10 Customer Retention and Loyalty Techniques for Mobile Apps

Keep Customers Wr‘APP’ed Around Your Fingers!

In an era where the number of choices exceed the number of consumers, competitive prices abound and where innumerable offers and discounts catch one’s eye faster than a shooting star, brand loyalty among web users inevitably becomes scarce.

As much as the genre and quality of development of an app depends on its designer, its success or failure undeniably lies in the hands of the consumer. And why wouldn’t it? After all, customer satisfaction is not only the underlying goal, but also the backbone of most successful enterprises in the world. A happy customer is a loyal customer, and a loyal customer that buys repeatedly from you even acts as your very own invaluable brand ambassador! But in the cut throat competition that exists today, App developers are finding it tougher and more complex than ever to attract users. User acquisition has come to be an extremely expensive affair, and as if finding users was not difficult enough already, retaining these customers is another issue which needs to be paid attention to. So where does one turn to in order to get a loyal customer following? Well look no further, and turn to your app itself!

Nowadays, various web compliant websites and mobile applications themselves have become a powerful way of monitoring as well as rewarding loyal customers. Consumers today are a lot more familiar with the process of online shopping and are increasingly turning to their phones to buy everything, be it groceries, or even a holiday trip! In such a scenario, customer retention has become the prime goal of any growing business. Therefore, Mobile Apps not only allow customers to access information and services, but also provide a convenient means for these brands to remain engaged with customers even after their purchases, which is one of the most useful ways for companies to build loyalty and a positive rapport with customers. Having said that, Mobile Apps can offer customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty only if they cater to certain requirements.

Rewarding Your Loyal Customers

Mobile apps can be a great way to make the customers’ experience easy, versatile, and user friendly. This enables a customer-focused app to become the perfect tool for building customer loyalty and can truly help businesses go that extra mile in customer retention by encouraging customers to perform certain actions that will grant them a special benefit, such as special access to your new collection, a discount on their next purchase, or maybe even a coupon to redeem on other services. After all, retaining customers is just as important, as attracting new ones!

Keep Your App Updated

Customers might download your app based on an advertisement, a friend’s recommendation, or an app search. But once you’ve got customers to download your app, you need to find ways to hold their interest by releasing regular updates about new features or other compelling content that makes people want to go on using your app. Another important aspect to keep in mind is the timing of your updates. If you release content way too often, people might devalue your app and even stop paying attention to it altogether. On the other hand, if you wait far too long to release content, people might get bored and even delete your app! So, always remember to strike to strike the right balance between timing and relevant content to achieve customer loyalty and retention.

Easy Does It

Customers like ease of use and accessibility. When customers make a purchase via an app, the very fact they can do this easily and hassle-free, keeps them engaged with your brand. Also, previously stored payment details and other user information, acts as a great incentive when it comes to customer retention and loyalty

Give Customers Some Space

On one hand there are polite app notifications, and on the other hand there is downright unabashed spamming! It is very important to build personality into your app. So please, DO NOT spam people. Give your customers the opportunity to opt in to notifications, rather than just assuming that everyone wants to hear from you. Come up with an appropriate schedule to remind customers to come back to your app if they stay away for too long. Also, experiment with different styles of notifications, but always keep them brief, easy to read and catchy, with a clear message, such as “Play our new level,” or “We miss you! Don’t forget to check out our new features.” Remember, you are building a brand, and not just a product and as important as it is to get customers to come back, it is also essential to keep up the quality and standard of your app.

Extending Support

By encouraging customers to interact with your business 24×7 from anywhere, not only improves the customer engagement, but it also provides an unprecedented opportunity to enhance customer retention and loyalty.
Creating in-app feedback forms furnishes an exceptional opportunity for brands to get valuable customer feedback on their app, with the help of which they can spot the services that need to be improved. This helps you to keep your customers locked in, while also capturing new ones. Truly, a win-win scenario for both the company and the customer.

Create enthusiasm among users

A passionate and enthusiastic user acts as a catalyst for the growth of your business as well as customer retention. Offer rewards for spreading the news of your app and inviting friends to download it. This will generate excitement about your product and also fetch you more users.

Social Media

Customer relationships are the foundation of increasing user retention for your App. State of the art technology and frequent notifications do help, but you are more likely to keep your customers hooked if you build relationships with your customers that go beyond the app itself. If you thought social media was to stay in touch with friends, you’d be surprised to know that it can work wonders when it comes to customer retention for your App as well! The social media can be efficiently used to build your brand. Also, reward the audience for participation in social media such as Facebook and Twitter conversations and watch your apps take on a life of their own which your customers can enjoy. Don’t just build an app, but aim to build a broader app community!

Geolocators

This feature can be built into your apps which encourage the customers to take advantage of specials offers when they are in or near the store. The app user would be notified about a sale or even a loyalty bonus for being a regular and loyal customer. This strategy works amazingly well for retailers as well as food outlets as it makes way for a strong consumer bond and customer retention and loyalty.

Use Game Dynamics

To make your apps more addictive and to keep them from getting ignored, you need to give your customers a reason to keep coming back. So, instead of designing a game that is fun for only a short span of time, you can use game dynamics to keep the novelty from wearing off! Continually challenge and reward your customers with new levels of interaction that stimulate and reward the brain. One of the most widely recognized types of game dynamics is the use of badges in Foursquare, where people earn a reward for completing an action. Other game dynamics may include building in a feature that compels your customers to take an action or make a decision within a certain time frame, in order to avoid receiving a penalty or punishment. This can prove to be a fun way to establish customer retention.

Accept your mistakes

No matter how hard you try to make your App likeable, there will always be some customer complaints. So, instead of being in denial and furnishing excuses, it is important to acknowledge your mistake and work on the shortcomings of your App design. Once the customer complaints are taken care of, customer retention and loyalty is bound to follow.

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