With the market for apps being extremely crowded and the quality bar rising continuously, the era of the get rich quick apps have long gone by and the real challenge for the marketers/ App Entrepreneur is to gain a significant mindshare of their user base. This is where the significance of Mobile App retention comes in. With so many apps to download and use on the app store, most of the apps get lost among the collection of apps downloaded by the user or gets deleted soon after download. It is estimated that in case of most apps within a period of 3 months, over ¾th of their customer base is long gone, which in all sense affects your ARPU and in turn your net revenue. App Entrepreneurs have a retention problem rather than a discovery problem. The ASO techniques are extremely important in getting apps visibility on the app store and maybe a few downloads but with the plethora of apps on the app store and the relatively low barrier to delete an app from a mobile, the major challenge for an app maker/ marketer is to increase the user retention and with it the Lifetime value of their users.

1. Mobile App Retention – Why
You Should Never Neglect It.

2. 70 Billion app downloads in 2013

3. On avg. over 10
apps downloaded per human on
earth

4. ~1.8 Million total apps on the 4 major app
stores

5. The era of the get rich quick apps have long gone
by.

6. In case of most apps, within a period of 3 months,
over ¾th of their customer base is long gone

7. Take cues from a web marketer who focuses on his
customer funnels.

8. •Build Virality into the
Product.
•Re-target your
existing users.
•Target potential users
effectively on various
platforms.

9. But remember, the avg. CAC
increasing
is >$1 and

10. So, before you spend on acquiring users estimate
your Avg. Revenue Per User ( ARPU)
ARPU > CAC

11. For profits to increase, work on your Active
and ARPU
Users

12. A small increase in your User retention
number drastically increases your revenue.
Installs
*Retention =Active
Users
*ARPU
=Revenue
As is
100,000
15%
15000
$2
30,000
With 5%
Increase in
Retention
100,000
20%
20,000
$2.1
42,000

13. Not just that….
Higher retention and user satisfaction drastically
reduces the CAC as Word-of-mouth increases.

14. How do I improve User Retention?

15. Create a world-class app and give your
user a unique experience. There is no substitute
to this.

16. Measure extensively all user activity. Try
and identify pages which have a high drop-off
and do split testing to weed out the reasons for
the same. Use free tools such as Flurry for
analytics.

17. Enable in-app feedback system:
1. Avoids negative ratings on the app store.
2. Get early info on bugs and issues the user
faces.
3. Get suggestions and ideas for new
functionalities. Use the app user for your
research and survey actively to further
improve the app.
Ensure, you reply
promptly and make the

18. Roll out app-updates constantly.
1. Continuous improvement of app is always
appreciated by users.
2. Enables you to reach out to a dormant user
on the device through notification

19. Segment users based on in-app behavior
and offer unique customized experiences or
offers.

20. Extensively use in-app
messaging &
push notifications. Studies from Airpush
have shown that push notifications increases
engagement 4x times and increases retention
2x times.

21. Engage on social media and build a following.
Leverage impressions on various platforms to
create better mindshare.

22. Add
Gamification.

23. It’s ok to say that App Entrepreneurs have a retention
problem rather than a discovery problem.

24. Thank You
Email me:
amarnath.vannarath@gmail.com
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