Marketers have been since long focusing on programmatic user acquisition and retargeting in silos. But, that has been changing as user in-app behavior evolved and mobile programmatic advertising strategies changed. According to industry estimates, the cost of acquiring a new app user can be up to five times more expensive than retaining an existing one. This highlights the importance of prioritizing user retention alongside acquisition efforts. Full-funnel app marketing is a comprehensive strategy that addresses every stage of the customer journey, from awareness to retention. To maximize the effectiveness of this approach, app marketers need to understand the intricacies of each stage and apply targeted tactics.
Mastering the full-funnel approach — encompassing both acquisition and retargeting strategies — is essential for sustainable growth and user engagement. By focusing on retaining existing users through targeted engagement and personalized experiences, app developers can significantly reduce overall marketing costs and maximize ROI in the long term.
Here are 10 key insights to help you learn all about full-funnel app marketing and get started:
- What Exactly is Full-Funnel App Marketing?: Full-funnel marketing involves a holistic approach to reaching and engaging users at every stage of their journey, from awareness to conversion and retention. It integrates both acquisition (attracting new users) and retargeting (re-engaging existing users) strategies to maximize user lifetime value.
- Define Clear Goals for Each Funnel Stage: Understanding the unique objectives for each funnel stage is crucial. At the top of the funnel, the goal is to create awareness and attract a broad audience. The middle focuses on engaging and nurturing interested users, while the bottom aims to drive conversions and retain loyal users. Clearly defined goals help in crafting tailored strategies for each stage.
- Define Key Metrics: To gauge the effectiveness of your acquisition efforts, track metrics like Cost per Install (CPI), Click-Through Rate (CTR), Conversion Rate, and App Store Rankings. These metrics provide insights into the performance of your marketing campaigns and help optimize your strategies for better results.
- Moving Users Down the Funnel: Once users have installed your app, the focus shifts to guiding them through the funnel towards conversion and retention. This involves personalized messaging, targeted promotions, and providing a seamless user experience to encourage further engagement.
- Implement Effective Retargeting: Retargeting is essential for moving users from the consideration to the conversion stage. Use retargeting ads to re-engage users who have shown interest in your app but haven’t yet downloaded it. Personalized ads that address their specific needs and behaviors can effectively nudge them towards conversion.
- Retaining and Converting Users: Retention is key to the long-term success of your app. With the right audience segmentation and in-app action insights, you can deliver personalized ads and messaging to retain the users and re-engage them to upsell or cross-sell. This can be through deals, push notifications, rewards, custom ads to improve cart abandonments, showcase new offerings, or simply build brand recall to increase the likelihood of conversion.
- Efficient Campaign Data & Analytics: Data-driven insights are essential for optimizing your full-funnel marketing efforts. By analyzing user behavior, campaign performance, and conversion metrics, you can identify trends, uncover opportunities for improvement, and make informed decisions to enhance your app marketing strategy.
- Optimizing Conversion Rates: A critical aspect of full-funnel marketing is optimizing conversion rates at every stage of the user journey. This involves A/B testing different creatives, messaging, and calls-to-action to identify what resonates best with your audience and drives higher conversion rates
- Continuous Optimization: Full-funnel marketing is not a one-time effort but an ongoing process of optimization and adaptation. Stay agile and responsive to changes in user behavior, market trends, and competition. Continuously test and refine your strategies to stay ahead in the ever-evolving app landscape.
-
Partner with the Right Programmatic Experts: Having the right partner who can manage both User acquisition and retargeting is crucial for a holistic full-funnel campaign. Such a partner can seamlessly integrate strategies across all funnel stages, ensuring consistent messaging and efficient budget allocation. They can leverage comprehensive data insights to optimize campaigns, drive new user acquisition, and re-engage existing users effectively. This synergy enhances overall campaign performance, delivering better ROI and fostering sustained app growth.