Customer growth loops · strategy atlas
Viral loop
what it means
Designing the product so that using it naturally exposes it to new potential users — each user's normal usage becomes a distribution channel, rather than growth depending only on paid marketing.
a real example
File-sharing and scheduling tools that email non-users as part of normal product usage (a shared document, a meeting invite) turned everyday use into a constant, free acquisition channel.
when to use it
Products where the core use case naturally involves other people — collaboration, sharing, or communication tools have this built in more easily than solitary-use products.
when it backfires
Forcing artificial virality into a product that isn't naturally social (mandatory invite walls, spammy sharing prompts) annoys users without producing real, sustained growth.