Build viral potential into B2C products from day one rather than relying on paid acquisition
For B2C apps, low customer acquisition costs are essential because users can't afford high prices. This makes paid advertising and expensive promotion 'not really viable.' Instead, the product itself must have inherent viral potential - users naturally share it, content created on the platform gets seen by non-users, or the value proposition spreads through word of mouth. Design for virality from the start, not as an afterthought.
When to use
When building any consumer-facing product with low price points (under $50/month). Especially important for content creation tools, social products, or utilities where users generate shareable outputs. If your CAC needs to be under $10, viral mechanics aren't optional.
Don't do this
Building a B2C product that requires paid ads or sales outreach to acquire each customer. Assuming you can scale a consumer product the same way B2B products scale. Treating virality as a 'nice to have' growth hack rather than a core product requirement.
1 Founder Who Did This
Product generates thousands of videos daily that users post to social platforms, many videos getting millions of views. Users naturally share outputs, creating content flywheel. CAC had to be low for B2C viability