Here are 25 creative ways for restaurants to leverage personalized push messaging:

1. Announce limited-time offers. Notify of new limited-time drink or food offerings to create urgency to purchase.
2. Provide order status updates. Give real-time updates on Mobile Order & Pay purchases to improve service.
3. Promote new menu items. Build excitement and awareness for new menu item launches.
4. Offer personalized deals. Use customer data like order history to provide personalized offers.
5. Announce order pickup readiness. Let customers know when mobile orders are ready for pickup.
6. Reward loyalty members. Surprise loyal customers with free items or special discounts.
7. Send reservation reminders. Remind customers of upcoming reservations and notify if tables are ready.
8. Announce secret menu items. Provide access to secret menu options only available through the app.
9. Poll customers for feedback. Seek input on new products, menu items, or features.
10. Offer time-limited happy hour deals. Drive engagement with urgent happy hour or flash sale promotions.
11. Send birthday or anniversary specials. Delight customers on special occasions with personalized offers.
12. Provide weather-related promotions. Incentivize purchases based on weather data like extreme heat or rain.
13. Announce app upgrades. Share new features to educate and excite customers.
14. Preview new menu launches. Give sneak peeks at upcoming menu changes or additions.
15. Notify when items are back in stock. Inform customers when popular limited items are available again.
16. Announce flash sales on overstocked items. Drive urgency with last-minute deals on excess inventory.
17. Provide delivery ETAs. Share delivery estimates and updates to provide transparency.
18. Send dynamic offers based on context. Personalize messages with time or weather-based promotions.
19. Reward high-value customers. Surprise your VIPs with free perks to build loyalty.
20. Poll for new product feedback. Seek input on potential new offerings with quick polls.
21. Announce late-night offers. Drive late-night demand with timed night owl deals.
22. Share insider info on secret menus. Build excitement by revealing secret menu items. 
23. Notify mobile order pickup readiness. Alert customers precisely when their orders are ready.
24. Send appreciation offers to engaged users. Reward highly active customers with free perks and offers.
25. Notify of expiring rewards. Remind customers to use expiring points or credits.

Push notifications allow for timely and hyper-personalized messaging at scale. When done creatively, mobile app messages are a powerful way for restaurants to boost engagement and sales through personalization and relevance. If you’re interested in learning more about how Cordial can help you improve your mobile app messaging strategy, talk with us today.

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1. Use of custom keys

BuzzFeed, an online publishing company, sends push notifications that take users to a specific content page in the app. Once the user is on the page and hits the back button, BuzzFeed leverages custom keys to take them to a relevant content category page versus back to the homepage. This is meant to keep the user engaged in the relevant content they were looking for versus having to restart their journey on the homepage.

What are custom keys? Custom keys are additional data points that you can include within a mobile app message that allow you to trigger a wide range of unique app experiences and give you more ways to personalize your message. These keys will be specifically designed by your app development team to enable specific functionality in your app.

2. Use of targeting

The Mighty, an online health community, sends push notifications with daily article recommendations that are tailored to the member’s identified preferences. The Mighty also uses push notifications to ask community members to engage with posts that have little to no engagement. Overall, these targeted messages boost engagement and foster a greater sense of support and connectedness by connecting the right people to relevant, timely content. The Mighty has an average tap through rate of 3.78%, and is looking to test mobile inbox as a place to store these push notifications for additional engagement at a later date. 

3. Use of sound

Wines ‘Til Sold Out (WTSO), an online wine retailer, uses a custom sound of wine glasses clinking when sending a push notification. This sound builds incredible brand recognition and is a fun way for a customer to know exactly when they receive a message from WTSO. Their avid customers love being in the know and getting alerted that it’s time to shop for wine. 

4. Use of urgency

SNIPES, one of the largest global sneaker and streetwear retailers, uses push notifications to give their customers exclusive access to enter raffles for a new sneaker release or limited edition product. The push notification announces the start of each raffle and users can tap the message to easily enter for a chance to purchase the high demand item at their closest SNIPES location. The sense of urgency and exclusivity drives significant engagement with SNIPES customers garnering an average tap through rate of 20% resulting in a significant increase in AOV. 

5. Unified service

AdoreMe, a women’s underwear company, sends push notifications with shipment updates to customers who’ve made a purchase on their app. AdoreMe provides connectivity on the same channel from purchase to fulfillment. They also customize the message with their logo for brand recognition and the customer’s first name for an added touch of polish.

Learn more about mobile app messaging with Cordial. Connect with us!

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For example, users could select if they’d like to get notified when sales happen, when new products arrive, when something is back in stock, and more. Asking for user preferences lowers the risk of users disabling notifications and takes the guesswork out of knowing what messages to send. The more customized and personalized companies can get in their messaging to customers, the stronger the engagement will be.

Recent Cordial research uncovered that many consumers are willing to give up even more personal information if marketers can figure out how to use it to offer them something of value in exchange.

In addition to or in lieu of getting information on customer preferences, understanding the pros and cons of the different message types can help you send a better message.

Main types of mobile messages

There are three main types of mobile app messages and each serves a different purpose.

