Smartphone users are utilizing mobile apps for a variety of tasks, such as communication, purchase, and entertainment apart from just making phone calls.
In fact, most smartphone users spend 88% of their entire mobile usage period on mobile apps. Owing to this, businesses are focusing on app development to reach more smartphone users, intending to gain more clients and expand their revenue.
This is why you need to provide a good incentive to consumers so they are compelled to download your app.
Here are the three effective strategies you can adopt to gain customer loyalty and retention:
1. Reward incentives
Businesses offer incentives in an effort to keep customers engaged with their brand.
In the global competitive market, every brand is continuously developing new apps and cheaper product alternatives to attract customers. Thus, you need to offer your regular customers attractive app rewards that would hold their interest in your brand only.
A lot of businesses utilize tactics like providing store credit on purchases and cashback offers to retain existing clients. Businesses also provide free service with purchased items as rewards to their customers. These bring the customers back to the brand and boost engagement and sales.
Case study
The following is a notable example of a successful rewards program:
Sephora
The cosmetic brand Sephora offers its loyalty program named the Beauty Insider Program.
As per one company representative of the brand, this program makes up for 80% of their total transactions.
The loyalty program contains many user-friendly features for the customers and is structured in a tier-based reward system. The app analytics check the total expenses of the customers and offer specific tier rewards based on their expenditure ranking.
For customers, this strategy works as a motivation to continue their association with the brand. Another customer-oriented feature of this loyalty program is personalized product recommendations.
Birthday promotions in the tier system include offers like free product shipping and makeovers to top-tier customers. Lower-tier members continue purchasing from the store to ensure their rise in ranking.
Types of reward systems:
Businesses utilize three categories of reward systems for customer loyalty growth. They include the following.
- Tiers: This tactic is a gamification technique that many brands apply to increase customer engagement. Businesses set the reward system on a hierarchical ranking basis; the highest tier holders receive the most exclusive rewards.
Different types of awards apply to particular tier groups besides the top-tier holders. After crossing a pre-set milestone, like a particular number of purchases or a percentage of total expenditure, customers can ascend to the next tier. - Points: This type of loyalty program is highly common among businesses globally. Customers get store credit for their continuous patronage and that increases their points. Later, these customers can exchange their points for free services or products.
- Paid loyalty program: In this particular type of rewards system, the customers can use the loyalty program benefits after paying a fee. For businesses, this is an additional source of profit as well.
The customers who paid for their loyalty membership would continue using the program since they invested in it. Plus, businesses focus on these members on a priority basis. One common benefit brands provide in a paid loyalty program is priority sale access.
Here, a brand allows early access to its premium customers over other visitors during a sale. One example of this is the Prime Day sale for Amazon Prime members.Other than choosing the type of reward system for your business app, it is important to decide when you must reward your users.. Here’s how you can do it: - Reaching a spending target: You can offer rewards to your customers when they spend a certain percentage of money on your products. Offer discounts or free product additions to them.
- Providing feedback for new product launches: Before your new product is live, you can offer a free trial of it to customers in exchange for feedback.
It would retain these customers as they would feel a sense of loyalty to the product they reviewed and your brand. - Recommendations: Particular brands offer extra gifts or discounts to their customers through in-app notifications when they recommend the app to another potential customer.
- Miscellaneous options: You can provide rewards to your consumers in exchange for viewing videos, subscribing to your company blog, or sharing brand-related ads online.
For example, some gaming app developers offer one extra life-line for every ad video the player watches.
2. App Personalization
Customers like a service that knows them well and can provide them with what they need quickly. This quick and effective service would enhance their loyalty to your brand.
In one survey, 40% of the marketing leaders who participated admitted that adding personalization in apps has increased their overall sales.
Some personalization tools you can add to your business app include discounts, push notifications and tips.
Case study
One example of an app that uses this strategy is Flo, a women’s health app. It monitors the user’s menstrual cycle and uses AI-based technology to chart their next ovulation cycle. Besides, the app provides personalized tips as well.
To utilize this technique accurately, you need to understand two things:
- Customer journey: View all the data regarding a customer’s journey through the app. The interactions you should focus on include clicks, visits, and the overall behaviour of the website visitor. Thereafter, you can create a data-driven representation or user persona.
- Sales funnel: Here, review the sales models and understand which one is bringing the most prospects and generating leads. Then, you can target related notifications to the specific persona.
3. Technological applications
Businesses are utilizing advanced software in their business apps to boost customer experience.
Some technologies that companies are investing in include augmented reality (AR), cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and real-time video chatting features. These modern technologies enhance the user experience on such apps.
From a customer value standpoint, Millennials and Generation-Z consumers use mobile apps frequently. A report says that 21% of Millennials access an app 50 times each day on average.
This generation is more interested in novel technologies. So, adding advanced software in your business mobile app would increase your brand popularity with these audiences.
Some of the technologies you can implement in your mobile app to improve customer experience are as follows:
- Artificial Intelligence: The combination of AI technology and robotic automation increases the productivity of agents and reduces the costs of production and maintenance. The software in these applications handles repetitive tasks automatically and securely.
For example, during transactions, the AI securely keeps the data stored within the app. Consequently, when the customer repeats this task for different purchases, the process occurs automatically.
One important point to note in this concern is keeping the AI functionality transparent would gain customer loyalty. - Chatbots: Mostly powered by AI, chatbots are instrumental in improving customers’ app usage experience. Automated chatbots quickly gain data from effective databases of company-wide systems.
These automated communications improve the app usability experience of users, who get the support responses to their queries quickly.
Customer service organizations promote the usability of these services; almost 23% of such organizations in 2019 adopted AI-powered chatbots for easier service. - Video chat: Video chat feature for customer and support staff communication enhances the customer service experience in apps. Instead of relying on an automated voice or reading automated instructions, users can interact face-to-face with the support managers.
Plus, the staff can visually showcase product/service-related solutions. Moreover, a face-to-face conversation creates a personalized connection between the brand. This develops brand loyalty among these consumers. - Voice recognition software: Business apps currently use this technology in their apps; the users can communicate easily with the in-app bots using this.
The software includes features like multi-language and regional speech tone recognition. This would increase brand loyalty to your brand for global customers. - Location-tracking: Many apps for businesses currently utilize beacon technology with the help of Bluetooth and GPS. There is a debate in the global market about this technique in regards to privacy concerns.
Therefore, if you employ this in your mobile application, do so carefully. Now, look at some tips to keep in mind when using this strategy: - Understand the USP of the brand: If you know what the USP of your brand is, you can utilize the technology that would best suit your goal.
For example, the AR technology of Sephora assists customers in buying suitable product types at the best possible price. This highlights the characters of loyalty and honesty; two important values of the brand. - Check the options: Learn more about the types of technology available and choose one that works best for your branded app.
- Hire a development team: After you have decided on advanced technology, hire a team that would handle the app development process. Research your options and then select a reliable app development company that would follow your brand vision accurately.
Conclusion
To retain customers and win new ones, businesses need to opt for techniques that the customers can utilize in the long term.
So, understand customer behaviour and needs, and then choose the best strategy among all these three or customize to make the right combination that your users can benefit from and become your brand advocates.
This, in-turn, would help you get more app downloads from your direct and indirect customers with high chances of conversion.
Contact the App-Scoop Vancouver Mobile App Developers for further details.