Overview
This ride-hailing platform had already gained traction in several international markets and was ready to expand into Saudi Arabia. The goal: launch in a highly regulated and culturally specific environment, win trust quickly, and build rider-driver liquidity in three core cities — all while facing both local competitors and international players.
The app had global recognition and engineering capabilities, but no previous on-ground experience in the Gulf region. Success would depend not just on brand awareness, but on deep localization, partnership strategy, and behavior-driven optimization at every step of the funnel.
The Challenge
While ride-hailing was a familiar concept, the Saudi market required special handling. The regulatory landscape was evolving, especially in relation to gender, car ownership, driver licensing, and in-app payment options. On the user side, trust, safety, and pricing were critical — but so was honoring local norms and social expectations.
The biggest challenge? Building usage frequency and rider trust before supply-side saturation, while avoiding negative PR and platform drop-off.
Our Approach
1. Ground-Level Market Intelligence
Before any campaign or product adaptation, we conducted localized ethnographic research: interviews with commuters, female riders, student groups, and part-time drivers. We identified key friction points:
- Safety concerns among female riders
- Confusion around app onboarding for older drivers
- Distrust of surge pricing without context
We used these findings to create an internal cultural playbook for product, design, and operations teams.
2. Behavior-Driven Product Localization
We recommended product-level tweaks such as:
- Localized driver onboarding with video walkthroughs in Arabic
- In-app safety features customized for solo female riders
- Optional “quiet ride” toggle to respect cultural boundaries
- Payment methods including Mada and cash
These changes dramatically improved first-time user activation and reduced app uninstalls.
3. City-by-City Rollout with Dynamic Targeting
Instead of a national campaign, we ran city-specific go-to-market funnels:
- Riyadh: Focused on students and female professionals, with mall-based brand activations
- Jeddah: Targeted airport routes, ride-pooling incentives, and heat-based price promos
- Dammam: Partnerships with business parks and public transport hubs
Each city had a dedicated budget, audience segmentation, and performance dashboards.
4. Strategic Partnerships & Data Analysis
We helped secure collaborations with:
- Local driving schools to onboard part-time drivers
- Saudi universities for campus pickup zones
- Influencers trusted by Gen Z and Gen X audiences
From a data perspective, we ran weekly sprints analyzing:
- Heatmaps of demand vs. driver location (to avoid “dead zones”)
- CAC and retention by demographic group
- App flows with highest drop-off rates
Insights led to redirecting budget toward high-LTV customer segments (e.g., working women aged 24–36) and restructuring onboarding sequences to reduce cognitive load.
Results
Within 90 days of launch:
- Daily active riders exceeded initial targets by 137%
- Driver onboarding completion rate improved from 41% → 84%
- First-ride conversion rate increased by 3.2x after onboarding redesign
- Customer acquisition cost (CAC) dropped by 48% in Riyadh
- Repeat ride rate after 30 days rose by 2.6x in Jeddah
The app became one of the top 5 most downloaded apps in its category in KSA within 10 weeks.
Key Takeaway
Market entry in Saudi Arabia isn’t just about translating your app — it’s about translating your intent. When the product, message, and support experience reflect local realities, people respond with loyalty — not just clicks.
For global apps entering regional markets, data without empathy leads to churn. But empathy, backed by data, builds true traction.