How to improve user acquisition. A mobile marketer’s guide.

Many companies allocate a substantial percentage of their budget to acquiring new customers. As any professional knows, acquiring new users is one of the most important determinants for the future of a business. Marketing teams must engage in user acquisition, in order to reach every customer with a message that brings their needs together with what a company supplies. Unfortunately, many companies still waste time, money, and effort on inaccurate advertising that provides no significant results. For most companies, it is difficult to identify the concrete effects gained from marketing campaigns.

There are many frequently asked questions on this subject. How does a company identify what is wrong with their approach to user acquisition? How can businesses identify what types of user acquisition is best for them? What could be done to increase user acquisition, without having to spend a great deal of money? Thankfully, there are various strategies and techniques in user acquisition that have a great chance of working for all companies. This article is meant to assist struggling companies by elaborating on a couple of common-made mistakes. It presents a few tips and tricks on how to improve your company’s user acquisition, and explains how your mobile app can assist you in the quest for more users.

There are many common mistakes in the field of user acquisition. First, a company must be certain that the message sent aligns with the strategy of the company. If this is not the case, the entire campaign will be in vain, and will cost the company dearly. In addition, the advent of mobile technology has changed the way marketing operates. Marketers now hold more opportunities to target potential customers via mobile computing. Unfortunately, this also means a poorly crafted marketing plan can result in an even greater disaster. Businesses must understand that, in the 21st century, competition is at an all time high, and customers expect more and more each day. A successful company must be able to live up to these growing expectations.

Here are some guidelines for achieving higher user acquisition, and some ideas how to get your app to help attain more users.

Know your customers and their channels

Many businesses neglect to do research on the behavior of potential users, and thus, are unable to understand their target audience properly. When a potential market of new customers is spotted, make sure to investigate how this audience wants to be reached. In this era of fast technological development in which customers having multiple devices, everyone wants to be reached differently. This not only goes for the type of channel, but also the type of device, platform, and message. In addition, when targeting for user acquisition, it is unwise to be absolutely everywhere with your marketing. Over-messaging is annoying, and will never to lead to stronger long-term relationships between your company and users. By limiting a company’s marketing strategy to a select few channels, and by focusing on the message sent across these channels, it is easier to deliver the perfect message to customers, and achieve a higher user acquisition.

Use Big Data for attracting new customers

Collecting and using data retrieved from existing customers is extremely valuable for user acquisition. Without this data, it is impossible to know the answers to many crucial questions. What parts of the  marketing strategy worked? What parts need improvement? What techniques generated the most new users? And, what platform do customers want to be reached on? Big Data provides answers to these questions, and makes life easier for a marketing team. If the information is handled correctly, it is not only a powerful tool for acquiring new users, but also for creating a long-term relationship with them.

Trigger desire with your potential customers

Many marketing campaigns fail to trigger desire within potential new users. The ultimate goal of any marketing campaign is to either gain new users, or grow long-term relationships with existing consumers. This means that every campaign must trigger new, as well as existing, users to make a purchase. Everything else is subject to this goal. To provoke new customers into making a purchase, one must create the desire to purchase your product, and not that of a competitor’s. Your app can play a major role in generating the incentive to buy. Through the ability of being in close contact with customers, it is relatively easy to attract potential and current users to make a purchase, through coupon-ing, rewards, or personal discounts.

Some methods that are often forgotten

There are other ways to increase an app’s ability to acquire users. To optimize an app for maximum success, it’s important to improve both attaining and retaining users. Therefore, one must optimize both the user interface and experience to make the app more user-friendly. Optimizing your app in the store (App Store/Play Store) is one of the most efficient things a struggling app can do to break away from the rest of the crowd. In the store, the app should include a suitable and catchy title, but also an honest and inviting description. Additionally, keywords are crucial to make an app visible to customers. Lastly, previews are vital for a customer’s first impression of an application. Make sure to include screenshots, as well as video footage of the app in use. By improving user experience, the app can also assist in maintaining the long-term relationships with existing customers, for example through adapting an app to an individual’s country and language, or its local time and measurement units. However, while it may seem obvious that user experience is one of the most important factors for higher user acquisition and retention, ensure that these simple adaptations are not forgotten.