Marketing automation provider Kahuna recently released the results of its Kahuna Mobile Marketing Index report, which details and dissects the impact that best-in-class mobile marketing technology can have on a company’s customer base.
The report, which sought insight from more than 39 million customers, finds that disconnected, impersonal messaging isn’t effective and will lead to high app abandonment. Strategic messaging tactics are imperative to keeping users engaged from before they even choose the app to upwards of a year after they download it.
Opt in to success
The average push notification opt-in rate is 62%, with Android outperforming iOS with an average opt-in rate of 78 to 46%. However, this disparity can be at least partly attributed to the fact that Android users are automatically opted in for messaging on their devices; though changes to the Android app permission process will likely put a dent in that percentage.
Also, opt-in rates vary drastically across industries—travel and transportation (78%) boasts the highest opt-in rates and medical, health, and fitness (35%) holds the lowest. Some apps within each vertical, the report says, were able to reach 80% or more of their audience with push notifications. In essence, industries that deliver utility with messaging have the highest opt-in rates.
The report also says that the average short- and long-term retention rates for users who have opted in to push notifications are more than twice as high than rates for users who haven’t opted in. For opted-in users, the average 30-day audience retention rate increased by 125%, the average 60-day retention rate increased by 150%, and the average 90-day retention rate increased by 180%.
Retention rules
Speaking of which, retention will make or break an app. Messaging is a proven way to drive user retention for companies, according to the study, because, once opted in, a customer can be more effectively onboarded and educated about interesting features and functionality of the app that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.
Data shows that well-orchestrated messaging campaigns ensure customers get the best possible utility from the app. The first step to creating a high-lifetime-value user is to drive the first handful of interactions with the app to create a habit of use, the report says. The report shows that by using messaging companies can expect a 45% retention rate for 30 days—a 125% increase over consumers who either did not receive or who did not opt-in for messaging.
The survival of even paid apps depends on moving beyond the “purchase and forget” strategy; data shows that up to 90% of installs do not become high-value users without an engagement marketing strategy.
The report concludes that companies “must be strategic about where and when they ask for permission to send messages, especially on iOS where the opt-in isn’t guaranteed. App interstitials that convey the benefits of opting in for messages before the actual iOS prompt is sent is a proven way for companies to boost opt-in rates. It allows companies to use a greater amount of phone real estate to communicate the benefits of push notifications, as well as other information customers want to know—like the cadence and purpose of messages being sent.”
