App marketers are adjusting their strategies according to changing business priorities, but driving installs and user acquisition is only part of the equation.
User acquisition has become more challenging for app marketers. Volatile cost-per-install (CPI) rates, media inflation, reduced labor, and smaller, more scrutinized budgets are increasing the pressure to do much more with much less.
On top of this, app marketers are facing changes in privacy that make it difficult to reach the right audiences and measure their mobile campaigns. Between Q1 and Q2 2022, app install spending levels fell 14% after a 2% increase between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022.
The value of retaining users should not be underestimated as both businesses and consumers brace for a recession. Focusing on retention will help app marketers overcome current conditions and put them in a stronger position for the long term, reducing churn rates and associated costs, but what practical steps can they take to achieve this?
Create a view of user retention
If app marketers want to maximize something, they must first measure it. Quantifying user retention is key to understanding how many users return to and engage with an app on a regular basis. App marketers can use metrics like uninstall rate, session frequency, and session duration to monitor how their strategies are performing against their goal.
But lack of retention isn’t just about how often people uninstall or use an app, it’s also about whether they’re using it for its intended purpose.
For example, if users of retail apps regularly leave items in their cart without checking out, then they aren’t using the app the way retailers want them to. In this scenario, knowing the level of cart abandonment allows app marketers to set a benchmark for their re-engagement strategies.
This lays the foundation for informed mobile campaigns and meaningful user interactions. It enables app marketers to understand what brings value to their user bases, drives engagement, and builds those long-term connections that result in high user retention.
Knowing retention levels is also important for calculating the lifetime value (LTV) of user bases, which in turn can enable more accurate and effective targeting for mobile app campaigns.
Making every penny work smarter
Budgets are once again under the microscope, leaving app marketers laser-focused on maximizing their ad spend. In 2022, overall media spend decreased by 12%, a four-fold change from the 3% decline experienced in 2021. When every penny must generate tangible value, ‘spray and pray’ tactics will not be sustainable and the precision is paramount.
By identifying high LTV user segments, app marketers can reach the right users and effectively drive continued success. One way to predict LTV is through in-app event monitoring, as specific patterns in user behaviors can indicate high LTV.
The frequency with which users interact with an app, the features they use, and the in-app events they complete can provide information about the likelihood that they will renew an app subscription or make a purchase.
For example, eCommerce app marketers might learn that users who make an in-app purchase above a certain amount in the first week of using the app are more likely to become loyal customers and place orders. repeated. Armed with this information, app marketers can discover the best user segments to target their mobile campaigns. This precision means budgets work smarter to meet marketing goals.
Leverage cost-effective means to drive impact
Since ongoing user interactions are the foundation of retention, app marketers need to keep users in the loop about new content and new products, and drive engagement. Media inflation is causing app marketers to focus on using proprietary channels as a profitable means of achieving this. By following a series of best practices, app marketers can increase the impact of their own media strategies.
The first step is to establish benchmarks, which highlights the need to quantify user retention. App marketers need to understand the current status quo and set clear, measurable goals, such as reducing churn rate by 5%.
Then user perceptions come into play; Knowing where users are on their journeys and what sticking points they might be experiencing is critical. These steps inform what type of content and which particular channels app marketers need for their own media strategy.
For example, if app marketers are looking to drive engagement by announcing a new app feature, a push notification might be best suited to encourage users to open and try the app. Alternatively, app marketers could increase consideration of a newly launched product through their newsletter and include a call to action that leads newsletter users to relevant content in the app.
Experimenting with different channels and formats will help app marketers identify the most impactful ones to use. Since first-party media not only ensures full control over content creation, but is also free, taking a test-and-learn approach doesn’t put your ad spend at risk.
As part of this approach, app marketers need to compare the performance of their own media strategy against their initial benchmarks and goals. This allows them to identify which efforts are generating the most impact and which areas need improvement and optimization. To maximize performance, continuous analysis is critical.
By making retention their primary goal and strengthening their connections with users, app marketers can not only survive today’s economic pressures, but thrive in the long run. Benchmark retention, taking a precise approach to targeting, and refining first-party media strategies to drive engagement enable app marketers to maintain their user bases and improve their results.
User acquisition has become more challenging for app marketers. Volatile cost-per-install (CPI) rates, media inflation, reduced labor, and smaller, more scrutinized budgets are increasing the pressure to do much more with much less.
On top of this, app marketers are facing changes in privacy that make it difficult to reach the right audiences and measure their mobile campaigns. Between Q1 and Q2 2022, app install spending levels fell 14% after a 2% increase between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022.
App marketers are adjusting their strategies according to changing business priorities, but driving installs and user acquisition is only part of the equation. The value of retaining users should not be underestimated as both businesses and consumers brace for a recession.
Focusing on retention will help app marketers overcome current conditions and put them in a stronger position for the long term, reducing churn rates and associated costs, but what practical steps can they take to achieve this?
Create a view of user retention
If app marketers want to maximize something, they must first measure it. Quantifying user retention is key to understanding how many users return to and engage with an app on a regular basis. App marketers can use metrics like uninstall rate, session frequency, and session duration to monitor how their strategies are performing against their goal.
But lack of retention isn’t just about how often people uninstall or use an app, it’s also about whether they’re using it for its intended purpose.
For example, if users of retail apps regularly leave items in their cart without checking out, then they aren’t using the app the way retailers want them to. In this scenario, knowing the level of cart abandonment allows app marketers to set a benchmark for their re-engagement strategies.
This lays the foundation for informed mobile campaigns and meaningful user interactions. It enables app marketers to understand what brings value to their user bases, drives engagement, and builds those long-term connections that result in high user retention.
Knowing retention levels is also important for calculating the lifetime value (LTV) of user bases, which in turn can enable more accurate and effective targeting for mobile app campaigns.
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Short-Termism Won’t Get App Marketers Through the Recession: It’s Time to Prioritise Retention
