Why are push notifications so important today?
Did you know that the global mobile app market accounted for $108,440 million in 2016, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.2% to reach $311,249 million by 2023? Approximately 1,434 mobile apps enter the mobile app market every day.
Let’s face it, push notifications have been the best form of communication to reach users after the explosion of mobile apps. Their ability to reach users when not using the app saves you from waiting for them to launch the app and then schedule or trigger personalized communication. In fact, push notifications are a polite way to nudge users to relaunch the app and remind them how awesome you are!
But, user dormancy and eventual churn are inevitable realities. As a mobile marketer, you’re probably doing a few basic things wrong if your dormancy rates are too high or your user retention rates are too low.
Why does an app user turn dormant?
- Users didn’t stick around after the free trial period
- Not enough value delivered by the app
- Lack of personalised, meaningful, and timely communication, i.e. no push notifications
How can apps recapture user attention and re-engage them?
An effective re-engagement push notification campaign will definitely grab your user’s attention and encourage them to return to your app. It will also remind him/her the purpose of why he/she downloaded the app in the first place. Creating top-of-mind recall with relevant notification messages based on your user’s captured data-points and in-app behavior is critical.
Your re-engagement efforts can pay off big time, if you keep the following pointers in mind while planning a re-engagement campaign.
- Incentivize your users
- Clearly communicate the value you wish to deliver to them
- Send personalised and triggered message notifications
- Remind users of what’s new
Also Read: 8 Tips to Increase User Engagement by Deep Linking Push Notifications
Here are best notification examples of 5 leading brands that are acing their push notifications game, especially on iOS:
1. Zomato
Who doesn’t love burgers? Even the healthiest of us probably did at one time in life!
Zomato sends some really good notifications and has all the elements that a push notification should have.
- Rich elements: By including a relevant image in addition to catchy notification message, the push notification is visually appealing, nudging users to relaunch the app
- Two-fold personalisation: Not only do they address users by their first names but also contextualise the notification message based on user’s past in-app behaviour and historical purchases
- Notification Emojis: By including emojis in the notification message, Zomato is able to complement textual copy and add a fun element to the push notification
- Targeting based on time: Zomato sends such campaigns generally in the evening when users are more likely to transact, adding another level of personalisation in their attempt to improve conversions from push notifications
Marketers can look to leverage the power of AI to further optimise send times in order to nudge users towards greater app usage and repeat purchases.
Rich push notifications will continue to remain the present and future of an intelligent mobile marketing strategy and mobile marketers, especially in the food tech space, can definitely take a “slice” or two off Zomato’s “plate”!
Learn just how you can up your mobile marketing game if you happen to be a food delivery app right here!
2. QuizUp
Heard of the quizzing app, QuizUp?
I personally like playing quizzes and testing my general knowledge across various fields. But, lately I haven’t visited this app and had even forgotten about its existence on my smartphone, i.e. I have become a dormant app user.
Unlike a host of other gaming apps, QuizUp clearly recognises my dormancy and preference for certain quiz topics based on my historical usage of the app.
So, it sends engaging push notifications of this nature to remind me of a new quiz topic arrival, completely customised to my past in-app interactions.
These iOS push notifications are effective for the following reasons:
- Quirky copy: Notice how the notification message creates an instant impact
- Notification Emojis: While it may seem like QuizUp overdoes the use of push notification emojis, that’s not really the case. Their emoji messages are highly relevant to the content and make users at least read the entire notification message once completely
- Hyper-personalization: The notification message is contextualized based on a user’s past in-app behavior
Thanks to these engaging push notifications, not only have I relaunched the app but also ended up using the same multiple times post that, resulting in an increase in app usage, session lengths, and time spent in app, for QuizUp.
3. Nearbuy
I have been an active user on Nearbuy, a hyper-local online platform that enables customers to engage with local merchants. With over a million app downloads, Nearbuy aces its user engagement and re-engagement mobile marketing campaigns.
Nearbuy’s “We Miss You” flavoured push notifications are a perfect example of how to resuscitate dormant users, encouraging app relaunch and in-app purchase.
This iOS push notification has everything that tempts dormant app users to almost instantly re-engage with:
- Emotional messaging: While the notification messaging is limited, the creatives and tonality used are hard-hitting, nudging users towards app relaunch, at the least
- Purchase incentive: By embedding a promo code within the notification message, Nearbuy succeeds in playing on the user’s psyche, incentivising purchase
- Sense of urgency: Outlining the fact that this is a limited time offer, Nearbuy creates a sense of FOMO, nudging recipients to avail the same
Such re-engagement push notification campaigns can be triggered and targeted at inactive app users after a particular period of time, i.e. time lapsed since last app launch or purchase. The more personalised and laser-focused the targeting along with incentivised messaging, the better the chances of reactivating dormant app users.
4. Overcast
Podcasts are the best way to keep up with the world at large, especially when you aren’t into reading books.
There are a lot of podcast apps out there but I’m personally a big fan of the Overcast app and that’s how I get my daily dose of startup and tech news.
Overcast does a good job in re-engaging users by sending a push notification whenever a new episode of a user’s favorite/subscribed to podcast releases.
5. Duolingo
Salut! Comment allez-vous? Yes, I’m learning French.
Duolingo is one of the most popular language learning apps. We all know Duolingo for its incredible UX and gamification of the language learning experience.
But, their re-engagement focused push notification campaigns as part of their larger mobile marketing mix are also noteworthy.
On identifying a dip in app usage over a period of time, Duolingo sent me a push notification to remind me about my pending French lessons, nudging me to complete my daily module.
The ingredients that make this iOS push notification a great re-engagement campaign are:
- Contextual copy: By customising the notification message based on users’ historical in-app behaviour, Duolingo hits the nail on the head when it comes to personalisation
- Friendly tone: The notification message has a disarmingly friendly undertone that resonates with users at first glance
- Relevant details: By keeping the notification message crisp and revealing how much time (a few minutes, at best) users would require to complete their daily learning schedule, Duolingo nudges users into action on app relaunch
Engage, re-engage, and engage some more!
Re-engaging your app users is an art and a crucial part of every mobile marketing strategy. Since push notifications constitute an incredibly powerful tool in an app marketers’ arsenal that drives users back to your app, it can also damage your app reputation if there isn’t an effective push message strategy in place.
Before you initiate a re-engagement push notifications campaign, you need to consider the behavioural information of each individual user that has been dormant based on a unified view of the customer.
Remember you get only 1-2 shots at best to resuscitate rapidly disengaging or already inactive app users before they churn completely. So, make sure your push notification campaigns are well-crafted, personalised, and tailored to nudge such users towards a favourable conversion event.
To learn just how you can build and deliver such incredible iOS push notification campaigns to power user re-engagement on the Smartech platform, schedule a demo today!
