Ask anyone who has been in business for any length of time and they will tell you it’s often much cheaper and therefore more profitable to win the business of an existing client than to find a new one. This advice is incredibly relevant in the world of mobile commerce where the upfront investment in driving app activations can be quickly lost as app engagement declines in the days and weeks after the initial download.When you consider that apps typically lose 90% of their users within weeks of being downloaded, it’s clear that app marketers need to invest as much time and effort into customer retention as they do into customer acquisition.Note: Many app marketers have seen a significant uptick in activations and engagements following the global COVID-19 pandemic. As the world slowly begins to embrace the “new normal”, retaining these users should be a priority for any business hoping to make gains in what has been a challenging environment for many businesses.Further Reading: Coronavirus Shifts Consumer Behavior Towards MobileBuild a Sticky ProductSmart app marketers adopt a number of different strategies to ensure users stay engaged after activation. Any great retention strategy starts with having a great product in the first place. It doesn’t matter how pro-active your retention strategy is if your app doesn’t deliver on its initial promises, you stand very little chance of retaining anyone. There are literally millions of apps in the various app stores that fall into this category. Make no mistake: When you have one chance to impress a user, good enough is not good enough. Therefore, your initial product development is a vital first step in your app retention strategy.Content is KingThere is a very good reason why news and information service apps (think weather apps) are amongst the most sticky in terms of user retention. It’s because their content changes all the time. The good news is, regardless of what your business does, you can emulate this and become a publisher, attracting users back to your app on a regular basis.Think of a sports retailer. While they might be in the business of selling sports equipment and apparel they should also be in the business of publishing regularly updated content that is relevant to their target audience. A regularly updated feed of content relating to the latest sports news will keep people coming back even when they are not interested in buying. And when they do want to buy, whose brand will be front of mind and perhaps more importantly, whose app will still be available on their users’ mobile device because it hasn’t been removed. Invest in content and your users will return and invest in you.Note: Always use app push notifications wisely. Before sending any app push notification, always ask yourself, is this relevant, is it interesting and is it timely? If you wouldn't want to receive the update yourself, you probably shouldn’t send it.Freemium RocksEveryone loves freemium products but there is nothing worse than a really limited freemium offer. You need to give your users the time to discover how vital your service is to their existence. It could be days, weeks, or months before someone properly engages with your app – so don’t scare them away with a “use us or lose us” strategy. If they haven’t got the time to invest in your app straight away they will walk. In the meantime, be useful, be available, and be ready to offer them a little extra when they are ready to invest in you. It’s also worth remembering there are many different ways you can make money out of your app beyond subscriptions. Advertising and eCommerce (either direct or in partnership with other brands) are two obvious levers to pull while you are waiting for a conversion. Think about how Spotify generates an income from both freemium and premium users without sending their free users into the arms of a competitor.SingleTap™ Installs Some apps just aren’t for the long term. Simple games might give a user a few hours, days, or weeks of pleasure but ultimately be discarded like an old toy in favor of the latest craze. This is why it is important for so many app developers to develop a back catalog of titles and cross-promote via in-app promotions. If a user is not going to play your game forever, it's best that they swap it for another one of your titles. Providing a painless transition between two apps is a vital strategy if you want to keep your users engaged with your brand's wider offering. Single Tap™ installs from Digital Turbine make downloading a new app as effortless as gameplay – just one tap and you are done.SingleTap™ Installs can also be used to promote downloads from other digital marketing channels, including banner ads, blog posts, SMS text messages, and emails. If fact, no matter how you engage a potential user, SingleTap™ Installs are the most efficient way of positioning an app on a device and driving engagement.Engage, Retain and Keep WinningTo learn how Digital Turbine can help you win new users and retain existing relationships, contact us today and ask to speak with one of our app marketing experts.
