The mobile app industry is thriving, with an estimated 3.5 billion smartphone users worldwide. As users spend up to 4 hours per day on their phones, it's no surprise that the average American checks their phone over 47 times a day. With extended periods of self-quarantine increasing screen time usage by 70-80%, mobile marketers must adapt to changing user behavior.
The Power of Mobile Marketing
Mobile marketing is all about engaging users through their entire lifecycle – from discovery to loyalty. To maximize the short 2-minute attention window, we recommend using the AARRR Framework: Acquisition, Activation, Retention, and Revenue. Let's dive into the first three stages.
Acquisition: The Challenge of Capturing Users
Paying to acquire users might seem paradoxical, but it's a necessary evil. With rapid spread of misinformation, concerns over data privacy, and a deluge of marketing messages, users have become more impatient and demanding. The hard truth is that your users need you less than they used to. According to a recent survey, the average cost of acquiring an app user is $4.45, with costs increasing for registration ($30.51) and purchases ($75.86).
Activation: Keeping Users Engaged
Most apps get deleted within 5.8 days after their last use. To prevent this, you must answer critical questions:
- Is this app trustworthy?
- Is it useful to me?
- Is it addressing my immediate pain point?
- Will it continue to add value in the future?
If these questions aren't answered clearly, users get frustrated and will either go dormant or uninstall.
Retention: The Key to Long-Term Success
According to Statista, global average user retention drops to 29% within 90 days post-app install. To prevent this, you must track and analyze the right metrics to keep your carefully acquired users engaged. This is where App Churn Rate comes in – the number of users who stop using your app within a given period.
App Churn Management: The Solution
Smartech's AI-powered engine, Raman, helps predict and manage churn, driving user retention at scale. Our 4-step approach:
- Define the time period: Determine the window within which users are most likely to churn or uninstall your app.
- Create smart segments: Dive deeper into individual user behavior to predict user behavior and segment users into three categories: Most Likely to Churn, Fairly Likely to Churn, and Less Likely to Churn.
- Create actionable campaigns: Design targeted and contextual multi-channel marketing campaigns for each segment to arrest churn.
- Choose the right weapons: Select the most relevant channel to re-engage your users – email, SMS, app push notifications, or others.
By embracing predictive retention strategies, you can turn AI-led user retention at scale into a reality, maximizing your app's potential and driving long-term success.