This means that more people are now using their smartphones to go online than traditional desktop or laptop computers. Marketing specifically for mobile users is important in 2017.
The use of mobile internet has increased dramatically in recent years and has become an integral part of our culture. Half of all smartphone users immediately check their devices when they wake up, and four out of five internet users own smartphones.
Google is striving to make the internet more mobile-friendly by punishing sites that aren’t designed for mobile devices.
As more people use mobile internet and email open rates decline, you need to use different communication channels to get your message across.
Push Notifications for Businesses
Push notifications are an effective way to communicate with your audience. According to a study by Localytics, 52% of smartphone users have push enabled on their devices, and these notifications can be used to benefit businesses in the following ways:
- Directing users to your social media channels
- Promoting products and services (especially special offers)
- Building trust and brand reputation by delivering valuable content
- Engaging users who aren’t currently on your site
- Restoring abandoned carts for ecommerce applications
The person who has installed your app is more likely to be receptive to communication from you, as long as you do not misuse their trust.
Push notifications that are spammy are not going to help you build a good reputation for your brand in the long term. It is better to focus on delivering value to your audience.
Personalization
Generic mass marketing techniques are dying out. In order to be successful in this day and age, it is important to tailor information to the individual.
Nearly all marketing professionals surveyed said that personalization is important for achieving their goals.
Push notifications are great because you can target your audience in a very personalized way.
A clothing brand may want to send different messages to users based on the types of items they’ve browsed and purchased in the past. For example, a user who frequently buys dresses may be sent messages about new dress arrivals, while a user who mostly buys t-shirts may be sent messages about t-shirt sales. Different recommendations should be sent to men and women, and the same applies to customers who have browsed products for young children versus those for adults.
This approach is backed up by data. More than half of users who open a push notification go on to convert when the message is segmented, as opposed to only 15% who convert when the message is a broadcast.
Geo-targeting is another great feature you can use.
If you are a store, you may want to send reminders for time-based promotions to customers who are close by. The same technique that was used to promote happy hour specials can be used by bars.
If you want to capture someone’s attention more effectively, use their first name and mention what area they are currently in. Using emoji’s has also been found to increase retention.
I recommend that you allow your users to choose from a variety of push notification options. If users can control when and why they receive notifications, they are more likely to opt-in and remain engaged.
7 Case Studies to Review
If you deliver high value, personalized content to your audience, you can avoid the common pitfalls of push notifications and be rewarded greatly.
Here are some examples of brands effectively using push notifications to boost engagement to inspire you:
1. JetBlue
Many airlines use push notifications, including JetBlue, to remind customers when to check-in.
When flyers check in, they will be notified one day before their flight is scheduled to depart. Status updates are available for customers that select the option to receive them as push notifications while they are in flight.
2. The Bump
Guess what particular topic parents-to-be can’t stop obsessing over? Their unborn child, naturally.
The app provides information about the development and growth of the user’s child.
People who sign up for the service receive regular notifications about the size of the baby, typically using fruits as a reference point, as well as what to expect in coming weeks.
The main point to take away from this is that push notifications are most effective when you are sending a message to someone about something that is important to them. People are generally more interested in receiving status updates about an upcoming birth than commercial sales messages from a store.
Before using push notifications, ask yourself what your audience would find most valuable. If the notifications you are planning to send do not reflect the value you are offering, it is not worth sending them.
3. La Redoute
Redoute, a French-style fashion retailer, has a yearly turnover of over $1 billion, making it one of the world’s largest ecommerce apparel retailers.
If you are in the ecommerce business, you are well aware of the problem of abandoned carts. This is when a customer adds an item to their cart but does not complete the purchase.
In order to retrieve lost customers, La Redoute started a push notification campaign where users would be contacted if they left the store with an item still in their cart. Notifications are personalized so that users can click on a link that takes them to their shopping cart to finish their purchase.
4. Ticketmaster
In order to deliver relevant offers to its audience, Ticketmaster assesses user histories and geo-targets its audience.
Ticketmaster can improve its conversion rates by sending push notifications that are tailored to the types of events that people like attending.
5. eXtra
eXtra’s leading position in the Saudi Arabian consumer electronics retail market is thanks, in part, to its effective use of push notifications to connect with users on a personal level, resulting in 100% growth year-on-year.
Before, the company would send retargeting emails to customers who had shown interest in their products but had not made a purchase. After switching to push notifications, they experienced a significant increase in sales.
