In the ever-evolving digital landscape, re-engagement isn’t just a tactic—it’s the key to long-term success, user retention, and maximizing lifetime value. If you’re not re-engaging your mobile app users, you’re missing out on valuable opportunities.
The Power of Re-Engagement
Retargeting is a term well-known in the digital advertising world, but it’s only one dimension of a comprehensive full-funnel retention strategy for your product. To truly maximize your online investment, a full re-engagement strategy is critical.
The Essential Tactics
The digital world is rapidly evolving and growing, which has an ongoing effect on lifetime value. With so many options available, retaining users has become a significant challenge for brands. Users often download an app, sign up for a service, try it briefly, and if it doesn’t capture their interest, they quickly move on. Alarmingly, about 73% of users abandon an app within the first 90 days. This trend highlights the gap between download rates and actual engagement. Effective re-engagement strategies are the solution.
Real-Life Insights from Mobile App Marketing
To illustrate the importance of re-engagement, let’s look at some statistics:
- 37% of users engage with a retargeted ad due to the attractiveness of the product.
- Cart abandonment rates are reduced by 6.5% through multi-channel re-engagement.
- 68% of marketing agencies and 49% of individual brands maintain dedicated re-engagement budgets.
- Re-engagement has an astounding efficiency rate of 1,046%, outshining other ad techniques.
- With 2.24 million apps on the Apple App Store and 2.63 million on Google Play Store, the competition is fierce.
- 70% of marketers use re-engagement primarily to boost brand awareness.
The 3 B Strategy: Boost, Bond, and Bring Back
1. Boost: Amplifying Your Presence
- Email Campaigns: Emails remain a powerful tool for re-engagement. Use email campaigns to highlight new features, special promotions, or useful insights tailored to user behaviour.
- Retargeting: Retargeting acts as a gentle nudge, reminding users of their initial interest. With changes reducing the ability to use device IDs for in-app retargeting, email IDs can be used to retarget with video, display, and social ads.
- Push Notifications: These can be incredibly effective if used sparingly. They can remind users of tasks, inform them of new features or offers, and trigger actions based on user behaviour.
- Note: Be very careful about the frequency you use for emails and push notifications because that is also a way to lose customers by over-messaging them. That’s the beauty of using user IDs to re-engage on advertising channels as you can target them on display, social or video as much as you want without pissing them off.
2. Bond: Strengthening User Relationships
- Deep Links: Use deep links in your channels to direct users to specific pages. This increases relevance and improves user experience.
- Loyalty Programs: Implement loyalty programs to reward repeat engagement. Offer incentives such as discounts, exclusive content, or early access to new features.
3. Bring Back: Wooing the Lapsed Users
- Special Offers: Give lapsed users special deals or access to premium features to reignite their interest.
- Feedback Solicitation: Seek feedback from users who have drifted away. This shows that you value their opinion and helps identify areas for improvement.
Advanced Techniques for Re-Engagement
1. Personalized Push Notifications: Utilize data-driven insights to send personalized push notifications as well as triggers based on user behaviour.
2. In-App Messaging: Guide users through the product, offer tips, or highlight new features.
3. A/B Testing: Continuously test different re-engagement strategies to see what works best.
Measuring Success
Key metrics to track include:
Final Thoughts
In the digital age, where attention spans are fleeting and options are abundant, it’s not just about acquiring users but retaining them. The art of re-engagement is a framework of connection, resonance, and return. With the « Boost, Bond, and Bring Back » strategy, you can ensure your brand’s message doesn’t fade into the background but resonates with your users. Remember, in product marketing, it’s not just about the first impression but the lasting echo.