Building a Virtual World from Berlin: Smeet CEO Sebastian Funke (Part 4)

Sramana: Do you track specific key performance indicators within the virtual worlds or just those indicators related to new users?

Sebastian Funke: Prior to this year we did not look at key performance indicators inside of our product because we did not have the capability to do so. There was not a clear user funnel. The user enters a virtual world and is free to do what he or she wants. Today we have a clear funnel because we have clarified the first-time experience. We have identified what users want to see to entice them to return. We know how many people will start a certain process within our program and how many will continue through to the end. That allows us to optimize each feature, which is why we refer to features as conversion points.

Sramana: Do you have several monetization mechanisms within the game itself?

Sebastian Funke: In the virtual economy there are three reasons people monetize. The first reason is to control the display of the environment, which includes dressing your avatar and decorating your house. The second reason is giving gifts, which is based on relationships. You can send flowers, teddy bears, and other types of gifts. The third reason is to boost your gaming. If you can’t progress and you do not want to wait then you might purchase items to make your progression faster.

Today it is a game about meeting other people. We use social gaming elements to get people coming back to the platform and to let it spread with a viral effect. You can compare it in some ways to to Sims Social. We run on Facebook or outside of Facebook.

I mentioned the three categories on which we monetize because those three elements are key to our game. First, your avatar and room play a key role in Smeet. People pay for self-display, which is different from the Zynga model where people buy for the boost. We have a lot of social interaction because we are a virtual world, and we encourage people to meet others. Just as in real life, guys don’t know what to say to the girl, so instead of talking through chat they will send flowers or a teddy bear to get the girl’s attention. Finally, we use social gaming elements throughout our game. You come into the world and you have to build something up. Sometimes you have to wait so long that you would rather purchase the accelerator in order to progress in the game.

Sramana: Do you have boutiques to help people dress their avatars or decorate their rooms?

Sebastian Funke: We call them room where you can buy items. We want to make the items as accessible as possible so there is a button that you can just click on it and instantly be directed to the shop, which is essentially a catalogue where you go through and select the items to buy. We do have shops and some brands inside of Smeet although we do not push the brands too much. We have not made brands our main focus because people do not pay that much attention to real brands in the virtual worlds.

This segment is part 4 in the series : Building a Virtual World from Berlin: Smeet CEO Sebastian Funke
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