Best Tips on growing your App Business

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 “Downloads = success”

 This is the most common assumption in the App Business.

..but in reality, those are just vanity metrics.

 

At the end of the day in addition to downloads you’re also looking for loyalty.

 

WHY?

 

Because it’s always cheaper to retain a customer/user than it is to get a new one. Ask anyone who knows a thing or two about business. The cost of acquiring a new customer is roughly 7x higher on average than that of what it is to retain a customer(user in this case).

 

So what you really want is..

Downloads + Loyalty

 

When you think of downloads you always want to consider activer users commonly referred to as DAU (Daily active users) and retention.

 

Retention is the biggy here.

 

Spending money on acquiring users to have them go right out the backdoor won’t leave you with money to spend very long.  You want to ensure that your users stay happy and engaged for as long as humanily possible.

 

So now, you need to ask yourself – what are you doing to fulfill this second part of ensuring your users are happy and engaged?

 

Let’s take a look at some examples from other industries..

 

• Many Bank cards whether it’s American Express,Chase,Bank of America, etc.. have membership rewards programs to reward users for every dollar they spend in the form of points.

 

• Virgin America rewards its loyal customers through its Elevate program — not only for flying but for using the Virgin credit card, staying with partner hotels, and so on.

 

While there are certainly a numerous other examples, it’s important not to digress.  We have to remember that the best way to ensure the success of your app business is to make sure you’re investing in your most active users, also referred to as “Power Users”.

 

By focusing on keeping THEM (These Power Users) happy you’ll more than likely increase your virality of your app being spread through word of mouth, and by who better – than the people who use your app the most?

 

Some examples of this very concept are already being utilized by companies like:

 

Shopkick

&

Square Wallet

If you’re an App Publisher here are three things you can implement TODAY to get the edge:

 

1) Don’t just talk “downloads” Also know your # of DAU (Daily Active Users) and what your retention rate is.

 

2) Focus on pleasing the Power Users, and you’re more likely to have viral and word-of-mouth marketing work in your favor.

 

3) Make it easy for your Power Users to share what you have, and find creative ways to reward them for doing so.

 

If you want to build a sustainable app business, (or any business for that matter) you don’t just want to base your success on the vanity metrics such as “downloads” you also want to measure your retention, DAU, engagement and loyalty.

 

Best,

 

Kevin

 

P.S.

If after you’ve implemented the advice above you’re still having trouble getting downloads (and you have a paid app) you may want to try a different market.

 

50% of the UK is happy to pay for apps.

Most of all, consumers use social media and news apps – despite downloading more games.

80% of these UK Smartphone users download apps on a ‘regular basis’ according to a study by Simon-Kutcher & Partners.

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