This is the time when getting the users to just download the application is not enough. The real challenge is to stop them uninstalling (if your app is not good enough!). Once the user uninstall the app, it will be really hard to regain the trust. 5% increase in user retention can boost profits by 25% to 95%. Studies show that app abandonment has been rampant in recent years. Experts have sought to make sense by studying & pointing out that users tend to download a lot of apps and try them out before deciding which ones to stick with.

To grow your app or startup, you need users to keep coming back. You must have marketing campaigns that help users to engage and convert for a long period.

Loyal customers are more profitable, more likely to bring business & can be a part of your marketing channel – word of mouth. According to the study, customer retention can be done at less cost than acquiring new users. However, it’s not easy for an average mobile app.

Let’s have a look at the retention rate for all apps.

Mobile customer retention rate

In the beginning, your app may have an ample of downloads and installs. But have you noticed how many of these users become engaged with your app? Only 25-40% of new users will re-launch an app after one week. But this number declines day by day and falls to 4% after one year. Remember, average retention rates vary from category to category.

So, you may have thought – what is Retention marketing?

Retention marketing includes creative marketing campaigns, dedicated to only existing users. The goal of retention marketing is to increase different metrics like app engagement and convert more leads.

Here are proven retention marketing strategies that will encourage users to engage with the app.

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Retention Marketing Strategies for Mobile App Users

#1 User experience

Why people uninstall the app after the first interaction?

There are many reasons users abandon your app and one of them is user experience.

There is no doubt, you have added extraordinary functionalities with perfect code. But if the user is not comfortable with provided user experience, chances are more that users might discard the app. It is crucial to keeping up the rate of your app engagement.

Make sure you deliver your app with the main solution. If provide so many options to users, they will be in a state of confusion and will leave your app.

#2 Acquisition vs. Retention

If you have just launched your app in the app store, retention marketing campaign won’t help you. In that case, your marketing goal should be user acquisition. Of course, you can’t retain users if you don’t have.

Being time, as your app gradually get recognition, you should move your goal to user retention from acquisition.

The study from HubSpot shows that you should start working on retention marketing when you have new users up to 70%.

Before creating any marketing plan, check the stage of app startup and decide which marketing strategy will work.

#3 Understand user behaviour

This is the most significant part of an analysis for retention marketing.

To optimize retention at every stage of your app, you need to understand how, when and where your prospective customers interact with your brand. How many users are abandoning? Why they discard the app? Who are your satisfied customers and why they are happy?

Do cohort analysis to understand see which factors are responsible for user engagement decline. This will help you to understand users’ expectations and so that you can design user experience according to that. There are many tools available to know the heatmaps and user behaviour like Mixpanel and Hotjar.

Implementing this practice will uplift the retention rate of your mobile app.

#4 Focus on Onboarding process

Our brain is wired to make snap judgements. It takes only 1/10th of a second to form a first impression about a person, and apps and websites are no different. There are many different techniques for creating a seamless app launch experience for great first impressions. In the initial time, the onboarding process is vital to keep users engaged with your app.

If people don’t like first-time experience with your app, there are less chances of coming back. As per the study, one in four mobile apps is declined after their first launch.

If your app is collecting the data, like login or registration, make sure you ask for minimal data so users don’t get irritated. It would be really fun if you allow them to explore your app before asking for any information. This process should be easy and fast with the interactive and simple user interface.

Image via: Careerfoundry.com

Don’t inundate users with an ample of features. Focus on your primary function.

#5 Push notifications to engage users

Undoubtedly, push notifications are the best way to interact with users. There are a plethora of apps available in the play store and it will be a constant battle to get the attention of users. Push notifications could be about updates, sale, incomplete transaction and many more and encourage users to engage with your app.

However, push notifications can harm your app retention rate if not implemented properly. Unknowingly, you might piss off the users by spamming notifications. Don’t implement at the earliest stage. Let users have an excellent experience with your app.

#6 Personalization

Sometimes we miss out on the obvious points. Trust me, personalization is one of them. It’s all about engaging with users at a personal level and enhancing whole end-to-end user experience. In order to do that, you will have to understand users’ needs.

There are some dedicated mobile marketing platforms available that allow you to build comprehensive user profile including their intent, age, gender, locations and many more. All of this information helps you build personalization segment and interact with users, which leads to a long-term relationship with them.

#7 Offer Loyalty programs

To build loyalty among users, invest in incentives and reward programs which can significantly improve retention rate. Offering something valuable to users including coupons, special discounts and deals and others. Many apps also offer incentives to new users to encourage acquisition.

This strategy works for every industry. According to the study, 77% of mobile users downloaded the app because of the incentives they offer.

Below image shows the reward program by Uber for its frequent customers.

Wrapping up

Successful mobile app retention marketing, at its core, is about the value that you are adding to the users task. Understanding the user psychology according to demographics and then targeting that segment, works. On the basis of this information, you can make decisions to drive more growth of your app.

Also, make sure not every strategy works for each industry. Throw everything you can on the wall and see what sticks and repeat.