and establish a strong relationship with users.

Market advantage

Health services targeting women are increasingly in the focus of the healthcare industry. prenatal care and fertility trackers are the most popular digital offerings globally.

Clue have started building a relationship, gain trust while offering a digital solution to users.
They have around 12 million active users.

Strengths

No-sell data policy:
Something which more and more users are looking for, as stories emerge of medical apps sharing intimate information with advertisers, this move gained the trust of users.

Cooperate with professional:
Clue provides reliable, fact-checked health knowledge, user can find article which related to their our problem, especially some information they normally are not able to obtain, or too embarrassed to ask.

Customizable multiple tracking items:
It contains various items such as diet preferences, mood changes, digestion status, etc. The user can customize which ones to track, this will help data analysis greatly increase accuracy and individualization

Opportunities

A better marketing strategy to increase the probability of users paying to use without feeling coerced, to make users have a proper experience which can show a good picture of the paid features to user and make them crave for it.

A better advertising strategies increase visibility, like: cooperate with cultural, health organizations or sports brands who pay attention to body awareness, wellness, to launch services or activities.

Weaknesses

Poorly textured:
The color, layout and other details of the visual design are not pleasing to the eye. It loses important characteristics such as cleanness and freshness when trying to personalize.

Costly:
The Plus version is $300 a month/ $1190 for 12 months with 7 days free trial, the free version of Clue is in an awkward position. It is enough for user who just wants to record menstrual and other related physical and psychological changes. but does not gives user a better view/opportunity to get to know the advantages of the paid function, on the contrary, it even raises the threshold for obtaining a free trial.

Unstable system:
users complained that the data disappeared after finishing saving, or having a default screen(actually is not specific to them) shows that they have irregular about their cycle which really worried them.

Threats

Competitors’ product designs have appearance features that are more in line with the preferences of female users. Also, Clue’s repeatedly subscription prompts and pushing users to switch to the paid version has caused many users to complain, especially when the original free functions are converted to pay functions, which has caused the loss of some users. At present, its functions are highly replicable, which increases the chances of it being replaced by rising stars, competitors in the same market.

Usability

✔ Pros

Unique and easy to understand information presentation:
User enters data they wants to track by answering questions, and Clue uses interesting/funny text and graphic to make the input process easy, delightful.

✘ Cons

Button problem:
The date options on the calendar feel sluggish, it seems to require a harder click or stay for a long time to respond.

Glitches:
some color blocks on the screen will change colors strangely, making users feel that the system is unstable.

Input function:
Clue allows users to enter their customized tracking items one by one through Q&A, but its data arrangement is more suitable for user to complete all items at once. this means that if the user wants to add new info to one item at a certain point in time, she must find it from categories first, but not a quickly add directly.

Layout

✔ Pros

The presentation of information is clear and easy to understand.

✘ Cons

Some layout looks crowded and feels oppressive while use.

Navigation Structure

✔ Pros

The structure of the application is clear and easy to understand.It is mainly composed :
1. Display the time from the next menstrual period,
2. A calendar with all tracking items marked,
3. Tracking input function,
4. Tracking data analysis (showing data changes)
5. area for finding/learning articles related to specific topic.

Compatibility

✔ Pros

The Clue app is compatible with devices like:
Apple iOS 12.2 or higher,
iPod touch 12.2 or higher,
Android 4.0.3 or higher.

✘ Cons

Desktop version: Need to download an Android emulator for PC and Mac first.

Differentiation

✔ Pros

Make users feel valued:
Made for more users: Generally speaking, Clue users are satisfied with its functions. They think that Glue provides personalized tracking functions to help them better understand their bodies.

But it is not just users who have menstrual periods that need such considerate and detailed product, such as users who

are going through menopause, male users… etc, maybe even add a sharing function between different accounts.

For example, with the user’s consent, the husband can also pay attention on the physical condition of the wife when she’s pregnant.

Calls To Action

✔ Pros

Fast registration: user can register by email account, authenticate the app account via email.

Easy to find, free to use: user can use the free version, but there are many features that only provide the paid version to unlock.

✘ Cons

Incessant subscription requests:
Since Clue requires users’ paid subscriptions to support the company’s operations, it has installed a lot of pop-up pages that prompt users to subscribe. The timing and frequency of triggering these pages will make users feel impatient.