comScore: Data shows that Americans now spend much more time on apps than on desktop applications

There is no doubt that we now live in a world full of apps.

According to the latest data from market research firm comScore, Americans now spend much more time on apps than on desktop applications. Not only that, various app stores have also seen explosive growth. Take Apple's App Store as an example. In 2013, the number of apps in the App Store exceeded 1 million.

Now, even many traditional brands and many mobile-focused companies are building apps-centric businesses, using a variety of business models, such as in-app purchases, subscriptions, or other types of business models.

The problem is that the KPIs (key performance indicators) and marketing strategies of these apps are almost all focused on one user acquisition metric, which is the coveted number of app downloads. The reason they have this metric is based on an assumption, that is, they think "if someone downloads my app, then they will use it forever."

Unfortunately, they are wrong. In fact, 22% of apps are only used once.

Many people think that if you want to have high user engagement in your app, you must spend a lot of money on advertising, but in fact, there is a smarter way. If you want to get users to come back to your app again, you need to conduct granular analysis of your users and their habits of using the app. Then, target marketing activities to different users to get them back to your app, and ultimately provide these users with a highly personalized app experience.

So, what will be the result of doing this? The answer is that it can bring lower marketing costs to the company and potentially increase the lifetime value of customers. To achieve this goal, based on the analysis, companies can practice the following steps. If you can implement them correctly now, you can increase user engagement and bring them a better personalized app experience.

Use in-app messaging to grab users’ attention

In-app messages are messages sent to users while they are using your app. Some messages are good, for example, you can stimulate users to rate your app (especially those ranking ratings in the app store, which is very important), notify users to update the app in time or view new content, give some rewards, show some promotions, or provide new features for trial, etc. When users use the app, these messages allow you to interact with users and further deepen their impression of your app brand. In this method, analysis is the key! You must know clearly when and how to send some personalized in-app messages so that you can hit the right audience at the right time and on the right device.

Use push messages to bring users back to your app

Push notifications are notifications sent to the home screen of users’ phones when they are not using the app. This method is very effective for users who have not used your app for a period of time to re-engage them. Push notifications are also a powerful tool to stimulate user engagement and increase app conversion rates when users have not logged into your app for days, weeks, or even months.

However, it is very important that these push messages are as highly personalized as possible in order to attract the attention of users. Here, granular analysis will help you plan specific indicators such as push information content, push frequency, and push time. Without in-depth personalization analysis, the end result of your push messages is likely to be counterproductive. For example, recent data shows that marketers should push messages to users in the United States and Europe at different time periods because users in these regions use completely different types of apps.

Test, learn, and repeat

A/B testing allows you to try different copies, creatives, and content for different user groups. This way you can understand which methods resonate best with users and which methods are most likely to affect your app conversion rate and lifetime value. For different users, you will find out which methods are effective and which are ineffective. You can constantly adjust according to personalized messages and content to achieve the best results. Of course, A/B testing is based on analysis, which can help you distinguish user groups. During the testing process, you must effectively control, evaluate, and learn lessons from each test result.

A well-designed and easy-to-use App needs to be supported by personalized marketing activities in order to attract users more effectively. Getting users to download your App is only the first step. The next step is to get users to continue using your App, which is of course the most important step. The data you collect and analyze today will help you attract more users in the future.

(via vb translation/Kuai Liyu)