1. Push notifications are small, pop-up alerts that appear on the home or lock screen of a mobile device. The message goes away once dismissed or clicked.
2. In-app messages are pop-up alerts that companues can send to users when they open the app or go to a certain page within the app. The message goes away once closed.
3. Inbox messages are persistent messages that companies can send to an inbox or message center within the app for users to keep track of company information or promotions.

Push notifications spark urgency and action.

Push notifications are the best way for companies to deliver important and time-sensitive information because they are sent directly to the home screen.

Push notifications are sent to users who’ve downloaded a company’s mobile app, so they’re already engaged with or expressed interest in a company. These alerts are the best way for companies to deliver important and time-sensitive information because they’re sent directly to the home screen of the mobile device.

Push notifications are often automatically triggered based on a customer’s product preferences, orders, or browsing behaviors to meet the individual’s needs at precise moments. Cordial clients commonly use push notifications for order updates, abandoned cart reminders, last minute sales, back-in-stock alerts, low inventory alerts, or subscription reminders. The beauty of these messages is that when users click, they’re brought straight to the app for quicker conversion.

Overall, companies use push notifications to get users in the app, increase engagement, and enhance the customer experience. When users download an app, they’ll usually opt-in to these notifications by default. But be careful not to send too many push notifications as users can easily opt-out.

Push messages have, in the past, had a character limit, forcing marketers to be succinct. However, things are starting to shift with recent creative enhancements, such as carousel units, that help companies extend their messaging and promote more than one item. Carousel push notifications get users to scroll through personalized content like items left in cart, new sale promotions, or limited time offers all in one push message. Each content block can be deep-linked to the right area of the app for quick access and conversion. This is a huge step up in personalization and bringing even more timely content to customers via push.

When to send push notifications

Does the user need to know this info right now? Opt for push notifications to deliver important and time-sensitive information:

• Order updates
• Abandoned cart reminders
• Last-minute sales
• Back-in-stock alerts
• Low-inventory alerts
• Subscription reminders

In-app messages give users something valuable.

Tailor in-app messages based on what you know about your customers — their behaviors, interests, and intent — and their needs in that moment.

In-app messages are sent to users when they’re actively using the app — and are messages that have to be deployed thoughtfully. The customer is likely using the app for a specific purpose, so companies have to be mindful to not disrupt them, but rather provide something valuable to engage them. One way to ensure relevance in the moment is to tailor messages based on what you know about them — their behaviors, interests and intent — and their needs in that moment. Companies should always focus on providing content that is relevant and ensures a positive customer experience.

Cordial clients commonly use in-app messages to welcome new users, communicate new products, send targeted promotions or one-time offers, update users on loyalty status, or speak to new app enhancements. These messages get the user’s attention because they’re integrated into the app experience. Additionally, companies have more real estate on the screen to convey their message compared to push notifications.

A great example of an in-app message that drives engagement is a congratulations message for reaching a new loyalty tier. The user doesn’t need to be interrupted by a push notification and can read more about their new loyalty tier benefits given the space provided in an in-app message. Similar to push, in-app messages can deep-link to anywhere a company wants to direct customers in the app. In this case, the user could be linked to their loyalty account to explore new options.

Overall, companies use in-app messages to keep users engaged, build loyalty, and enhance the customer experience. Maintaining a positive experience with your loyal customers is so important. There may even be certain instances, such as during checkout or when viewing a video clip, when companies want to block in-app messages from being shown to avoid interrupting their customers and disrupting their experience

When to send in-app messages

Do you need to send a lot of info, but it’s nothing the user would need to read again later? Send in-app messages to users when they’re actively using the app and tailor the content to what you know about users and their needs in the moment:

• Welcome new users
• New product alerts
• Targeted promotions
• Loyalty status updates
• New app features
• Re-engagement

Inbox messages provide a reference to go back to.

Consider inbox messages when you are sending important information that a user might want to refer back to later — similar to an email — or that might not be as time-sensitive.

Mobile inbox is the least prominent of the three mobile message types. It serves as a message center to keep track of information (i.e., order or message history) and as a way to reach users who have notifications turned off. Cordial clients use mobile inbox messages in several thoughtful ways.

JOANN, a leading fabric and craft retailer, uses mobile inbox to refer users back to prior push notifications. Although inbox messaging isn’t intended for urgent messages, it can be used as a place for users to refer back to a push notification at a later date. For example, the company sends a coupon code via a push notification and an inbox message. The inbox message is a way for their customers to easily retrieve and use the coupon code at a later time when they’re ready to start shopping

REVOLVE, a next-generation fashion retailer, also saw incredible success with their first mobile inbox message announcing a one-day only secret sale. When users opened the app, they could see an unread notification icon indicating there was a message waiting for them. Although the message was time-sensitive, it gave customers a feeling of being a “VIP” by essentially rewarding them for engaging with their app. Using an inbox message also allowed them to reach a wider audience because they were able to reach customers who had push notifications disabled.

Overall, companies use mobile inbox messages to keep users engaged and enhance the customer experience.

