to send messages via mobile apps that build loyalty and keep you relevant

Your app is downloaded by customers who want to learn more about your brand. You need to use the right communication channels in order to maintain and grow your relationship with mobile messages.

At The MarTech Conference, Sydney Smith, client marketing manager for cross-channel marketing platform Cordial, stated that “downloading an app is big step in customers demonstrating their loyalty to a company.” As a brand, it is important to show loyalty to your customers by sending them the right messages through their mobile channels.

There are three major types of mobile app messages. Each has its strengths and best practices.

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Push notifications

Push notifications are the most popular form of mobile app messaging. They appear on the lock screen or home screen of the user’s smartphone.

Smith said, “The first thing you should ask yourself is: “Do my customers require this information right now?” If the answer is “yes”, then it’s a good idea to send a push notification.

These messages are often automatically sent based on customer product preferences, orders, and other behaviors.

Smith stated that there are many great uses for push notifications, including order updates, abandoned cart reminders and last-minute sales.

Your customer may not automatically receive push notifications just because they downloaded your app. They must opt in. You shouldn’t send too many notifications.

Marketers need to reflect on their own experiences with this. What made them find push notifications useful and which ones they found annoying? These insights can help you decide what messages to send.

In-app messages

These messages customers receive in-app are the ones they get when they’re already logged into the app.

Andrew Shields is Cordial’s senior technical product manger. “These pop-up alerts happen while you are using the app, and they’re often event-driven due to this,” he said. “As the user interacts with your app, you can capture real-time data. They almost always use deep linking to take the user to a specific place in the application when they click on them.

Shields said, “There are many valuable use cases for app messages. A series of welcome screens can be used to welcome users. You can inform them about new products or offer targeted promotions to match their past behavior.

In-app messages can also be used to update loyalty status. Send a message of congratulations to the customer if they have reached a higher tier in their loyalty program. To encourage them to use the app, you can send messages regarding updates and new features.

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Inbox messages

Inbox messages are the most common of all three types. They are usually longer and stored in customers’ apps accounts. Sometimes they are sent to customers who have turned off push notifications.

Shields stated that “[Inbox messages] can sometimes have an expiration time that makes them disappear eventually but they allow users to refer to them so that they can read that information later.”

Smith stated that customers are not notified about the information you send immediately. Instead, this information is stored in a location that customers can access at their leisure.

She said, “Some brands use email messages to send information customers who have disabled push notifications… This way they could reach everyone who had push enabled [during current promotions], but they could also reach everybody who had disabled push whenever they checked their apps again.”

Marketers with a solid strategy around these messages on mobile apps will keep their customers interested and informed. Depending on how customers react to previous mobile campaigns, they can use any combination of these three types to manage specific promotions.

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MarTech first published the post How to Send Mobile App Messages That Build Loyalty and Stay Relevant.