How to Improve Your Retention Marketing

So you have created a great mobile app, and have started marketing it and are generating downloads, but your customers aren’t sticking around – now what do you do?

High customer retention rates and loyalty are crucial when it comes to the long-term success of your business. Once you have found the right formula that makes users not only convert but also use your mobile app regularly, you have got yourself an amazing deal. In other words, you have developed a top-notch retention marketing strategy.

You ask, why should you focus on your retention marketing when your acquisition strategy is yielding results?

The answer is simple. On average, it costs 5 times more to acquire a new customer than it is to retain an existing one. By increasing customer retention by 5% you can increase your profits between 25% and 95%.

Moreover, it will be much easier to be successful at selling to an existing customer (which has a 60-70% success rate) than it would be to sell to a new one (which has a 5-20% success rate).

Which is why retention marketing must have its place in your mobile app strategy. Before you look at driving repeat purchases or continued usage, you must understand why and where in your funnel your users drop off – this is where you are going to focus your retention marketing strategy. If you know where people are losing interest, you can fix it and watch your users’ lifetime value rise. 

If you are not sure, follow these retention marketing tips:

1. Don’t be afraid to ask.

When you reach out to your users via email or within your app (while respecting data protection regulations of course), you will be able to much better understand their concerns, while simultaneously building consumer relationships and trust.

A great way to get an honest response is to automatically serve a feedback form to anyone who unsubscribes. The longer you wait, the less accurate your feedback will be, and the smaller your number of responses will be.

Another way great and less invasive opting to interact with your users is through social media. Don’t be afraid to post polls and question forms on your social media channels, then use the replies to better your user experience.

2. Listen.

People tend to be very vocal about things they don’t like online. It is also very likely that whatever complaint your app is getting from one person is being silently shared by many other users. Listen to what they are saying about your app online and acknowledge it. Then, reply gracefully and offer a solution, such as a discount or an apology. This small action might get you new users and even turn a customer who left into a loyal one. People like when a company listens to them because they feel understood and included. A great customer experience will do wonders for your acquisition and retention strategy.

3. Be careful when introducing new features.

Measure your responses carefully whenever you add new features to your app or platform. Your feature might seem great to some but not others. A great way to improve this process is to A/B test features before you fully implementing them, and measuring as you go. This step might save you a lot of time, effort and money as well as keeping users for longer.

4. Value customer service.

For the same reasons that we’ve mentioned above, having outstanding customer service is essential to a healthy business strategy. It is estimated that 68% of users leave as a result of poor customer service. The last thing you want is to invest time and money into a product, only to drive your customers away into the arms of the competition.

Make it as simple as possible for users to reach a customer service representative. For example, use a chat plug-in or Facebook messenger, so that they can quickly turn to you if they have a problem, instead of leaving altogether.

5. Develop a loyalty programme.

You want your users to become spokespeople for your brand. Every user is an influencer within their own circle, so they should be treated as such. By creating a loyalty or reward programme, you are able to reward those who share your app with their friends and family, which will encourage them to continue supporting and favouring your brand. This will also allow you to track which customers are the most influential.

6. Know your users.

Get to know your users as soon as they sign up. Find the right balance on how much information you request as they sign up, without increasing the barrier-to-entry too much.

Simply by asking a targeted question within your app, especially on new features, can also be an effective way to gather necessary insight into what’s working and what is not.

Depending on who your app is aimed at, it might also be beneficial to start a Facebook group where they share experiences or discuss topics that are relevant to your mobile app. This can prove to be an incredibly valuable source of information for your business over time, and it can shorten your reaction time to a particular issue that your users might be experiencing.

7. Don’t underestimate good content.

Use your email list to share relevant content with your customer list, and to give back. Provide information, share interesting content and host giveaways. Your email list is already interested in your product, so why not use it to strengthen your relationship?

8. Show case how you are improving your user experience.

Post about new features and changes if they are relevant to your audience without getting too technical. This can be a helpful tool to re-engage and educate your audience while showing that your company cares and listens to its users.

Customer retention is all about working smarter, and not harder. Show that your company cares and closely monitor how people respond and act upon any changes to your app’s user experience.

Work on keeping your existing users happy, while continuing your user acquisition journey in parallel, and watch your user-base grow.