In just six weeks, those who had opted-in to receive push notifications were returning to the site four times more, and spending twice as much time on it.
The key point to take away from this is that push messages can be a more effective form of communication when they are done correctly. Re-engaging previous customers, building brand loyalty, and improving your long-term profits are all benefits of this.
6. Netflix
Netflix has a lot of data on its users, which it uses to send them highly personalized messages.
As they have found, sending a reminder about a series that someone has been watching is an excellent way to improve engagement.
The reason data is so important for push messages is because it allows you to tailor the message to resonate better with the person receiving it. The more data you have, the more specific you can be, and the more likely you are to create a message that resonates.
7. PLNDR
PLNDR uses customer-focused push notifications to boost engagement. This helps them stay ahead of the competition by providing their customers with the latest information on sales and new product releases. After finding out what types of items its users are interested in, PLNDR sends them daily deals that are very likely to be appealing to them.
Why are push notifications important for advertisers?
You already know that push messages can be a powerful marketing tool. This tool has been shown to have benefits that surpass expectations, as evidenced by numerous reports. 60% of mobile users opt in to push notifications, according to recent data. A survey concluded that push messages are useful to 57% of respondents. This means that around 30% of users accept browser-generated alerts, which is half the amount of people who accept app-based notifications.
Push messages that are personalized can have more promising results, according to another study. When the app’s notifications are based on the customer’s preferences or location, they are more likely to use the app frequently. 37% of people said that “real world” actions influenced how often they used the app, and 26.8% said that being addressed by name was a factor.
Push notifications are often used by businesses to grab the attention of their audiences. By sending timely and relevant information, businesses can remind their customers of upcoming sales or events, or even promote new products.
Increased engagement
According to the data, push notifications are highly effective in engaging users. So businesses frequently adopt new technologies into their marketing campaigns to boost customer involvement, which is not surprising.
You can stay in touch with customers by sending them push messages about special offers or upcoming events. This way, they will always be aware of what is happening with your company. Push notifications can help to increase engagement by sending breaking news updates to users. Users get notifications that are personalized, brief, and appealing, which encourages them to go back to the app or website to see what has changed. Since the notification is easily accessible, people are more likely to use the service.
Deep linking in push messages can make them more effective. This method allows you to control and optimize how users interact with your application, which is clever. If you want people to be directed to a specific place when they receive a notification, you can use deep linking. Making it easier for customers to download your product will make them more likely to do so.
Greater customer retention
The rapidly changing mobile technology landscape means that there are many options available to users when it comes to their digital activity. People often download apps or visit websites but quickly forget about them when something new comes along.
A study showed that businesses that carefully analyzed their audience and sent thought-through messages increased their retention rates by 3 to 10 times. A strong retention rate indicates that you care about your customers and they are loyal to your brand. The company’s ROI is positively impacted by this, which is crucial to the company’s success.
Higher conversion rates
Notification messages that appear as prompts have a significant impact on conversion rates. This claim is not only relevant for e-commerce, but also for other industries such as sports betting or FinTech. Push notifications are guaranteed to get attention because they trigger users to take action immediately.
ymo Online retailers or sportsbooks will sometimes introduce time-limited special offers in order to create a sense of urgency in their customers. Push notifications are an excellent way to communicate deals in real-time, so customers can take advantage of the offer before it expires.
Although push messages are most efficient when they are personalized, If you send your client an offer that is not in line with their interests, there is a small chance they will take action. The conversion rate increased by 22% when the push notifications were customized according to user attributes. It goes without saying that the higher the conversion rate, the greater the company’s profits.
Audience segmentation
In order to be successful in marketing, you need to figure out what your customers want and then change your strategy to fit those needs. You can use web push notification systems to target groups of clients based on factors such as location, operating system, and browser. This information is acquired when the user opts in to receive push notifications.
Segmentation allows you to customize your message and send different versions of one notification to different target groups. You can, for example, target a campaign only to iOS users or those located in the United States exclusively. This means that your marketing efforts could lead to higher levels of user satisfaction and more traffic.
Enhanced customer care
Push messages are a great way to improve your customer care strategy. Notifications are less obtrusive than SMS or emails and have a higher open rate than either of these methods.
Pop-ups that contain content that is relevant to the users and meets their expectations can have a positive impact on their customer journey. For example, you can make an onboarding process more effective by emphasizing the most important features and showing the user what the app’s screens look like. In addition, if you keep track of where the user goes and what problems they run into, you can suggest solutions to their problems or direct them to the appropriate FAQ section.
