Users are tired of the simple interaction with their mobile apps. This includes notifications and content that is relevant to them, which is common. No one will use an app that doesn't solve their specific problem or meet their needs.

Therefore, mobile app personalization is necessary in order to provide your users with an enhanced experience and meet their specific needs. It will increase user retention and engagement.

What is mobile app personalization?

Customization is when users make changes and choose the apps they want. Personalization is more dynamic and happens in real time. It's about customizing the app experience to meet the needs of a specific user.

When you go to Starbucks and order a latte with soy milk, sugar and extra foam - that's customization. But when the barista already knows what kind of coffee you like - that's personalization. Therefore, personalization is a step beyond customization.

The thing about us humans is that we want to feel special. We want to feel that we are understood and that our needs will be met. That's why users love personalization. It's as if everything is customized for them.

Mobile app personalization can include push notifications, recommendations, suggestions, tips, discounts, special offers, and more. All of these are personalized and relevant to the user.

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Why do you need to personalize your app or game?

Application personalization brings a number of benefits that are worth implementing. Some of these benefits include:

Increased user retention

With over 5.23 million apps currently available in the app store, it's safe to say that the app market is very crowded. Why would anyone use your app when there are hundreds of similar apps in the app store? On top of that, with 75% of users abandoning apps after one day, the future of your app doesn't look very bleak. 

But don't give up. This is where app personalization comes in handy.

By creating a personalized app experience for your users, you can give them more reasons to keep using your app than to ignore it. If an app is tailored to your needs and offers you relevant deals, discounts or recommendations, wouldn't you use it more often?

Personalization also makes your app stand out. Why? According to Evergage, only 28% of apps are personalized. In a crowded marketplace, this is a great way to gain an edge over your competitors and increase app retention.

To learn more about user retention strategy, you can check "How to Achieve Continuous Retention of New Users?" of our previous articles.

More in-App purchases

When users encounter more personalized messages, offers and recommendations, and tailored discounts, they are more likely to purchase in-app items. People are more inclined to make a purchase, usually on impulse, if they feel the item is exactly what they want or need. 

For example, you can segment users who are about to make a purchase at a certain point in time but then leave the cart. Sending personalized push notifications to these users may be a good way to encourage them to return to the store. You can also use personalized in-app stories to speak more directly to users and encourage them to return. People are more likely to accept these messages if they feel like they are really speaking to them.

Better overall user experience

Most users won't find apps that offer objective product recommendations or experiences particularly compelling. App users want to see services and products that apply specifically to them in a completely personalized app experience. Users will be more satisfied with their in-app experience if it appears that the app is actually learning about them based on their input and previous purchases.

Increasingly, people want to enjoy a tailored and unique app experience, along with the desired convenience and efficiency. In turn, customers will feel that you have a good understanding of them as a person rather than a consumer, which keeps them coming back for more.

Raise awareness

You can increase app awareness by identifying what aspects of your app users particularly like. What is it about your app that attracts people and what aspects could benefit from improvement? To answer these questions, collect and analyze user data and figure out how they interact with your app. You can even ask these questions directly to users in the form of a quick survey, and you can even offer rewards for completing the survey, such as an entry for a specific prize.

Using the information you collect about your users, you can send them relevant notifications covering specific events, updates, and other information that your audience would like to see. However, you need to avoid sending too many notifications, as there is a fine line between engaging users and simply annoying them, just as there is with advertising frequency. One way to avoid this is to use in-app stories to engage users by letting them have some fun, discover products and services in full-screen mode, and enjoy certain interactive features.

Storyly offers a great way to increase visibility and connect with customers through personalized stories. With Storyly, you can address them by their name in story content and display relevant stories to users based on their in-app behavior. This goes a long way in raising awareness and engaging users.