When to send mobile inbox messages

Do you want the user to be able to refer back to this info later? Think of the mobile inbox as a message center where users can refer back to important information:

• Saved push notifications
• Ongoing sales and coupons
• Longer messages
• Onboarding tips
• Order confirmations

How to integrate mobile app with other messaging channels, like email and SMS

Not only do you need to be considerate of how the different mobile app messaging types work, but you also need to ensure your mobile app messaging complements your other messaging channels. As a cross-channel marketing partner, Cordial consults with marketers on channel strategy and use-case journeys. We’ll help make a channel priority list based on the use cases and set up messaging activation tools to make the implementation easy for the marketer.

The Cordial approach involves:

• Setting up templates in the Cordial Sculpt message builder tool for more holistic email and mobile app messages.
• Establishing priority rules in the Cordial Podium orchestration builder to ensure proper channel sequencing. For example, companies can set up a push notification to send first, and if the contact can’t receive push notifications, then they will be sent an email.

One marketer that Cordial partners with has rules for not sending similar messaging across SMS and push to the same users. Some marketers, like this one, prioritize sending via their mobile app because the app experience drives better engagement from their most valued customers. To ensure users engage more fully in the app, some marketers can exclude customers from receiving SMS messages, if the contact was already reached via the app. However, if a contact is reacting more to SMS or if that’s an identified preference, marketers can send in SMS and exclude that individual from receiving a message in the app.

Another Cordial client determines their cross-channel approach based on the type of campaign they’re running. When triggering an immediate message based on real-time behaviors, the marketer prioritizes email and push notifications. The email can contain multiple items with more information and personalized modules, while the push notification focuses on providing item-specific reminders. Alternatively, when supporting top merchandising and promotional themes, the company’s messages are typically sent via email and SMS, again with a multi-item vs. single item focus respectively. Regardless of channel, the marketer always deep links customers to the mobile app to create a consistent shopping journey, resulting in higher conversion.

When to send a combination of messages

Are you sending a timely message but you need to send some extra information? Use a combo of push, in-app, and inbox message types that can work in concert together to accomplish specific company use cases:

• Increase app usage
• Promote app features or functionality
• Order confirmations 
• Exclusive sales or promotions
• Reach a wider audience

How to measure and evaluate success of your messaging strategies

Start by experimenting to see what works and then optimize campaigns from there.

Cordial helps our clients simultaneously test multiple variants, campaigns, and automations by using A|B testing and machine learning to select the best-performing option. Cordial’s machine learning rapidly identifies and automatically shifts traffic to the best-performing content, driving more revenue for our clients, and delivering a better experience for their customers. There are a variety of things you could test in your mobile app messages.

We rounded up a quick list here:

• Image/no image
• Type of imagery and colors
• Time of day/week/month
• Frequency of sends
• Tone of message
• Length of message
• CTAs
• Different audience segments
• Different personalization triggers

The common performance metrics many companies use in testing or in their evaluation of mobile app messaging performance include: clicks/opens/taps, revenue, average order value, app uninstall, or opt-out.

Ultimately, all marketers want to attribute the success of their communications, understanding how each message performed and what actions users took after clicking on a message. Mobile apps are no different! To help marketers achieve this goal, Cordial provides built-in capabilities to track event and revenue attribution across channels. Cordial’s revenue attribution insights are designed to help our clients demystify the attribution process and determine which campaigns — and channels — are driving the most revenue.

Giving the right messages proper credit and focusing on campaigns that drive the most revenue is a top priority. There’s real value in having a partner who can provide a holistic view of cross-channel attribution, which Cordial does out of the box across all channels.

Ready to see how partnering with an industry leader like Cordial will help you optimize your cross-channel marketing approach? Speak with a Cordial expert today.

The post When to use different mobile app messaging types: push, in-app, or inbox appeared first on Cordial.

So, what’s the perfect strategy? Use real-time data to create personalized messages that the user actually wants to read and open. Jump to any section to dive in:

• What are push notifications?
• Push notifications and privacy laws
• How first party-data fuels push notifications
• 10 top push notification stats
• 9 common push notification use cases
• 10 push notification best practices
• 5 times when NOT to use push notifications
• What to look for in a push notification service

What are push notifications?

Push notifications are automated messages that a website or application “pushes” through to a user. They may inform users of news, sales, event updates, or new merchandise. These notifications are distinct from in-app and text messages, as they typically drive users back to the application and encourage increased engagement. 

Push notifications vs. in-app messages

Push notifications appear when people are not using the application. They provide a way for the app to continue interacting with the user even when it is not open. In-app messages occur within the application and may display more private information like transaction details. 

Push notifications vs. SMS/MMS

Push notifications are alerts that come from an application. SMS/MMS send text or media messages to users using their phone numbers. People can often respond to SMS and MMS messages, while push notifications are simply alerts from an app. 

Web vs. mobile push notifications

Web push notifications are messages that pop up while someone has a web browser open, either on a desktop or a mobile phone. The person does not need to have a specific page open to receive web push notifications. Mobile push notifications occur only on smartphones and come only from applications. 

Push notifications and privacy laws

Privacy laws have significantly impacted how companies and marketers reach their customers. These laws are constantly evolving and becoming more stringent to protect users’ information. 

