How would you Monetize WhatsApp? | Meta PM Interview
How would you Monetize WhatsApp? | Meta PM Interview
Product Improvement - Meta Product Manager Interview: How would you Monetize WhatsApp? - Asked at Meta, Google Adobe, Microsoft.
How to Answer Product Improvement Questions?
Here is a step-by-step framework you should follow while answering product improvement interview questions during the interview,
0. Pay close attention to the keywords in the question.
1. Describe the Product. (P)
2. Ask clarifying Questions to trim down the scope of the question. (Q)
3. Define the Goal you want to achieve. (G)
4. List the User Segments and select one segment to focus on. (U)
5. List and prioritize the Pain Points for that segment. (P)
6. List out your Solutions to solve those pain points. (S)
7. Evaluate all the solutions and prioritize them. (E)
8. Define Metrics to measure the performance of the solutions. (M)
9. At the end, Summarize your answer (S)
Before the start of interview, write down these steps somewhere in case you forget.
Let’s get started with the solution (remember to follow the framework),
Step 1: Describe the Product
Once you are clear with the question, start by explaining your understanding of the product. Cover the following things about the product,
What does the product do?
Who uses it?
How are they using it?
What pain point is it solving for the users?
“WhatsApp is a widely used cross-platform messaging app that allows users to communicate with each other in a variety of ways. It allows users to send and receive text messages and voice messages, make voice and video calls, create groups, connect with businesses and share images, documents, user locations, payments, and other content.
The app is available for free on a wide range of platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac.
There are many competitors of WhatsApp, including Telegram, Signal, Viber, Line, and WeChat. However, with over 2 billion active users, WhatsApp is currently the most popular messaging app in the world. It is available in more than 180 countries and 60 different languages.
Now that we are clear on the product description and the interviewer is also onboarded.
Let’s move on to the next step: Ask Clarifying Questions.
You: “Before we move on, I have a few clarifying questions I want to ask. Shall I proceed?”
Step 2: Ask clarifying questions
“Are we primarily focusing on individual consumers, businesses, or both for our monetization strategy?”
A) You can consider consumers only.
“Is there a specific geographic market we should focus on first?”
A) Consider global release.
“What current monetization strategies are being tested or implemented?”
A) Consider consumers are not monetized yet .
“Are there any legal or regulatory constraints we should be aware of, particularly concerning data privacy and financial transactions?”
A) For this question keep it out of scope.
What are the specific revenue targets we aim to achieve with the new monetization strategy?
A) For the scope of this question keep it out of scope.
Are we focusing on any particular platform like desktop web or mobile app?
A) Let’s focus on the Mobile App.
Step 3: Define the Goals
The mission of WhatsApp is to “connect the world privately by designing a product that's simple and private”, which resonates with the overall Facebook mission of connecting people and communities to bring the world closer together.
WhatsApp already has a large, highly active, and engaged user base. However, monetization has been a persistent challenge for the platform.
Also, to ensure the long-term viability of the platform and stay ahead of its competitors, it needs to generate revenue to cover operational costs, fund new innovative features, and maintain infrastructure.
Mention your approach -
“Now that we have defined the goals for this problem, I will go ahead and list down the user segments for this product, followed by the pain points these users are facing, prioritizing them, and coming up with a prioritized list of solutions and metrics that we will track to identify its success.”
Step 4: List the User Segments
WhatsApp is used by a wide variety of user groups and across many geographies.
We can broadly categorise the user segments into,
Consumers -
This is the largest and the most active user segment, which uses WhatsApp for regular personal communication, engaging in groups, sharing content, etc.
Businesses -
This segment of users/companies uses WhatsApp to engage with their clients for sales and support.
For the purpose of this question, I will consider the Consumer segment who mostly use WhatsApp for their personal use.
The consumer segment can be further broken down into,
Students (age ~ 15 to 24) - Highly active user segment and Mostly uses the app to have call/text conversations with friends, family, and classmates regarding academic or personal topics.
Working professionals (age ~ 25 to 55) - Highly active user segment and Likes to use WhatsApp to stay connected with their family, friends, and colleagues. Particularly during working hours, use the app for crucial on-the-job-related messaging. May also have a confidential conversation with a client/customer/colleague.
Elderly people (age ~55+) - Usually less active and Mostly use the app to have call/text conversations with other family members and relatives.
Now, Select your user group and state your reason for the same. -
“For the scope of this question, I plan to go ahead with the Student segment (Gen Z users), as this segment of users is very large in number who are always looking for new ways to communicate effectively with their friends and family.
If we can solve the pain points of these users and help them engage more, then that would increase user engagement, retention and revenue as well.