How mobile application helps transform new customer to loyal customer
Customer loyalty towards mobile app is very essential for the industry to generate revenue regularly. It is challenging to retain customers when it comes to the app industry. There are thousands of options available in the market with different features catering to the same service/product. In the end, business is all about acquiring customers and retaining them. A mobile app can turn your app users into lifetime customers. There are several ways to turn your app users into brand evangelists.
Ways to establish customer loyalty through mobile apps:
Inactive, lapsing, active and loyal are the four categories your customers fall into once they download the mobile app, depending on their usage frequency. We need to understand the customers’ needs in each category to devise different marketing strategies. Constructing the user’s journey through mobile apps can help businesses to attain customer loyalty.
Engagement: To increase customer engagement on the mobile apps, we need to give them some addiction, which will keep them engaged for a long time. You should figure out the unique features that will make your app almost irresistible to the customer. When a customer uses your app, you can also take their basic details like name, number, email, etc., during the introductory phase of using your app. You can further use these details for marketing your product/service through mail, SMS, push notifications, etc.
Rewards and loyalty programs: You can develop reward and loyalty programs for your customer, which will help them use points and coupons for making further purchases. This will help retain customers and increase customer engagement on apps for your products/services. The rewarding system should easy and convenient for customers to understand and avail themselves. A complex, rewarding system may affect customers’ involvement adversely.
Flexibility: Customer experience flexibility for mobile apps is an essential factor when it comes to customer loyalty. The apps can be constantly upgraded according to the user’s need to go through a flawless app experience. Moreover, introductory details taken from customers at the initial stage of app use can offer them personalized deals, treats on birthdays and anniversary offers.
First-Party Data: Understanding and tracking customer activities and preferences on your apps are essential to infer their choices of products/services. You can take feedback from the customers to devise marketing strategies on your app to help you attain customer loyalty. This will also help you make changes over a period to improve customer experience and app user interface, giving them a better experience.
Right moment: Feedback from customers is basically starting conversations with the customers at the right time. Mobiles are more of personal equipment, unlike desktops. Hence, finding the best opportunity to begin a conversation with the customers will encourage more personal feedback that will help you to understand the customer’s need.
Real-time Customer Feedback: You give a sense of participation to the loyal customers when you ask for their feedback. Mobiles are the best devices to respond to their grievances and feedback on a real-time basis. This makes a customer feel valued and special. The feedbacks are a way to drive your business. Whatever the input may be(positive or negative), it must be looked upon and so that the customers feel that their feelings have been considered. Hence, it helps the companies to retain their loyal customers for a more extended period.
Companies that have executed loyalty and reward programs:
Amazon: Amazon mobile app offers deals for ‘early access’ or ‘Prime’ members.
Starbucks: One of the major restaurant chains which offers several services through its mobile apps:
- Payment
- In-store refills rewards
- Customized offers to different customers
- Points rewarded after every purchase, which can be used for food and beverages.
Pinterest: This app allows you to find any kind of pictures that you need. Even after having a huge image database, their UI is very smooth, and the scrolling experience on the mobile app gives the customer an incredible experience. Moreover, they also feature photos according to your previous searches. They focus on the users’ preferences and provide them with an easy search for the images they want.
Conclusion:
Retention of loyal customers through mobile apps can mainly be achieved by providing the features they resonate with. The business should concentrate more on customer experience than just increasing their customer bandwidth for a shorter period. Knowing your customers helps you strategize your mobile app so that it can cater to the customers’ needs. Providing solutions to customers’ needs is much more important than promoting one’s product/services on a large scale.