Until recently, iOS required apps to first ask users if they would like to opt-in to push notifications, while Android made the opt-in automatic. However, Google’s recent Android 13 requires apps to request permission before sending push notifications. 

Apple’s iOS 15 came out in 2021 with strict privacy policies, holding apps to a higher level of accountability regarding how they use first-party data. Similar privacy laws include the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union. Both give users more rights to the user to keep their information private. If your business or organization serves individuals in California or Europe, it’s wise to review the specific laws and ensure you are compliant. 

Although these extensive privacy laws may seem detrimental to push notifications, they are not. In fact, they have created a surge in using first-party data, which is the backbone of push notifications.

Related resources on Cordial:

• Article: What are the differences between zero-, first-, second-, and third-party data?
• Article: How top data privacy trends will impact marketing by 2025
• Ebook: Mobile app messaging that drives loyalty

How first-party data fuels push notification marketing

First-party data refers to the information your company collects directly from the users. Examples could include demographics, purchase history, brand interactions, interests, etc. Under the privacy laws mentioned, apps can collect first-party data with the users’ consent — which is why Google Play and the Apple App Store both require apps to be transparent about data collection. 

Interestingly, users are willing to share their first-party data with apps, as long as it’s not sold to other brands. Segment’s The State of Personalization 2021 reports that 70% of customers are comfortable with businesses using first-party data for personalization over information bought from other brands. 

With an overwhelming majority vote for first-party data, the shift has fueled push notification marketing and given companies increased access to real-time data about what users like and how they interact with their brand. That information becomes invaluable when developing personalized marketing strategies and push notifications. 

Source: OneSignal

Push notification marketing stats

Explore these statistics to see just how effective push notifications can be. And for more research on consumer preferences when it comes to messages they receive from brands, please read Cordial’s New Era of Customer Engagement report.

1. When users receive too many app notifications, 39% of users turn them off.

This data comes from a 2021 Statista report that explores user behavior when they receive too many mobile app notifications. While almost 40% turn off all notifications, another 42% adjust the settings to limit notifications. 

That means over 80% of users opt to limit or remove notifications entirely if they feel bombarded by messages. Of course, if they turn off or limit notifications, your push notifications will no longer reach them. 

Another 8% of people will delete the app entirely. While this is a much lower percentage, it is still a possibility that you want to avoid. Since the vast majority of users react negatively to excess notifications, you must find out how many messages your audience wants to receive before you launch your campaigns.

2. The definition of “too many notifications” depends on the type, and only 23% of users agree multiple reminders per day are acceptable.

Thankfully, another 2021 Statista survey provides insight into what users deem to be too many. About 40% of people agree that news, information, and social media apps can send multiple push notifications daily. 

Companies sending out reminders might limit their messages to one per day, as 32% agree that was an appropriate frequency. Only 23% believed that several reminders per day were acceptable. 

The survey respondents were divided about the appropriate frequency of brand promotions. However, they leaned towards a less-is-better mentality. Over 20% said they would never like to receive brand promotion notifications, and another 18% said weekly messages were appropriate. 

3. Applications send an average of 8 to 9 push notifications per month.

Even though users are open to receiving multiple informational notifications daily, most apps don’t need to send such frequent messages. The 2021 Airship report shows that apps send an average of 8.4 monthly notifications to Android users and 8.8 to iOS users. 

Media and sports apps had the highest monthly volume for Android users, averaging 114.8 and 25.3, respectively. The monthly averages were only slightly lower for iOS media and sports apps. 

The other application verticals averaged under 10 monthly notifications for both Android and iOS users. For example, food and drink applications sent about 4.6 monthly push notifications, while medical, health, and fitness apps sent an average of three. 

When deciding how many push notifications to send, consider not only the type of message but also what is standard for your industry vertical. 

4. A substantial 44% of companies receive higher re-engagement with mobile push notifications.

According to a 2022 OneSignal report, 44% of companies saw the most re-engagement with mobile push notifications ⁠— over 2.5 times more engagement than the second-most effective channel, email. Over 60% of the companies ranked mobile push notifications as the most critical customer communication channel. 

While mobile push notifications have bounded ahead of other communication channels, web push notifications are not far behind. Companies ranked them the third most effective re-engagement channel and the third most essential communication channel. 

The survey also showed that businesses believe mobile and web push notifications will be the top two most critical communication methods in the next two years. 

5. Using web push segmentation can increase CTR by 1.5-2 times.

While many studies focus on mobile push notifications from applications, web push notifications are still important and effective. Remember, web push notifications can occur on mobile devices and desktop computers. 

Gravitec published a 2019 report on web push notifications showing that they are still effective, especially on mobile devices. One tactic that increased overall click-through-rate (CTR) was using web push segmentation. By grouping contacts based on demographics, interests, or brand interaction, companies can see 1.5-2 times higher CTRs.

6. Including images in mobile push notifications can increase CTR by over 1,600%.

The previously mentioned OneSignal survey also reports how much images can increase push notification CTR across diverse verticals. While all industries reported an impressive increase in CTR when they added pictures to their push notifications, medical apps saw a 1,634% average increase. Social applications reported a 1,147% increase, house and home apps a 322% jump, and business a 128% growth. Event apps saw the smallest increase at only 23%.