More loyal users

With mobile app personalization, you will dramatically increase brand loyalty among your users. Customer loyalty brings many benefits that go beyond repeat sales. For example, loyal customers may recommend your app to friends and family, or even virtual strangers on social media. They will also interact with your app frequently and are more likely to leave positive reviews for your app in the app store. Increased loyalty helps increase revenue, which further drives the growth of your app.

Higher levels of engagement and conversion

Part of what brings people back to apps that offer a personalized app experience is the illusion of human interaction. People who use apps that offer personal recommendations and offers feel more like they're connecting with someone on the other side of the table. They may be consciously aware that this is not the case, but it still feels that way and that the app developer truly cares about the user experience. So, if you give them exactly what they want, they will continue to interact with your app. This increased engagement will also lead to more leads and sales, which will improve your bottom line.

How to start mobile app personalization?

Targeted user characteristics gathering and user behaviour research firstly

Before you can provide a personalized experience to your users, it is important to collect information about them. The information or data collected will help you understand your users in a better way. You can collect information such as who your users are, what they want, or their preferences. Once you have a clear understanding of your users, you will quickly build a customized experience. User information may contain the following details:

• Gender
• Age
• Location
• Interests
• Occupation
• User Preference
• Purchase History
• When they use your app
• The devices they are using
• Likes and dislikes
• App activity

and so on.
After collecting all the basic information, you can easily create a personalized experience for your users.

Take advantage of social media login

Most users don't like the hectic and lengthy registration process. So, giving them the ability to use your app through their social media accounts will make their way quick and easy.

In this way, you can collect user details and make the onboarding process seamless for your users.

A personalized push notification

Push notifications are a very effective strategy for directing users back to your app and performing the actions you suggest to them. For example, you can send push notifications to remind users that they have not completed a purchase. You can prompt them to purchase a product in their cart by granting them a discount that is valid for a limited period of time.

Push notifications are even more powerful when used in conjunction with rich media such as images, GIFs and videos. These elements help engage users more. Also try adding call-to-action phrases (CTAs) to your push notifications to achieve your goals. a CTA is usually a small sentence that clearly tells the user what to do. This way, they are more likely to follow your suggestions. Check out the images below for inspiration!

Try following these tips to create great push notifications and increase user retention.

• Incentivize users to opt-in to receive your push notifications.
• Send your push notifications at the right time. Remember that most of your users live in different parts of the world and are therefore located in different time zones. Also, your push notifications should be triggered by a specific action taken (or not taken) by your users.
• Personalize your push notification messages to your users' needs, interests and behaviors. The worst thing you can do is to send meaningless general push notifications. They can annoy users and cause them to uninstall your app.
• Don't overload users with tons of push notifications or they will get frustrated. You should find the right balance.
• Use push notifications to enhance user trust. For example, you can notify them when someone logs in with their account through a new device.

To learn more about push notifications, you can check "How to Gain a Great Increase in User Retention and Engagement Using Push Notifications" of our previous articles.

Personalized in-app messages

In-app messaging is another successful communication tool that prompts users to perform specific actions within your app. These messages can also increase user retention by engaging users with customized content. In particular, in-app messages help to:

• promote updates and new features of your application.
• Inviting users to provide feedback to you and share content on social media.
• teaching users how to use your application, introducing its core features and sections through in-app messaging.
• directing users to specific parts of your app, such as their shopping cart.
• Increasing the value of your application.
• Increasing brand awareness.

To learn more about in-app messages, you can check "How to Talk With Your Users: In-App Notifications and Messages" of our previous articles.

Consider location

Another advantage of mobile apps is the ability to leverage location-based messaging. Before you begin, consider the different ways location-based personalization can provide value to your customers. For example, retail and entertainment brands may want to trigger educational messages or special offers when a customer enters a geo-fenced physical location. Or, if you're a media company, you can provide timely news and weather alerts that are relevant to a user's location. 

As brands and consumers adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, we're also seeing location-based strategies evolve. Increasing adoption of options such as online purchase, in-store pickup (BOPIS) and more will continue to influence how brands integrate location into their app strategies.