You have built a mobile app to go with your ecommerce website, but building a mobile app is not enough to increase user engagement and drive sales. In this article, we will share 10 ecommerce marketing strategies to optimize your in-app experience for higher conversions.

1. App Store Optimization is Key

There are more than 2.8 million apps available on the Google Play Store alone. Therefore, mobile app publishers are under pressure to ensure that their app gets discovered by potential customers. With more than 60% of smartphone users finding apps while they browse the app store, App Store Optimization (ASO) is key if you want to increase your mobile app’s search ranking and discoverability. Get more actionable advice on improving ASO here.

2. Use content marketing

77% of users never use an app again, a mere 72 hours after installing it, so it is important to give customers reasons to keep coming back. One way to build this traction is to create engaging content tailored to meet the interests of your audience and update these repositories often. You can start by writing quality posts about topics likely to interest your readers and share the latest industry news. Eventually, demonstrate how your app can make customer lives easier.

For instance, since 2007, note-taking and organizational app Evernote has focused on education. Content marketing became the cornerstone of its mobile user acquisition strategy. Today, they have over 225 million users and have built up a very loyal following. Over time, they published articles and videos on topics like productivity, goal setting, podcasts, and interviews with thought leaders.

3. Drive Usage Across Many Touchpoints

Ecommerce marketers must diversify user acquisition and make it easy for customers to download their app, across platforms. Here are some suggestions. 

• Optimize your mobile website to make the ‘download the app’ button visible and easy to find, 
• Prompt users who visit your desktop site to enter their mobile number and send them a text message with a link to the app store
• Enable generated dynamic QR Code scanning to make it easier for customers to download your app
• Remind existing but inactive users to re-login by sending them a push notification advertising an in-app promotion or sale

4. Leverage the Power of Email Marketing

With over 70% of emails now opened on mobile, it makes sense to drive prospects to your app via highly tactical email marketing campaigns. Check out how Uber does this with a simple user acquisition email, which highlights a clear call to action. This incentivizes users to install their app by offering a free ride.

5. Offer Free Trials, Especially During Launch

You can convince users to download your app and become a longtime user by offering them a free trial. This will allow them to experience the value of your app firsthand before they decide to upgrade to a paid version. You can highlight key features during this trial period. Additionally, notify users about features that will no longer be accessible once their trial ends. These personalized in-app messages near the end of their subscription can help convert them into paid users or drive the adoption of freemium features. 

For instance, app developer Stuart Hall built The 7 Minute Workout app and got an unimpressive 28 downloads/day when he first launched a paid-only version. But once he relaunched it as a free app, after minimal marketing and press, the number of downloads skyrocketed to 216,718 in just three days. Hall later monetized the app with various in-app purchases and sold the app for over $70K in profit. Read his app marketing success story here.

6. Create Seasonal and Time-Bound Offers

Seasonality plays a big role in marketing on apps. For instance, Spotify creates and displays year-end playlists for its users, and retailers like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts heavily promote their pumpkin flavored offerings during Halloween.

In a special promotion, Meditation app Headspace incentivized its users to build positive habits around the start of the new year by offering a 40% discount on new subscriptions all through January. The offer was due to expire on Feb 1, 2019, this helped create a sense of urgency amongst users and prompted them to take action in a time-bound manner.

6. Display Personalized Offers

In 2020, personalization truly lies at the heart of effective ecommerce marketing strategies. Access to granular data about users including, device ID, location, gender, previous shopping history, stated preferences and lifestyle, allows marketers to display highly customized and relevant offers to users.

For instance, a food delivery app can mine customer data and only display vegetarian or vegan options to users who have shared their dietary preferences during sign up, and a fashion app can highlight gender specific product offerings, or increase conversions by cross-selling and upselling new products based on the user’s previous shopping history.

8. Run Paid App-Install Campaigns

Running paid campaigns can be an expensive but effective way to push downloads for your app. For instance, flight tracking and travel booking app Hopper used Instagram Stories to reach 7.5 million millennials across the US and Canada, by targeting young travelers who monitor flight prices and buy tickets in advance, to land the best fares. This campaign led to a 67% higher rate of app installs, 50% more flight searches by new users, and an 80% higher booking rate for new users. At the end of 2018, Hopper acquired 30 million users for their app.

9. Use Influencer Marketing

33% of users say they downloaded an app because it was recommended to them. Leverage the power of referrals by tying up with micro-influencers and partnering with influencers who have social clout. Choose these ambassadors with care, so they resonate with your overall brand story and can amplify your marketing message amongst their followers.

For instance, mindfulness app Headspace began promoting its guided meditations as a way to improve athletic performance, and tied up with elite athletes, like Knox Robinson to generate testimonials. Later, Headspace inked a major deal with the NBA, and players began talking about how they incorporated the app into their training regime, to influence their loyal followers and fans.

10. Use Chatbots as a Part of your Ecommerce Marketing Strategies

A study reports that more than 80% of businesses are expected to get chatbot automation by the end of 2020 to manage their leads and streamline their sales and marketing funnel like never before.

Using chatbots can help you establish a one-on-one connection with your customers. And provide them with customized and timely help. You can prevent users from abandoning a purchase midway. You can also improve conversions by offering quick answers to simple questions.

Where can I go to Learn More About Ecommerce Marketing Strategies?

We hope you found these 10 ecommerce marketing strategies useful to promote your app, increase monetization and generate more revenue with your ecommerce app. Keep visiting the Rocketium Academy for more such articles on ecommerce marketing and leave us a note in the comment section. Thanks for reading!