No matter your business vertical, using visuals can help increase overall engagement. Even gifs, videos, and emojis can help capture people’s attention and boost CTR or open rate. 

7. The median opt-in rate for Android users is 29.8% higher than for iOS users.

The Airship report highlighted the difference between the opt-in rate for Android and iOS users, noting that it is almost 30% higher for Android users. Considering the privacy policies for iOS users, this makes sense. Android — except the new Android 13 — automatically opts users in to push notifications, while iOS users must manually agree. 

As you track your CTR and opt-in rates, it’s important to remember the difference between iOS and Android so you do not attribute the resulting difference to other causes. You can expect opt-in rates to be slightly lower for iOS users, no matter your campaigning tactics.

8. The education vertical has the highest direct open rates.

Interestingly, each vertical has unique open rates for Android and iOS users. For example, social apps have a 10.8% median direct open rate with Android users, but that number drops to 2.8% for iOS users. Yet the education vertical has some of the most impressive open rates for both users. The high-performing (in the 90th percentile) Android education apps report a direct open rate of over 31%. The high-performing iOS education apps have over an 18% direct open rate. 

Both of these rates are significantly higher than for other verticals. Keep this in mind when analyzing your open rates. Make sure to consider what is ‘normal’ for your vertical and what type of users you serve.

9. Sending push notifications at optimal times can improve open rates by 40%.

According to data compiled by Swrve, choosing the right time of day to send push notifications is critical. By choosing optimal times, like during lunchtime and before going to sleep, companies can see an increase in CTR by up to 40%. 

Of course, optimal time may vary for different audiences, so keep track of what time of day your users are opening more push notifications. If you serve customers in different time zones, consider that their optimal time likely differs from that of your local customers.

10. Personalizing push notifications more than triples the engagement rate.

A 2022 PwC study determined that brand loyalty intertwines with personalization. Customers want a personalized experience, and that is especially evident with push notifications. The OneSignal survey also reports an almost 260% engagement increase for personalized push notifications compared to general ones.

This increased focus on personalization has recently skyrocketed. According to a 2021 report on The State of Personalization, the percentage of people who would buy from a company again after a personalized buying journey increased from 44% in 2017 to 60% in 2021. 

Since push notifications have become a crucial part of the customer’s journey with a brand, you should personalize the messages to improve brand loyalty and customer satisfaction. 

Common push notification use cases

1. Send traffic and driving updates.

Apps like Waze, Uber, and Google Maps provide regular traffic updates to help people avoid slow-downs and reach their destination quickly. These messages typically don’t require user interaction so they may receive low open rates. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t effective. Quite to the contrary, these informational messages are useful, direct, and often essential. 

To provide accurate updates, the app must collect first-party data like the user’s current location and their past interactions with the app. For example, the message shown likely resulted from the person using Waze to get directions to Jackson Street. Since they never started the journey, Waze used the person’s app interaction to create this push notification.

2. Introduce your brand.

This web push notification from Backpacker Magazine welcomes new visitors to a site and offers them an overview of the brand. It’s personal, fun, and descriptive, which catches the viewer’s attention. Since this is an introductory message, the purpose leans more towards earning peoples’ trust rather than promoting a product. 

Welcome messages and brand introductions like these do not use many first-party data points since they target new website visitors or customers. Still, they rely on some information, like how many times a user has visited the site and what items or pages they browsed. 

3. Add some fun and humor.

Making push notifications fun with jokes or emojis can boost engagement and put a smile on your customers’ faces. This approach can be a game-changer when people receive so many notifications each day. Like the example from Domino’s, make yours stand out with a touch of humor that both aligns with your brand and fits your user demographic. 

One option is to segment your contacts and try different jokes for diverse locations or age groups, which would require the application to collect that first-party data. The app can also track the user’s interactions with push notifications and record which messages were more effective. Users who typically respond to funny notifications can then receive more. 

4. Remind users about items left in their cart.

Users often start shopping, get interrupted, and forget about the items left in their cart. An abandoned cart can trigger a push notification, like the example from Boxed, reminding the user that they forgot to finalize the purchase. These messages are essential for e-commerce apps. Paired with a specific discount code, abandoned cart push notifications can draw users back into the app to make the final purchase.

Of course, to create these abandoned cart notifications, the app must collect information about the person’s interaction with the platform. It tracks the purchase history, or in this case, the lack thereof. The app collects data about how many items — and often which specific products — the user left in their cart. With more specific data comes a more personalized abandoned cart notification. 

5. Notify users about price changes.

Similar to an abandoned cart notification, messages about lowered prices result from a user’s search history on a website or within an application. Take, for example, the message from Kayak about reduced airfare. The notification includes specific dates and locations, which the app collected during the person’s prior flight searches.

These push notifications use this first-party data to draw people back to the application. Since apps like Kayak do not have a typical virtual cart given they sell flights, they rely on these messages to remind people of their search.  

