In-App Messaging Strategy to Boost Customer Retention

Any message that goes to your app users within the application is an in-app message. In-app messages are created using images, text and links and can appear on one part of the screen of the app user.

You can use in-app messages to get the users to take an action, or move around in the app or to a help section of the app.

If you have a mobile app or are planning to build one, then an in-app messaging strategy is a must for your business. It will help you to directly connect with your users while they are using your application.

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In-app messaging helps you to market your application in a focused way.

Here are some of the key benefits of an in-app message:

            1. It is a way to reach out to those customers who are actively using your app.

            2. Helps in sending diversified and customised campaigns to your app users.

            3. Helps in improving the user engagement on your application.

            4. Adds to the loyalty of your users.

Types of In-App Messages

You can use the following type of in-app messages to effectively market the products and services on your application:

            1. Slider Messages

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These type of in-app messages come as sliders on the app, at the top or the bottom of the app. These are shown without any disturbance to the app user, whatsoever. But, these messages are in plain text format and may not get as much attention from the user.

            2. Full-Screen Messages

If you wish to make your in-app message more detailed – a full-screen message would be quite useful.

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This type of an in-app message helps in adding detailed text, images and CTA buttons that help you communicate all the required details. The message may disturb the users while using the app, but you have a lot of opportunities to catch their attention.

            3. Modal Messages

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These type of messages combine the benefits of the above two types. They show as a square box in the middle of the user’s screens. Such messages do not disturb the user, while they also provide you with enough space to convey the message effectively by using an image and a Call-To-Action as well.

The Strategy

User Segmentation

One of the prerequisites of an effective in-app messaging strategy is to segment your users according to their preferences, their demographics and their app usage. Once you define your user segments, you can define the appropriate messaging for each.  

Create a Conversion Funnel of Your App

You need to understand the exact stages in the app usage where the customers end up abandoning it. Understanding the user journey of your application will help you to understand where all your customers are comfortable and what are the situations where they get stuck.

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These insights will help you create custom messaging to ensure that users convert and stay loyal to your app. It would help you create messages that would make the overall customer experience more friendly and simplified. 

Write Copy that Connects

In-app messages usually, allow more content than push notifications. At the same time, you must ensure that the copy is crisp, personalised and touches the users emotionally. Add persuasive messaging to your copy and make sure it is not forced upon the users.  The content should be actionable and should guide the users appropriately. For, e.g., if you are talking about a new app feature, then you must tell the user how to use the feature effectively.

Make Use of Visuals

The primary objective of any in-app message is to lure the user into taking the desired action. An in-app message that has got an interesting design that’s in sync with your brand will not look like a promotional message. It will rather be pleasing to your users to see such a message and take the next step. You can add complementary visuals to your message to ensure the users connect with it easily and effectively.

A/B Test Your In-App Messages

Testing your in-app messages is an essential for the success of your campaigns.  You can perform A/B as well as multivariate tests and choose the messages that are performing the best for your app.

You can first send out messages to a sample and analyse the results, before sending them to all of your users.

You can A/B test each element in your messages including the buttons, the design and the text to improve the overall outcome.

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While testing your in-app messages you need to define a goal for your campaign. You need to know whether you are looking to get more conversions or more clicks from your messages. The next step is to create different versions of your messages. You can then use an A/B testing tool to analyse the results from each of your messages.  

Make Your Messages Short and Sweet

An in-app message shows for only for about 15 seconds. Try to make your message short and convey it using fewer words. Add a single call to action for each of your messages to make sure you get a focused reaction from the audience. The language of your message must be easy to understand and must evoke an emotional response from the user.

The Messaging

Opt-In

To begin with, you can use your in-app messages to ask for the users’ permission for sending out such messages. You can talk about the benefits of opting into such messages in the content of the message. Tell the users that they would receive plenty of offers, discounts and other benefits if they choose to opt-in.  You must also highlight how the messages would be relevant for the users.

Personalise and Grow

Each app user is different, and all of them have their preferences. You can personalise the experience of your users with the help of custom in-app messages. Many times there are issues in your app, commonly faced by a lot of users. You can send your users, tips and tricks related to these problems, so they can easily solve them on their own. This way you can reduce the bottlenecks your customers are facing while using the application.

Provide a Sense of Achievement

Such messages are an interesting way to enhance the engagement level of the users. Gaming apps use such in-app messages to communicate if the user has crossed a level or got a reward while playing the game.

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In the case of a B2B app, you can use such messages to congratulate the user for having learnt how to use the app successfully. These type of in-app messages are useful in motivating your app users, in a positive way and in increasing the usage rate.

Send Messages Related to New Feature Releases and Updates

Adding new features to your app is a prerequisite for growth. You can use in-app messages to communicate about the new features and encourage users to use them.

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Highlight some of the important updates that you have done in the application. Add some tips for using these features effectively and how you can benefit from them.

Encourage Users to Share

Getting your app content to be shared on social media can surely help promote it. This strategy would help you build your existing customer relationships while creating new ones as well.

Suppose you have an interesting piece of information in the app that the users would want to share. You can add a triggered message that encourages the users to share the information on social media. Provide them with easy social sharing buttons on your message and make the sharing process simpler for them. The shareable content could be anything like a recipe or an informative video on your app. Such in-app messages are useful to add to the virality of your application.

Guide Your Users

Users do not always appreciate promotional messages. You can add messages that provide guidance related to the usage of the application. Adding informative messages that help your users to find stuff on your app or use some of its helpful features can give you positive results. You can track the usage behaviour of your app users and then send them custom messages that work best for these users.

Promotions and Announcements

You can use your in-app messages to promote upcoming discounts and offers available on your app. Talk about your referral program and tell your users how they can benefit from it. You can also make some important announcements with your in-app messages like information about a new product launch or an upcoming event etc.

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Push your users to through interesting messages that are actionable and build hype around your campaign.

The message delivery in the case of in-app messages is much higher, and therefore you can always expect a higher response rate than in push notifications. These messages are sent out only to active users, and very helpful in improving the sales from these users. These messages provide the option of adding rich media such as images, CTA buttons and interesting content, to engage with the users effectively.

Is your business looking for a smarter mobile application? Enterprise Monkey helps you develop a smarter mobile app that comes with features like in-app messaging that is tailored to your business requirements. The apps we develop, have features to reach out to the relevant audience and convert them into loyal customers.