According to Statista, only 32 percent of users return to an app 11 times or more after downloading it. In fact, 25 percent of users abandon an app after just one use. The mobile app market is a highly competitive market where users have a plethora of choices. Hence, engaging users and successfully retaining them has become a difficult task for brands that are now looking to design strategies to boost their user retention in 2023.
A study by Bain and Company stated that a 10% increase in user retention could increase the value of a business by more than 30%. That is the power of user retention!
And no two businesses have the same user retention strategies, but what they do have in common is keeping their users’ needs on top! That is why it is essential to have a tailored user retention strategy in place.
This blog will discuss user retention and six actionable strategies to master user retention in 2023.
What is User Retention?
User retention is retaining your existing users and customers and getting them to return to your product/service for subsequent actions, such as user sessions, engagement, purchases, etc.
70% of companies know it’s cheaper to retain existing customers than acquire new ones. But only 18% prioritize user retention, which is a mistake because your existing users are your asset!
So the simple logic behind this is that if you can keep your existing customers engaged and coming back for more, your product value will grow immensely. It also means retaining a user is quite essential and cost-effective when compared to acquiring a new one.
“User retention in a business directly translates to happy customers and long-term revenue.”
How to Calculate the User Retention Rate?
User Retention rate or the Customer Retention Rate (CRR) is measured by comparing the number of users at the beginning of a specific time frame (a week, a month, or a year) with the number of users using your app at the end of that time frame.
A high retention rate signifies that your product meets your customers’ needs and delivers their expected value. Satisfied customers will also stick around longer, leading to opportunities for upsells and renewals as they move through their extended lifecycles.
How to Master User Retention in 2023?
1. Seamless and Efficient Onboarding
Taking care of new users is essential. The first few days after a new user downloads your app or visits your website is the golden time when users are motivated to use and explore your platform. During this time, if you fail to communicate and reinforce the value the users expect, you can bet they won’t hang around.
Make your onboarding process as simple and intuitive as possible. The more difficult it is to begin using an app or a website, the more likely users will abandon it.
So, make your mobile app onboarding a breeze. Ideally, you can do this by not asking for many details when a new user creates an account. Asking only for necessary information, making the app load faster, using appealing visuals, providing them with a small introductory video, and having a logical flow will reduce the user’s cognitive workload.
Psychology plays a vital role in defining your level of success during onboarding. You will undoubtedly see your consumers returning if you provide them with a sense of accomplishment and all the context necessary to earn their trust.
2. Use Push Notifications and In-App messages (The Smart Way!)
If you walked into a store and nobody acknowledged you, you’d probably be disappointed and dissatisfied with the customer service. Think of app interaction in a similar manner.
You can use Push Notifications and In-App Messages to interact with your users. An app interaction can be as simple as welcoming new users with push notifications or providing useful, relevant information as users progress through your app. With the right push notification templates, you can increase your app user retention by a whopping 20%.
Successful apps use push notifications thoughtfully and strategically to reach out to their users. You can further boost user retention by using push notifications that are behavior-based or time optimized.
For example, providing relevant offers based on interest and usage patterns is an effective tactic for prompting app sessions. Push notifications with personalized, compelling messaging is also a great way to re-engage users who have dropped out of the conversion funnel.
Check out these Ten effective Push Notification Templates and why they work!
In-app messages are popups or notifications which are directly displayed while the user is interacting with the app. In-app messages are crucial because they bring users’ attention back to the core product and allow reaching the right user without roadblocks.
3. Deliver a Personalized Experience
This is one of the most underrated user retention strategies in 2023. But making your users feel special should be a top priority for all brands. As customer expectations increase, personalized offers have become a key driver to retaining new customers and meeting their expectations.
Personalized user experience establishes a direct connection with the users and keeps them hooked to your app. To personalize your mobile app to your user base, you first need to understand your users and their preferences.
Details like location, interests, age, purchase history, usage patterns, etc., help set up custom preferences for the user. Once you understand the individual members in your user base, you can go one step further and segment users with similar preferences, enabling you to collect data more efficiently and driving improvements in your mobile app to increase retention.
4. Include In-App Gamification
We live in a mobile-first era where grabbing and keeping people’s attention is one of the hardest things to do. But not impossible. This is where gamification comes into play. Gamification is simply leveraging user data to encourage the desired behavior. It uses several psychological triggers to hook users and keep their attention.
In-app gamification is like a cherry on the top that enriches user experience with game-like elements. Some of these elements are spin the wheel, point collection, rewards, leaderboards, or contextual notifications. The result is a fun and gratifying experience that keeps users motivated.
Download for Free: The Complete Guide to In-App Gamification in 2023Gamification is not only cost-effective, but it can also boost your retention strategy. Users love to be rewarded, and with in-app gamification, not only will your users be more engaged and loyal, but they will also be inclined to spend more! These users will keep returning to your platform for more, increasing your app’s user retention in 2023.
5. Listen to your Users – Gather Consistent Feedback
Engaged users are happy users. To build a healthy connection with your customers, you must make them feel valued and appreciated.
An essential aspect of mobile user retention is gathering and acting on user feedback. How do you know what your users want if you don’t receive feedback? This will allow you to understand customer sentiment better and make changes accordingly to keep customers coming back.
Conducting in-app surveys with your target audience and gathering feedback about their experience with you so far helps to boost your retention rates and strengthen your bond with your customers.
6. Track and Make use of Data
To indeed win at mobile, you need to be able to track your efforts to understand what’s working for you and what isn’t. This means you need a customer engagement tool or software at your disposal that grants you the insights you need to understand how well you are retaining users and how impactful your campaigns are.
Having the right data insights will enable you to strengthen your user interactions, ultimately resulting in a positive uptick in retention. Armed with these insights, you will be able to understand the obstructions that users face while using your app and decide the right app retention strategies.
Conclusion
Once you master User Retention in 2023, you will be able to win the hearts and minds of more customers. This, in turn, will lead to increased growth for your business. It’s crucial to provide value-added services, products, and user-friendly technological tools (apps, websites, etc.).
User retention is an essential aspect of any successful business venture. It is part of the company’s growth strategy and a catalyst for scaling up its business. In this sense, companies that can retain their customers and market share will be the ones that are leaders in the industry.
The Upshot.ai Advantage
Upshot.ai is an omnichannel, user engagement, and gamification platform that helps digital product owners and marketers improve product adoption and conversions.
With Upshot.ai, banks, Insurance, and FinTech firms can enhance their digital experiences with pre-built gamification features. It can provide personalized insights, actionable recommendations, and contextual nudges designed to deepen its relationship with its users.
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