Interview Questions › Root Cause Analysis

Decrease in new banking app installations over last quarter

Organic and paid mobile app installs for your digital bank dropped 22% quarter-over-quarter across key European markets. Investigate the growth drop.

Context

Brand awareness and digital ad impressions are stable. Competitor interest in high-yield savings accounts increased.

Clarifying questions to ask first

• Did app store impressions drop or did page-to-install conversion drop?
• How did peer neobanks perform in the same quarter?

How to approach it

1. Segment by Channel (App Store Search, Google Play, Paid Social, Affiliate Referrals)
2. Analyze App Store Optimization (ASO) rankings for primary keywords (e.g. "free bank account", "crypto trading", "travel money")
3. Evaluate competitor value propositions (e.g. higher interest rates on deposits)
4. Check app store review sentiment, app size growth (>150MB), and device OS compatibility

Framework: Acquisition Funnel Breakdown -> App Store Conversion & ASO -> Macro Competitive Landscape (Interest Rates) -> Referral Program Mechanics

Sample answer

• Competitors launched 5% APY savings accounts, winning consumer attention
• App bundle size exceeded 200MB, triggering "download over Wi-Fi only" warning on iOS
• Referral reward budget reduced by growth team, collapsing viral K-factor

1. App store conversion dropped: keyword rank was stable, but referral program payout cut from €50 to €10 reduced viral user invitations by 65%

Referral incentive reduction destroyed viral organic loop; restructured tiered viral rewards tied to activated debit card spend rather than simple installs.

What interviewers look for

• App Store Impressions -> Installs %
• Keyword Search Rank
• Cost Per Install (CPI)
• Referral Share Rate