Regardless of how well your business runs, it is nearly impossible to be 100 percent successful in all given instances. Even if your efforts are as diligent as possible, you will lose customers over time – it would be fair to say that customers lapsing with time is inevitable. Sometimes, customers may not receive their expected experience. Other times, they may lose interest in your business.

Often, losing customers is like losing touch with a college friend. While these phases are typical, it is also common for people to reconnect with their old friends or for businesses to reconnect with their old customers, for that matter. The reconnection is what a so-called win-back in marketing is.

As the Head of Customer Success at LoyaltyPlant, I have had the privilege of helping numerous established and emerging brands launch white-label mobile applications equipped with cutting-edge loyalty programs and a marketing engine to build effective and meaningful communication between businesses and their customers.

By leveraging the power of in-app marketing campaigns, these brands have increased customer engagement and drive significant growth.

What are in-app marketing campaigns?

In-app marketing campaigns are push notifications offering appealing deals once the app is opened. The key to a successful in-app marketing campaign is to target the right audience at the right time with relevant offers (that pop-up as push messages on mobile devices) in alignment with their interests.

Rather than sending out mass push notifications to everyone, it is important to segment customers by considering factors such as customer demographics, purchase history to ensure that your offers stand out and are tailored to the customer’s preferences.

In-app marketing campaigns offer businesses a variety of strategies to achieve their goals, as some countless scenarios and strategies can be executed. One important goal is to re-engage with long-time no-see customers, and in-app win-back campaigns are particularly effective for this purpose.

Why re-engage and retain customers?

Consider the customer lifecycle of your business, including the points of contact before, during, and after purchase or visit. It’s essential to focus on the after-purchase stage: do you try to communicate with your customers and re-engage them to maintain their interest?

Neglecting this stage can result in lost customers, even those who were once loyal. There are many reasons why customers may stop visiting, including natural occurrences. If you don’t communicate with your customers, you have little chance of re-engaging them after they’ve stopped visiting and retaining them in the future.

Retaining customers is essential to keeping them invested in your brand or business long-term. This is achieved by building strong and long-lasting relationships through exceptional experiences and valuable interactions. Additionally, acquiring new customers can cost five times more than retaining existing ones.

There are several reasons why customer retention is essential.

Marketing a sale to existing customers has a higher probability of up to 60-70%
Customer retention increases customer loyalty, leading to more word-of-mouth recommendations
Long-term customers can provide valuable insights, including feedback and data for future brand strategies
Retaining existing customers is significantly more affordable than acquiring new ones
High customer retention rates lead to greater profits and lifetime customer value (LCV)

Unfortunately, many businesses focus on attracting new customers at the expense of customer retention. A solid customer service strategy is essential for retaining existing customers and maintaining long-term success.

So how do you actually win-back customers?

While win-back campaigns have been used for some time, they have largely been executed via email marketing. However, with the growing prevalence of mobile and digital technology, in-app marketing campaigns are becoming a more effective way to engage and re-engage with customers. By using push notifications that appear on a customer’s mobile device, in-app marketing campaigns offer a powerful tool for businesses looking to recapture the attention of former customers.

Utilizing LoyaltyPlant’s cutting-edge technology, Papa Johns’s UAE implemented an award-winning customer engagement strategy. Their primary goal was to win back “super-lapsed” customers who had not ordered in a long time (4-12 months). The customers were segmented based on their purchase history, and relevant complimentary items were sent along with a “We miss you!” message.

The campaign resulted in an incremental marginal profit of $3,300+ in just one week from one of the many lapsed customer segments. The redemption rate was 32% (customers who opened the push message and redeemed the offer).

Additionally, we analyzed the churn among loyal customers and compensated for it by launching campaigns with complimentary menu items based on individual purchase history. As a result, loyal customers did not decrease their checks despite the free item and even increased their order frequency by more than 40%. Moreover, the residual effect of the campaign was observed as customers continued to place orders even after the campaign was launched, indicating its long-lasting impact.

Why In-App Mobile Marketing?

