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People spend 85% of their time on smartphones using apps. Thus, it’s no wonder that businesses turn to mobile apps to build their customer engagement and loyalty.
Customer engagement focuses on creating a positive client experience. Its goal is to develop bonds that will foster brand loyalty. By including emotion, you’ll establish a strong emotional loyalty to your brand. As a result, you can impact your users’ decisions to choose you over your competitors.
One of the best ways to improve customer engagement and loyalty is through mobile apps.
Mobile Apps as a Channel to Drive Loyalty
You can use mobile apps to build customer engagement and loyalty in many ways. The most popular (and profitable) are:
Recommendations
Product suggestions are the most popular way to build customer engagement and loyalty. Mobile apps gather relevant data about their clients and their buying behaviors. For example, you can use order history to display product recommendations or special offers.
When you use tailored suggestions, users are more likely to buy additional products and make repeat purchases. As a result, you might increase your conversions and boost brand loyalty simultaneously.
Messaging and Push Notifications
In-app messages and push notifications are the best ways to engage your customers. You can notify them about current or future campaigns and promotions. Using geolocation, you can inform them about special offers in their region. That way, you’ll keep them updated. Moreover, they can spread the word about your great deals.
Gamification
If you’re wondering how to increase customer engagement on your app, use game elements. You can include task lists, progress tracking, rewards, and badges. By using them, you’ll ensure an entertaining and memorable interaction.
As a result, your clients will remember that you delivered a unique game-like experience, and users are more likely to choose you the next time they want to buy something.
Data-Driven Personalization
Companies with the best digital loyalty programs use data to define customer preferences. Data such as demographics, location, and purchase history can help you personalize your users’ interactions with the app.
A tailored experience will make them more interested in your brand. Consequently, you’ll improve your customer engagement and loyalty.
Examples of the Top Mobile Loyalty Programs
Here are some examples of the best customer loyalty apps:
Starbucks
Starbucks enables a great user experience by creating personalized offers and discounts. It frequently runs limited-time offers exclusively through the app. Also, you can order and pay from your phone. Starbucks has a reward program in which you collect points that you can exchange for food and drinks.
Sephora
Sephora offers personalized product recommendations and beauty tips based on individual preferences. Its Beauty Insider Program provides members exclusive access to sales, promotions, and events. They can also earn points for purchases, which they can redeem for rewards.
NikePlus
NikePlus is an excellent example of a customer engagement app. It provides tailored content based on preferences, including product recommendations, workout plans, and training tips. It also offers exclusive products, early access to sales, and free shipping to members. NikePlus has other loyalty program app features, such as activity tracking, challenges, competitions, and exercise programs.
How to Build an App that Increases Customer Engagement and Loyalty
Developing an app that boosts customer engagement and loyalty involves several stages, from conceptualization to development and release. Here are the crucial steps:
1. Generate an App Idea
Brainstorm app ideas that will be the most suited for your business. When you have them on paper, choose the one that best fits your audience’s needs and aligns with your goals.
2. Define User Engagement Strategy
Identify key features that will engage your customers, such as personalized recommendations, social sharing, or challenges. Then, create a client journey map to understand how they’ll interact with your app. Remember to develop a content strategy to provide users with relevant and valuable information.
3. Choose a Loyalty Program Model
Determine the loyalty program that aligns with your business goals. There are three popular types that you can harness:
- Points system: Customers earn points for purchases, which can be redeemed for discounts, gifts, deals, etc.
- Tiered rewards: They receive more bonuses as they move up to higher tiers based on their level of spending.
- Digital punch card: Users get a punch for each purchase, and after a certain number of punches is obtained, they receive special incentives.
Based on your model, define the criteria for earning points, punches, or tiers. Ultimately, set up a system for tracking progress and claiming rewards.
4. Develop an App
When everything is set up, find experienced specialists to bring your idea to life. They’ll implement features identified in your strategy and ensure that your app is fast and responsive. For instance, you can hire Kotlin developers if you need an Android app or Swift developers for the iOS option.
5. Testing and MVP Release
Before making announcements, test your app thoroughly to identify and fix any issues. Once you’ve done that, release an MVP to gather user data. Based on your gained insights, you can determine future updates for your app.
Conclusion
Building customer engagement and loyalty through mobile apps is a certain way to succeed. Use your data results to deliver your audience personalized experiences. Include recommendations and gamification elements as well. Finally, stay connected with your customers using regular messages and push notifications. These approaches facilitate building robust relationships between you and your clients, resulting in a win-win situation.
FAQs
Do mobile apps increase customer engagement?
Mobile apps increase customer engagement by providing personalized experiences, convenient communication, and improved accessibility.
How do you engage customers on mobile apps?
You can engage customers on your mobile app by:
- Offering product recommendations and special offers
- Using gamification and personalization
- Messaging and push notifications.
How do you create a loyalty mobile app?
You can create a loyalty app by:
- Generating ideas and choosing the best option
- Defining your user engagement strategy and loyalty program model
- Developing, testing, and releasing the app