6. Offer personalized recommendations and support.

Personalized push notifications can take many forms, depending on your particular vertical. Here are two examples, one from a clothing company and another from a financial application. They offer completely different viewpoints, but each message targets the user’s interests and habits. 

The H&M app used data about the person’s latest purchase to suggest a new item, while Mint created a weekly financial summary based on the user’s spending habits.

7. Advertise sales or coupons.

Another superbly popular use for push notifications is advertising sales. E-commerce companies, like PLNDR, can quickly spread the word about upcoming discounts or holiday price cuts. For more general sales advertisements, the app may not use much first-party data.

However, apps can send user-specific coupons. They may collect data about the last time the user made a purchase and what they bought. Coupon notifications can draw people back to the e-commerce app after a period away, or they might reward loyal customers.  

8. Get feedback on preferences.

Some push notifications request feedback so the app can further personalize notifications. Netflix offers a prime example with a simple “like or dislike” question regarding recently viewed movies and TV shows. These notifications directly collect first-party data for future messages offering viewing recommendations.

The simplicity and personalization of these feedback notifications make them successful. However, do not confuse them with push notifications asking for app ratings, as those typically push people away. 

9. Push notifications for events, news, or updates.

These push notifications give users real-time updates about events, whether they are national sporting events or local store sales, like the example from ESPN. The purpose is to promote that event, keep people informed, and encourage them to visit the app or website for more live details. 

Apps may use first-party data points like location, interests, or past interaction to promote events that the user will like and interact with.

Push notification best practices

1. Personalize push notifications.

As previously discussed, personalization is critical to the customer experience and brand loyalty. Consumers want an experience tailored to their interests, needs, budget, and preferences. So, collect first-party data and use that to personalize push notifications. Use their name, reference previous purchases, and offer suggestions based on browsing and buying history. 

Hey [Name]! Are you enjoying your leather-bound notebook? We found a few fine-point colored journaling pens that you might like. Don’t miss out!

2. Make them useful, informative, and valuable.

Promoting your brand can be exciting, and you may want to share everything with your customers and clients. However, less is often more — especially with push notifications. Before sending out a notification, ask yourself these questions:

• Is this information useful to my audience?
• Does it provide critical information that my audience needs or wants?
• Would users find this valuable and want more?

If any of those answers are no, then reconsider sending the push notification. And remember, what’s useful, informative, and valuable for one vertical may not be so for another. It all depends on your target audience.

3. Focus on the user, not the company.

There’s nothing that piques our interest more than something that we can relate to or that interests us. People want to know what they can get out of something, so keep that in mind when sending push notifications. Try something like the following: 

Hi [Name]! Congratulations! You spent 15% less this week. View your spending summary and learn how you can save even more.  

4. Don’t measure push notification success only by open rate.

Many of the statistics previously noted measured the success of push rates by CTR or open rate. While definitely helpful, this measurement is not always an accurate representation of push notification success. Consider it more of a suggestive success rate.

Push notifications often receive engagement, even just at a glance — and that counts. For example, notifications encouraging people to return to their abandoned carts are likely to get much higher open rates than push notifications about traffic updates. Yet traffic updates are just as valuable, if not more so, to many users. Consider your company’s vertical, typical open rates for notifications from similar apps, and what type of information your users value before putting too much emphasis on open rates.

5. Run A/B test campaigns.

One of the best ways to test which phrasing, words, CTAs, and media work best with your audience is to run A/B tests before sending out an entire campaign. Take two versions of the same push notification and send one to group A and the other to group B. Record the results and see which one had a higher CTR, as that should be the one you send out in the main campaign.

Make sure to change only one factor at a time to truly see the effect. For example:

• Message A: Exclusive deal alert! Valued customers get 15% off this week only. Shop now!
• Message B: Exclusive deal alert! Valued customers get 15% off this week only. Browse our selection!

In the example only the CTA changed, so you can truly see the effect of which phrasing connects more with your audience. 

6. Include engaging CTAs.

The end goal for (most) push notifications is for users to click through to the application or website, so you need to make the CTA as convincing as possible. The first step is to use verbs that inspire action like watch, explore, buy, browse, listen, and review. Avoid words like be, continue, click, or open, since people may subconsciously associate them more with spam or ads.

You want people to feel compelled to act when they read the notification, and it all comes down to the CTA. Examples:

• Escape your routine with these new book releases. 
• Browse our newest products. 
• Listen to the latest podcast. 

7. Use power words.

The rest of your message must be just as powerful as your CTA. Push notifications are short, so every word counts. Use power words to ensure that your message stands out to the user. These can include eye-catching terms like:

• Cashback
• Express
• Reminder
• Exclusive
• Alert
• Invitation-only
• Endorsed
• Authentic
• Trending

8. Create rich media content.

Rich media content refers to images, videos, gifs, and emojis — anything that makes the content pop. This approach helps increase your engagement rate and makes your brand more memorable. Just be careful not to go overboard with the images or emojis. Find a careful balance that reflects your brand and resonates with your audience. 

Today through Sunday, all our merchandise is 30% off!   Take advantage of the savings before time runs out!  

