Growing App Ratings From 2 to 4.7 stars, Product Retention Playbook: Diana Matei

<p>Diana Matei has spent 10+ years building and launching B2C and B2B products across e-commerce, fintech, marketplaces, and subscriptions. Work that&#39;s helped increase app downloads by 35%, boost app revenue by 15%, and take app ratings from 2 stars to 4.7 stars. In this episode, she breaks down how AI is reshaping product management, why brand often beats &quot;the best product,&quot; and the retention framework she now builds with every client.</p><p><br></p><p>We cover: </p><p>✅ Why AI is making tech a commodity, and what that means for product strategy </p><p>✅ The difference between lagging and leading metrics (and why most teams track the wrong ones) </p><p>✅ How to build a &quot;metric tree&quot; to connect daily work to revenue </p><p>✅ Her honest take on OKRs and how to stop them dying after week one </p><p>✅ The biggest agile/product myth: &quot;build it, and they will come&quot; </p><p>✅ Why post-purchase experience is the next big product battleground </p><p>✅ Her daily routines as a product consultant and founder of her own practice</p><p><br></p><p>If you&#39;re a founder, product manager, or work in marketing or sales and want to understand how great product thinking drives retention and revenue, this conversation is for you.</p><p><br></p><p>📌 Connect with Diana:</p><p>https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-eugenia-matei/</p><p>https://dmthepm.com/</p><p><br></p><p>▶︎Tickets for Not Another Agile Conference (22 April 2027, Chester Zoo) are on sale.</p><p>https://www.tickettailor.com/events/notanotheragileconference/2178867</p><p><br></p><p>▶︎Our Newsletter:</p><p>https://substack.com/@betweenthestandups</p><p><br></p><p>🎧 Subscribe for more conversations on agile, product management, and building products people actually stick with.</p><p><br></p><p>▶︎Chapters</p><p>0:00 – Welcome &amp; introducing Diana </p><p>0:12 – Diana&#39;s background: 10+ years across Tesco, fintech, marketplaces</p><p>2:00 – The problem she&#39;s obsessed with: AI&#39;s impact on product management</p><p>4:24 – Brand vs product: why the best product doesn&#39;t always win</p><p>7:03 – Rolling out product frameworks without the jargon (200-year-old client)</p><p>9:57 – The metrics teams measure that are actually unhelpful</p><p>13:02 – Shipping fast vs creating real value</p><p>16:12 – What is a &quot;metric tree&quot;?</p><p>18:04 – Diana&#39;s honest take on OKRs</p><p>20:26 – Habits that create momentum instead of one-off workshops</p><p>23:40 – Why product managers get lost in the backlog</p><p>26:08 – When the cheapest option wins (car insurance, commoditised markets)</p><p>27:53 – Her theory: B2B is becoming B2C in disguise</p><p>29:12 – The loyalty problem with new-customer-only offers</p><p>34:26 – Biggest agile/product myth: &quot;build it, and they will come&quot;</p><p>36:45 – Morning routines and habits that keep her thinking clearly</p><p>38:44 – What going freelance actually feels like</p><p>42:53 – Quickfire round: worst advice, overused phrases, hills to die on</p><p>44:37 – What&#39;s next for Diana and her retention scorecard</p><p>45:50 – Where to find and work with Diana</p>