If getting an app installed on a user’s device is a challenge, the biggest and worst challenge is retention. As per industry reports, 70 - 80 percent of users uninstall in less than 60 days. The users might quote reasons that might be anything from lack of storage, not relevant or interesting, to keeping apps that are used regularly and keeping the phone clean, etc.,


One superficial gyan we get from experts to reduce the uninstall rate is to “Make only what people want”. Did people really ever want all the top Apps listed in the Google Play store? It is not that except top 500 apps, rest of the apps do not have good value proposition.

Is there a secret sauce to maintain high App retention rate? Regular updates with new features? Fixing all bugs?Great UX? Phenomenal UI? Today, these are no more secrets but obvious Sauces. Engagement and Feedback Loop is the answer. And when it comes to engagement, Push Notification stops the list of various methods to engage and helps increase the Active Users.

Active Users can be measured daily, weekly or monthly.Tracking DAU, WAU or MAU is as per the App’s Value Proposition. DAU and WAU is more relevant for communication apps, social media apps, games apps,music apps, etc., MAU is mostly for business apps and utility apps.

Push Notifications has it all to keep the active user smetric balanced. But it is also easy to annoy users with push Notifications. This is quoted as one of the leading reasons for higher uninstall rate. Hence, it is important to craft a good strategy for Push Notifications to keep its magic intact!

The interaction with the user during the 1st week after app installation immensely increases the retention rate. If the user’s session time and session intervals are lower than expected in the 1st few days after App install, it is time to initiate communication on email or In-App messages.But when there is no session initiated, time to panic! Push Notifications is the best to bring the users back to the App.

Message Writing Style, Images Used,Colors Highly Influences The Users Todismiss Or Click On It. Push Notificationsare No Less Than An Ad!

Top 4 points to remember while strategizing the Push Notifications plan

1. Value: The value of the Notification for the user.What value does the notification “We’ve been missing you” deliver for a user who hasn’t opened the app for couple of days or weeks. A notification with a redemption coupon or relevant to the last action the user did on App will be efficient to make the user open the App. Value can be provided only when we know the type of users. Basic segments of the users are New Users, Interested Users,Paying Users, Dormant Users. Deliver value in the messages relevant to stage of the user segment

2. Structure: Interesting enough to capture user’s attention.

Message writing style, Images used,Colors highly influence the users to dismiss or click on it. Push Notifications are no less than anad! Apply Creative Strategy. Writing compelling messages. Use the words and images that are close to the user segment and keep the style intact with the personality of the App. Less than 10 words in the message will lead to higher click rate.So, keep it short but yet powerful and communicating.

3. Call to Action: Keeping it simple and Contextual.

A coffee shop sending out an offer onPush Notification should also spell out how to avail the promoted offer.Here it isn’t just about what yousend, it’s also about when you send.A Coffee shop notification with any mind blowing offer sent in the middle of the night is definitely a disaster.Remember the local timezone of the users while scheduling messages and keep it smart with quick access buttonsfor actions.

4. Frequency: To draw a line between being pushy and engaging.

There is no magic number to send notifications. When Utility, Social and Communication Apps send any number of relevant notifications, it isnot considered spam. But, if you are not in any of these categories, be cautious. Even if there is one message sent that doesn’t add value to the user, it can cause harm and risks the effectiveness of the other future messages that is genuinely valuable. Fix a number of communication that’s perfect for your app.

Personalize and Possibly Individualize -

Personalized Push Notifications are so on going to be passé. It is time to individualize the messages. Adding user name, specific language, use rbehavior in the messages individualizesthe communication that willprove higher conversions.

Notification Analytics –

For the App to be successful in long term, every campaign needs to be measured for number of app open still the Notification’s end goal. If acontent was promoted, social interaction on that promoted content needs to be measured. A/B test the messages till the conversion on the desiredend goal is higher.

Great push is all about delighting the users, facilitating a relevant andvaluable app experience for them. So,Go Push!!