The countdown to the holidays has begun! As most marketers know, now is the time to put a winning holiday ad campaign strategy in place.
The season is known for the highest level of app store activity — but also when acquiring loyal users costs much more than it normally would. With mobile accounting for over $70 billion1 (almost 75% all digital spend), now is a critical time to focus on user engagement and retention.
Here are 6 key tips to ensure you don’t leave money on the table this holiday season:
Don’t Ignore Pre-Purchase Research
According to Prosper Insights and Analytics, 89% of consumers say they research products online before buying in person.2 And holiday shoppers are no different, starting their pre-purchase research in October or much earlier.
This is the time when maximum app installations take place, especially for brick and mortar retailers. Consumers are increasingly exploring both retailer and third-party apps and websites, sometimes even supplementing it with “window shopping” to learn more about products and compare prices and specifications.
2017 Holoday Planning Playbook
Image: 2017 Holiday Planning Playbook, NRF2
It’s essential to assist these consumers in their research through timely notifications. Send relevant offers and recommendations for products they’ve shown interest in or are most likely to buy. The impact of mobile push notifications is growing every year, with the 2017 holiday season witnessing an all-time high opt-in rate for notifications at 56% — 2.7% higher than the 2016 season.
Segment Your Users to Drive Engagement
Every brand is trying to make the most of the holiday season. If your mobile marketing campaign is one of thousands swarming the internet, chances are it will get lost in the crowd.
To stand out, brands need to understand their target audience’s interests and values. Psychographic segmentation is great way to learn about your consumer’s behavior and interests.
Psychographic segmentation focuses on what your users are most interested in — not their demographics. For example, you can determine the product category your app users are most interested in based on viewing or purchase history, and use these insights to create targeted mobile marketing campaigns that connect more meaningfully with your core user segment.
Brian Schmidt, Director of CRM, Growth & Retention at Fender, discusses the importance of segmentation when it comes to their holiday campaigns. Fender Colombia Phone Numbers List sells a vast array of products, from high-end, signature instruments to lifestyle merchandise. Because the decision making process around each type of purchase is so different, Fender creates segments based on everything from app usage and purchase history to instrument type and even product registration information (because of the number of third party retailers who sell Fender products).
Mobile Retention & Engagement Strategies for the Holiday Season Matter
Gain insights from an in-depth discussion on Best Practises in Mobile Retention for the upcoming 2018 Holiday season.
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Test Campaigns Ahead of Time
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Boxing Day, and Chinese Singles Day (considered the largest online shopping event in the world) are some of the biggest annual online shopping occasions.
In fact, Cyber Monday shoppers are looking for great deals beyond Cyber Week. What was considered a week of online shopping deals is now morphing into a whole month of discounts and promotions. Last year, Amazon launched their best holiday retail campaigns 50 days in advance.
Amazon Black Friday
With that season quickly approaching, it’s important to have your marketing messages and creative assets in place 6-8 weeks prior to the holiday season frenzy.
A/B test campaigns to refine your messaging and identify the marketing tactics that are resonating with your target audience. Determine which version of an app layout, CTA button, campaign content, messaging, and even emojis are performing best with your users.
Black Friday
Drive In-App Purchases
While in-app purchases are essential for all businesses, they become even more critical as more brick and mortar businesses become mobile. A great way to convince users to transact in-app is by allowing them to save their payment and shipping details. This shortens their path to purchase and improves the user experience.
Mobile Shopping - Retail Shopping
Image: Mobile Shopping – Retail Shopping on the rise, Adobe
Another important channel marketers can no longer choose to ignore is push notifications. 45% of mobile app users opt-in to receive push notifications, making it one of the most widely used mobile marketing channels.
Push notifications are essential for activating new users, improving engagement, and driving in-app purchases. With personalized notifications triggered by user activity, you can boost CTRs by 3X and improve conversion rates.