It is natural to feel frustrated when none of your digital channels generate sufficient output despite all your efforts. Although this may push you to the verge of giving up, don’t make any rash moves until you go over your marketing strategy one more time.
According to the data provided by Quettra, an average Android application loses 77% of the active users within the first three days of installation. But the nightmare doesn’t stop here – most apps lose 90% of their users within a month! Clearly, they are unaware of the tactics that would help to maintain the traffic.
This brings us to the central part of our discussion, which is, how to ensure that your app performs at a consistent level?
An essential element of consistency is the retention of users. 23% of the app users are likely to abandon an app after one use, according to Localystics. Therefore, your app needs to have a solid customer base. These would be the people who keep coming back at you again and again for the services and value you provide.
Let’s dig into some ways that you can ensure a loyal customer line for your app:
Offer high functionality
The functionality of your app can make or break your relationship with the users. Several studies suggest how new users might never return if their first experience doesn’t reach the bar.
Keep in mind that you are up against a competitive market. Every time your app loads slowly or it lags, or crashes altogether – it is going to affect the metrics negatively. Also, Google will push you down if the bounce rate of your app shows a dramatic surge.
Hence, track the back-end and front-end functionality of your app to have a clear peek into its performance. There are different online tools and reports that you can use to have a better insight.
Use push notifications
Push notifications can increase user retention rates from 56% to 180%. These are the real-time updates and reminders sent to your audience, giving them a chance to communicate with the brand. These messages can also include a list of new discounts, deals, freebies, and campaigns. All notifications must follow behavioral data and preferences of the target customers.
The bottom line to adhere to in this process is to make sure your messages do not irritate the users. Capture the user’s attention but do not bother them to the point that they delete your app from their device.
The Single Grain’s Guide to Mobile App Advertising puts it out that push notifications can get user attention if you spot the right moment to send them directly to your app and perform a particular action.
Create personalized user segments
We tend to feel privileged if a busy teacher or mentor calls us by name amidst the crowd. Imagine your app doing the same. Also known as personalization, this measure will include the user’s name in messages and during all sorts of communication.
Apart from this aspect, a customized user segment also means that you deliver rich content to the customer based on their past preferences, demographics, and in-app behaviors. Ask your developers to use analytics and filtering reports to compare engagement and study the ROI.
Remember that apps must not offer uniform experiences anymore. You should find out how your target population evolves and adapt to the pattern so you can retain high-value users.
Offer incentives
You must give your users a reason to return to your app. You can offer rewards like coupons, promotions, and access to exclusive content. The Starbucks app is using this strategy quite cleverly. They have created a loyalty loop where users keep making purchases to use their points.
However, incentivization depends on the nature of your app. If you are an e-commerce store, you can offer monetary discounts but if you are freemium, you can offer them usage-based discounts.
Check out Why Rewarded Engagement Drives Better Users with Daniel Todd for further information in this regard.
Allow social sharing
Social media adds a versatile touch to your app. The key is to use it effectively.
For starters, make sure that your app automatically shares itself when discussed on any platform. Next, integrate the sharing buttons for all social forums like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. It will escalate the number of visitors to your app, and you get a better chance at scoring new leads.
A positive word of mouth is necessary to sustain yourself in the market. You must direct towards social platforms as well as special platforms. For example, people interested in downloading any Airg spam-free app must have a glance at social discussions of that app. They should also find out what words people are sharing about that app to stay on the safe side.
Encourage communication
We are living in an age where people crave to feel valued. In the corporate world, this means that you must pay attention to all stakeholders. Meanwhile, in the virtual world, it means asking for feedback from famous people. And of course, customers are the lifeblood of your business. The more you interact with them, the more are the chances for their prolonged commitment.
Your app should be responsive and address all the concerns of the users. This will bring in positive reviews and boost the engagement of current customers.
Parting Thoughts
All successful apps work on the idea that the users must make them a part of their routine. They identify the touchpoint and focus on fulfilling those elements. To sum it up, there are no sure-fire ways to retain your customers for life. The frequency of their visits to your app depends highly on how you delight your customers through innovative efforts.
What else can you integrate into your app to garner loyalty? Let us know. We would love to hear your opinions!