9. Communicate urgency.

People have dozens of things fighting for their attention all day. If you want your message to stand out and produce engagement, create some urgency. Consider terms like:

• Don’t miss out
• While supplies last
• Hurry!
• Order now!
• Limited-time offer
• Last chance
• Ends soon
• Deadline

10. Track your results.

Keeping track of your metrics is critical to a successful push notification strategy. Record all your metrics, when doing A/B testing and managing push notification campaigns. Examine your engagement rate, keeping in mind that clicks aren’t the only thing that matters. Compare the results of each campaign to determine whether images or emojis work well, which words resound more with your audience, and how often they want to receive push notifications. Make sure you also track retention rate, traffic, purchases, etc. to see the overall effect of your push notifications.

When NOT to use push notifications

1. When you want subscribers to rate your app

Push notifications should only include information valuable to the user ⁠— and messages requesting ratings or reviews are not worthwhile. Instead of driving people to the app or reminding them of your services, these messages may prompt users to turn off all notifications or even delete the application. 

If a user wants to rate your app, they will. Don’t push them too much, or you’ll risk a negative customer experience. Avoid sending messages like this:

Hey [Name]! Love using [app name]? Let us know by leaving a review! 

2. When you want new clients or customers

By definition, push notifications target your current subscribers. While they may help increase traffic to your website, that boost comes from current users, not new ones. Be careful with wording in your push notifications to ensure you are not targeting potential subscribers because your message will never reach them.

For example, this message would not work as a push notification:

Looking for an app that can save you time? Download [app name] today! 

Whether you’re trying to promote your current app or a new one, these messages can push people away. 

3. When users are likely working or sleeping

Timing can be a game-changer for push notifications. Be aware of your target audience’s time zone, and avoid late-night or midday push notifications.

Timing is especially critical when you have customers nationwide⁠ — or worldwide. Segmenting your contacts by time zones can help you avoid any mishaps.

4. When you have already sent out notifications that day ⁠— or even that same week

Frequency is a fine line to balance, and it may take some time for you to learn how many notifications your audience considers to be too many. If you have already sent out a push notification that day or week, ensure the subsequent messages are helpful, necessary, and relevant before sending them.

You want to avoid people opening their phones to see this:

[app name]                                    9:45 am

Check out our new line of shoes! Half off until Thursday!

[app name]                                    11:30 am

Need new running shoes? All pairs are on sale now!

[app name]                                    1:05 pm

Make sure your kids have the best kicks to start the school year right. Shop online today!

[app name]                                   3:20 pm

Hurry! Supplies are limited. Take advantage of our half-off sale now!

If you need to provide sports, news, or traffic updates, this many notifications may be perfectly fine because each one offers new and vital information. However, in this example, all the messages essentially say the same thing, which could bother the user.

5. When you need to share transaction or shipping information

Any information specific to a client’s account or a customer’s purchase should be shared via email, text, or in-app messaging. 

You don’t want to accidentally send private information to multiple users. Plus, people should be able to access transaction information several times, so emails or in-app messages are a better option than a one-time notification. 

Avoid sending the following as a push notification:

Hey [Name]! Thanks so much for your purchase! Your package has been sent and will arrive by 6:00 pm on Thursday. Here is a link to your tracking information. [link]

What to look for in a push notification service?

Push notifications have taken digital marketing by storm. If you haven’t already started using them for your business, consider finding a push notification service to help you manage the channel more effectively. Here are some things to look for when choosing the right tool:

• Customer support that goes above and beyond
• User-friendly format
• Both automated and customized message options
• Solutions across multiple channels
• Access to engagement, opt-in, and subscriber analytics
• Scalability to grow with your business

Luckily, you don’t have to look far. Here at Cordial we can help you increase customer engagement by 250%. Schedule your demo today to learn just what makes our approach so special. 

The post Intro to push notifications appeared first on Cordial.

Email marketers, think of mobile apps as an opportunity for your most loyal customers (an even more ardent subset of your subscriber list) to interact with your brand on a one-to-one basis. If you can learn how to transfer your skills to the realm of real-time personalization, you can generate better push notifications and in-app messaging — and higher revenue — in no time.

With more marketing teams focused on reaching audiences across multiple channels, specialist roles like email marketers are broadening. There’s no denying email as a messaging channel is an efficient and cost-effective way to reach a broad audience — you can easily segment lists, capture data, measure results, and optimize strategies. And as a marketer who understands the world of email, you’re uniquely positioned to bring value to your organization when it comes to mobile push notifications and in-app messaging, too.

According to Forrester’s Business Case for Marketing Innovation report, “business leaders expect marketing to deliver revenue growth, improved customer experiences, and innovative products and services — and all at lower costs. Yet most marketing teams still work with the same mindset, process, talent, and insights that they have for decades.” 

The times we’re in (we’ll spare you the “unprecedented”) are accelerating digital transformation in organizations. Likewise, consumer behavior is — and will always be — in a constant state of change. The channels your subscribers engage with are constantly fluctuating, so yesterday’s email experts must adapt to become today’s cross-channel marketers. 

