Improve These 5 Features of Your App to Prolong Its Retention
Reading Time: 5 minutes Launched – 20th March’20
Installs – 50 000 +
Metric Analysis Report Date – 5th April’20
Watching such numbers about your app takes you to cloud nine. All that hard work finally pays off. You get ready to clink celebratory glasses with your colleagues.
But, hang on!
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Gone are the days when mobile app marketers touted the number of their users as the strongest pillar of success. If the users are not active, the high download rate does not yield any business value. Instead, it is the retention rate that tells you about the worthiness of an app.
Table of Contents
What is App Retention Rate?
Retention rate is the statistical representation of the users who remain active on your app after a certain period. An industrial standard for measuring retention is after every 90 days. You have to calculate the number of daily logins if you are running a dating or social media app. And it is vital to calculate the retention rate for at least a week if it is a daily usage app. If not, you can adjust the measuring time accordingly.
Each app has its definition of retention. For rough estimation, here is the formula that can help:
(# of customers at the end of the period – # of customers acquired during the period) / # of customers at start of period) x 100 = retention rate
For instance, if you have 120 customers at the end of the period, 100 at the beginning. And you acquired 50 new ones. Your equation would be: ((120-50)/100) x 100 = 70%
Needless to say, the acquisition is merely a flashy metric. Instead of directing all your resources to this purpose, your task as a developer is to retain the customers. It can be vastly cheaper, according to the Harvard Business Review.
Loyal app users will also help the business become stable and profitable.
What features lead to a high app retention rate?
Fix it up before it’s too late!
Whether your design is all set to launch or you already have an app in stores, your app must have the following five features to ensure a higher retention rate.
1. In-App Messaging
Apps that send messages after evaluating the basic profile and behavioral data notice that user retention goes from 61% to 74% after 28 days, according to Localystics.
In-app messages are not necessarily promotional messages. You send them while the user is inside the app. It may be about payment failures, app issues, or the latest upgrades. Remember – the message must hold meaning for each user. You must segment your users to ensure they receive valuable messages.
2. Push Notifications
More or less like the in-app messages. This feature interacts with people when they are not using the app. These notifications appear right on the home screen. Therefore, it is vital to ensure the message they contain is compelling and actionable.
Combine this feature with the latest technology like Geopush, where an app sends push messages based on the location of the users. Such apps have a lower chance of abandonment.
However, when integrating this feature, make sure you keep interactions to a minimum. Do not turn them away with irrelevant content. Also, incorporate an option for them to turn off the push notifications.
3. Loyal Users’ Rewards
Incentives are an incredible way to motivate users to engage and get the word out. Gift vouchers, reward programs, loyalty gifts are some of the many ways to keep your users happy. For example, the freemium games offer weekly or monthly incentives for the players. It encourages them to keep coming back.
A famous example of app retention is the Starbucks App. It rewards the users with loyalty points every time they buy something. Later, they can make further purchases using those points. This creates an active loop, encouraging customers to keep coming for more. For more information about how a mobile app can grow your business exponentially, read this.
4. Optimal Security Assurance
Application security is the process of making an app secure by finding and fixing the flaws it contains. As per the Veracode’s State of Software Security Vol. 10 Report, 83% of the 85,000 applications it tested had at least one security flaw.
Once you have fixed the bugs, you must provide a guarantee to the users. Integrate a detailed explanation of how you ensure data security. The reason is that people are increasingly concerned about the privacy of their information. They fear an app might crawl in and leak their personal info.
A vast number of users are now looking for apps like AirG spam-free apps. Fortunately, there are numerous application shielding and security testing tools available in the market today.
5. Individualization
The modern-day users crave attention. They want their software tailored to their needs and preferences.
Keep in mind that you are up against the fierce competition. You need to make sure the users feel happy when they are on your platform. For this, you must have access to the following categories of information about users:
- Demographic Data – age, gender, likes/dislikes of the users
- Contextual Data – device, time, geographic location of the users
- Behavioral Data – how users behave
A detail of these categories will enable you to tweak features according to the preferences of the users. It helps to change the messages, offer tutorials, and incentives to the users. Tools like Hubspot’s persona generator is a brilliant tool to create a person of your users.
Parting Thoughts
It goes on and on!
App creation is not a one-time task. As a developer, it is your ultimate duty to keep a strict watch on how the app is performing in the market. Even a slight budge from its top-most ranking should be of concern to you.
Note that not every app is terrific. Instead, behind every app, there is at least one failed project thrown aside. So don’t lose hope if your metrics are not good initially. Modify according to users’ requirements, and you will eventually climb the success ladder.
And when you are finally up there, don’t forget to wave at us!
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