Are You Using Mobile Push and In-App Messages The Right Way?

Push notifications are a great way to engage actively and directly with your customers. Spending all that money and effort on creating an app means you want to make the most of the opportunities it presents. If done correctly, you can utilize this medium to reach your targets within seconds and achieve a higher conversion rate as compared to other types of campaigns.     

But what are push notifications?   

You might think all apps have messaging or some method of managing notifications. Many won’t, and numerous app owners don’t want the upkeep of such a CMS system. While push notifications come in many guises, they are essentially a notification in the operating system outside of your app. (Push notifications should not be mistaken for web-push notifications, more on those at another time). These notifications or messages can be seen by the user on their lock screens or in the notification panel and are mostly actionable. This means you tap and go straight into the app and the content pertaining to the message.  

Push notifications can bring customers back to your app, but the in-app messaging feature offered by Mapp can reach out to users directly while they are in the app.  

Do you have a great sale coming up that users who are interested in a certain product need to know about? This feature helps you engage with them and improve their in-app experience. With Mapp Engage, you can set up logic to decide how to apply this messaging. These messages can be sent immediately, at a specific time or day, or upon a triggering event such as a customer purchase or when browsing for a product. You can also control the appearance of these messages, utilizing templates or by creating your own with html code. For example, you may have a sale of chairs coming up. You could set up an in-app message with a great picture and some information about your sale. Next, create the logic to show this message to customers when they search for chairs in your app. And you’re all set! Customers will know that they can come to your app tomorrow and get a great deal on your products.   

 There are three important things to consider when setting up your push notification campaign:  

1. Who is the target?   

Specifically targeting users through segmentation is a must and can increase your response rates. Do all your users need to know about a sale or only those users who haven’t shopped with you recently? Are you targeting recent app users or trying to reconnect with inactive customers?  

Segmentation is about whom you want to send what. When you ask users to opt-in to these notifications, be sure to let them know about the value they get from you.   

2. When will they see the notification?   

When thinking of your customers, don’t forget to think of when they will see your message. Do you want to reach them in the morning during their commute, or during the evening when they get home from work? When would your product be useful to them, and when are they on their phone?  

3. How many should you send?   

Do not overuse this channel. One notification a week risks losing 10% of users, but when you start sending two or more, it jumps to 37%! Don’t risk losing this valuable connection by badgering your customers. 

We must remember that “with great power comes great responsibility”! Using push notifications wisely can help you connect with your target audience. Estimates suggest that push notifications can increase app open rates by 26%.