Mobile Apps Are Coming Of Age
We’re back from MWC in Barcelona! As I sift through my pile of business cards and send hundreds of follow-up emails, I reflect on the year that has passed since we launched at MWC ‘16, and realize that the industry has come of age.
It’s not all about traffic
Apps obviously still care about their traffic, and rightfully so. Without users, your app is out of the game. But 2016 was full of research stats about costly acquisition and dreadful churn.
It seems that most app owners realize their funnel issue isn’t top funnel, but mid funnel; they are now shifting attention and budget to retention, understanding this isn’t a luxury but the only path to success. Even the people in ad networks showed growing interest in the ability to retain users, because it’s now affecting their new KPIs, which take into account quality more seriously than ever before.
It’s not all about push
Last year, when app owners (from every possible vertical) were sharing with us their plans for communicating with app users, it was (almost) always a push notification scenario. And while push is very important and became a commodity for many applications, it is clear to many that the best time to engage with app users is when they’re in the app, fully focused on your brand.
This year I met many more app owners and marketers that suggested various scenarios they want to try and run INSIDE their app. As a matter of fact, some had a detailed plan in mind and their question to us was simple – can you help me do that? The happy answer was – yes!
It’s about value
What is a good app? It’s an app you care about because it helps you do something in a friendly, fun and/or efficient way. An app can be cool or serious. An app can be used twice a day or twice a month but if it brings REAL value to its users, its owners will get value in return.
I’ve met app marketers, product managers, usability, experience, customer success, and digital commerce managers. I’ve seen exciting, funny and fun apps. Apps for sharing scooters, for finding a flatmate, for connected cars, for fortune telling and of course for banking, retail, media, telecom and travel companies. They all give real value to their customers but they all realize that to be successful means they need to excel in HOW they do it.
It’s ALL about meeting customers expectations
It’s fair to say that app users (aka, all of us today) have matured way before the app themselves did. Apps were (and still are), a new realm growing at the most fantastic speed. We were all savvy web and mobile users when we started using apps, but user expectations weren’t initially met resulting in crazy churn rates. But it’s about to change. Yes, apps may still have pimples, but more and more we see them growing into in-app personalization. It’s doable and achievable.
Is your app going through puberty? Let us help!