Our inboxes are often overwhelmed with various promotions and undesired spam messages. Even if the promotional email we receive is interesting, there’s a slim chance we’ll read the entire email immediately, especially when we’re waiting in line for a morning cappuccino. However, with in-app push messages, businesses have a better chance of reaching their audience and capturing their attention by communicating a brief but valuable message.

Did you know that 78% of all email campaigns are not opened within the first hour of being sent? Furthermore, the likelihood of your email receiving more opens decreases as time goes by.

LoyaltyPlant platform enables you to analyze the peak hours of order volume and predict the ideal time to send push messages to achieve the highest open rate and conversion

How to Launch Effective In-App Win-Back Campaigns?

Whether your business has a mobile communication channel with a push or marketing engine or you’re searching for a suitable solution, learning the most effective ways to leverage technology can make a significant impact. Keep reading to learn more about optimizing your existing technologies or finding the right solution for your business.

Segmentation

Segmenting users is a powerful way for businesses to enhance their brand’s overall customer experience and increase user engagement. Suppose you’ve launched a new feature on your brand’s mobile application. In that case, your highly engaged users are likely aware of it, and they don’t need an in-app message about it.

Sending a message to such users may even annoy them, which isn’t beneficial for your business. To avoid such issues, you should create segments based on customer cohorts, such as purchase history and RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary Value) parameters.

The RFM model is a marketing analysis method that divides a customer base into various groups based on buying tendencies. It evaluates the following parameters:

Recency: How recently they made a purchase
Frequency: How often they make purchases
Monetary Value: The amount they spend on their purchases

By tracking and analyzing spending patterns, RFM helps businesses identify their best customers, retain high-scoring clients, and improve low-scoring ones. Moreover, segmentation enables marketers to target specific user groups with personalized offers that may not apply to the rest of the audience.

Setup Control Groups to ensure the authenticity of campaign metrics

At LoyaltyPlant, we believe in being data-driven and ensuring the authenticity of campaign metrics and results. To achieve this, we have implemented control groups to determine whether a campaign has the desired effect.

In marketing, control, and target groups are essential tools to measure the effectiveness of a marketing campaign. The control group is a sample of people who do not receive the marketing message, while the target group is the sample of people who receive the message. By comparing the response rates of both groups, marketers can assess the impact of the marketing message.

The control group allows marketers to isolate the impact of external factors on the response rates, such as seasonality or economic conditions. Target groups help marketers optimize their campaigns by testing different messages or creative approaches. Ultimately, control and target groups enable marketers to make data-driven decisions and improve the performance of their marketing efforts.

Target the Right Audience with the Right Message

Crafting a clear and engaging message is crucial to capture and retain user attention in in-app communications. A catchy headline can effectively direct users to take desired actions, such as purchasing.

To make sure your in-app messages are effective, use simple language and easy-to-understand words. Avoid using technical jargon that your users may not be familiar with. Keep your message short and concise, as in-app push notifications have limited space. Aim for a message that can be conveyed in just a few words, ideally no more than two to four. Longer sentences will be cut off and may not fit on the screen of a mobile device, making them difficult to read.

Conclusion

Brand in-app messaging is a crucial component of any successful multi-channel marketing strategy. It serves as a powerful tool for win-back campaigns that seek to reconnect and re-engage with inactive users, ultimately resulting in improved customer retention rates.

In-app messaging allows brands to communicate with their customers in a personalized and targeted manner. By sending targeted messages directly to users who have previously engaged with the brand, marketers can increase the chances of re-engaging these users and encouraging them to return to the app.

Moreover, in-app messaging also allows brands to provide users with relevant and timely information, such as product updates, special promotions, and personalized recommendations. This helps to build a stronger relationship with customers and increases the likelihood of their continued engagement with the brand.

Additionally, in-app messaging can collect valuable feedback from users, helping brands improve their products and services and better meet their customers’ needs. This feedback can be used to make necessary changes and improvements, ultimately resulting in a better user experience.

In conclusion, in-app messaging is essential for brands looking to increase customer retention and engagement. By providing personalized and targeted messages, brands can re-engage with inactive users and build stronger relationships with their customers, ultimately resulting in increased customer loyalty and revenue.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Monstera; Pexels; Thank you!