Google Play Store and the Apple App Store are flooding with mobile apps. Many different apps available under the same category make the market so intensified that people have many options to satisfy their one simple need.
Businesses which rely only on mobile apps to acquire the customers and earn, find it very difficult to lock horns with this challenge. Luckily, many app-based businesses deploy strategies to increase the customer retention rate which is nothing but the percentage of customers the company has retained over a given time period.
However, there are still many startups available out there that have no idea about different strategies to increase the customer retention rate which eventually increases the sales and profit.
In this blog, I will put forth 5 proven strategies any app-based startup can bring into the field to increase the customer retention rate. To make understanding more rational, I will share the strategies of top app-based startups. So, without any further due, let’s proceed.
Promote transparency
Transparency matters the most in any kind of business. If customers feel that they can’t trust you, they will quickly swap your app. The best available way to stay transparent is to never apply hidden charges and make extra money for your service/product. The payment module of your app should be so extensive that it shows a detailed fare or price breakdown.
Another way to stay transparent is to make users aware of your business and app privacy policy. If you are sharing data of users without letting them know or asking their permissions, you will not only lose the interest of the users, but you will drag yourself in the legal battle.
All popular app-based startups exhibit a detailed fare or price break-down which includes the taxes too. They are also making users familiar with the privacy policy by sending mails and adding the privacy policy document in the app.
Offer rewards
Rewards or discounts attract users the most. However, it constrains your opportunity to earn more. So, what is the alternative?
There are many app-based startups which are offering rewards or discounts to the users based on the usage. If a user is new, they offer huge discounts to keep him a part of the sales life cycle for a long time. If a user stops using their apps after some days, they also offer him huge discounts to motivate him to be part of the sales life cycle again. Two Indian food delivery startups – Zomato and Swiggy – and even Netflix follow the same strategies. Netflix offers a month-long membership free to all new users. And if a user doesn’t renew the membership of the Netflix account, Netflix offers him an additional month of free membership after a few months.
They aren’t customers. They are family members!
Though users using your app are the customers for you, treat them like family members. It cultivates a very crucial affection within them towards your app. And because of this affection, they won’t swap your app with another one very easily. However, it is extremely difficult to reach there. For that, you have to offer a personalized user experience. And to give personalized user experience, you have to employ many advanced technologies like AI and machine learning. These technologies study the behavior of each individual user and find out their interest. Later, the app only shows the ‘favorite’ content or product or service to each user.
TikTok app following this strategy. The backend of the TikTok app is equipped with AI technology which keeps an eagle eye on the user activities. Based on this data, it predicts the interest of the users and only shows their favorite videos to them. This way, it never makes users bored!
Be there when things go wrong
In app-based business, things can go wrong, especially due to many external and even internal factors. The worst things ever happen with the app-based business are data breaching, legal issues, and financial crisis. Regardless of how or why they arose, you have a responsibility to tell your clients and users the actual state of the business and how it affects the future of the company. If you become proactive to address the situation, chances are there that users will understand the concern and help you to get out of the tough situation.
Make them believe the significance of using your app
Users are using your app for that one reason which they don’t know about. This one reason (feature) is missing in all other apps and only available in your app. Find that one feature and make users aware of this. It will help you to make your users understand that your app is unique and by using your app, they are making a change. Are you still confused? Let me give you an example.
A few e-scooter sharing startups have added a very unique app feature in their app, with the help of their hired e-scooter app development companies. This feature which is unique shows the amount of carbon dioxide an e-scooter rider is saving by choosing an e-scooter over the car. Such things definitely make users feel good after using your app and motivate them to use your app again in the future.
In the nutshell:
Customers are the most valuable asset app-based businesses have. If you stop treating them as a valuable asset, they will soon swap your app with some other app. To avoid falling in such an unsettled situation, you have to keep an eagle eye on the retention rate and work hard to keep it high. In this blog, I have shared 5 proven strategies to achieve so. However, you are the ultimate decision-maker. You have to take many things like customer preference, your business goals into account to deploy the strategy to keep the customer retention rate high.
Vishal Virani is a Founder and CEO of Coruscate Solutions, a leading e-scooter app development company. He enjoys writing about the vital role of mobile apps for different industries, custom web development, and the latest technology trends.
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