With the right app messaging, you can not only increase your traffic and sales, but build brand loyalty in a scalable, consistent way. Much like email marketing, you’ll need to be strategic about your audience, thoughtful about what you’re asking them to do, and clear about what they’re getting in return.

Rethink the email marketing mindset for push notifications and in-app messaging.

“Email marketers know subscribers are their lifeblood and care deeply about them. For most companies, app users are even more obsessed, loyal, and activated customers. They are making your brand a part of their daily life, and you have a chance to connect with them on a deeper level. To do so, you must be thoughtful and concise.” – Benjamin Dorr, COO at Cordial

1. Segment app users based on channel-agnostic behaviors first.

As consumers, we don’t usually interact with brands in messaging channel silos, we’re hopping in and out of apps, our email inbox, and social media. As cross-channel marketers, the ways we reach customers and subscribers should reflect this channel-agnostic behavior. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but there are some transferable email marketing strategies that you can apply to your mobile app messaging process to boost engagement. 

Some of this will depend on your current technology, but think about segmenting your app users in categories similar to your email subscriber base. Each segment should receive a different message tailored to their browsing behavior, geographic region, product preferences — the list goes on. 

Here’s a good place to start with your audience segmentation: 

• New users 
• Low spenders or “price aware” users
• Frequent users and/or high spenders 
• Loyal customers and/or brand advocates 
• Inactive users

“Email and app channels shouldn’t be used in the same way. They serve different but complementary functions, and are interconnected in the way that people relate to them. You have to think of it as an ecosystem, rather than a channel you’re porting over to one or the other.” — Bryan Keefer, Product Innovation Strategy Director at Cordial

2. Remember brevity rules with push notifications.

If you’re looking for a platform to display long-form content, mobile simply isn’t the channel. Depending on device size, only a certain number of characters will appear within a push message on the lock screen or notification center. 

Similar to SMS marketing or an email subject line, your push messages should persuade the user to click on the notification to learn more. General rule: create a message and call-to-action that’s as succinct as possible. 

A mobile app message generally consists of a title, subtitle, and/or body text (at a minimum, either a title or body text). Depending on your messaging technology provider, you should be able to include plain text as well as a coding language like Smarty for dynamic personalization in your app messages. Additionally, many providers allow you to enrich your mobile app messages by adding images.

“Do not treat this channel the same as email (or any other channel)! In the same way you might modify your social media content, message length or format for use on Twitter vs. LinkedIn vs. Instagram vs. Facebook, aim to understand what works best within mobile app messaging instead of trying to fit your square email marketing peg into a round mobile app hole.” – Lauren Meyer, VP of Industry Relations & Compliance at Kickbox

3. Translate your goals into actionable notifications.

When it comes to promotional email strategies, most messages focus on nurture, engagement, and/or conversion. That could mean opens, clicks, shares, sign-ups, purchases, or responses — whatever actions are most impactful for your brand’s goals. 

Take a look at your brand’s email subject lines. These are already inline with your brand voice, tone, and goals, so would any of them make a good starting place for a mobile app message? Keep in mind you may have limited characters to get a mobile user to click the notification. 

Many companies will send a welcome email campaign so subscribers can acclimate to the brand. A mobile equivalent might be a welcome message that deep-links to a custom in-app welcome screen, or a tour around the app.

Depending on your goals, there are many mobile app message use cases you could consider: 

Push notifications: 

• An introductory offer for first-time app users 
• Personalized product recommendations 
• Announcements like product drops or feature releases 

In-app messages: 

• A personalized welcome message 
• A guided tour around your app 
• Request permission to a particular customer segment 

Transactional notifications can engage app users about things you know they already care about — order status, shipping confirmation, or package arrival. Use these messages as windows of opportunity for further engagement. Deep link to a custom page in your app that shows where their order is on a map, and below it include additional product suggestions, or include a limited-time offer once their order is delivered. 

4. Demand more personalization with in-app messages.

With email marketing, building a base of subscribers (and retaining them) is an art and a science. When you’re sending mobile app messages, the key to making your app users feel special the way you use data to personalize messaging. 

Start by using demographics and behavioral data to segment app users and personalize messaging. You can allow users to choose the types of messages they want to receive, and the frequency, so they only receive messages they’re interested in (read: more likely to engage with). Personalized messaging allows you to test different notifications to see which ones perform the best while building brand loyalty.

Eventually, you should be able to trigger mobile app messages based on user behavior. Examples of these might include: 

• Sending a mobile app message when a customer hasn’t visited your app or website recently 
• Reminding an app user that they have abandoned items in their cart 
• Alerting an app user about price drops on frequently purchased items 
• Announcing new product launches to your most loyal customers 

Another way to personalize your mobile app messages is by location. Geotargeting is the process of reaching people within a set location, typically within a few blocks or miles of a particular location. Brick-and-mortar brands can set up push notifications from their apps (or a third-party app they work with) that send to a customer who enters within their set geographical barriers, otherwise known as a geo-fence. This depends on each customer’s privacy preferences—whether they’ve given your app permission to access their location data. 

“App messaging is a powerful tool that can create a ‘sticky’ and personalized user experience. Through the learning of key data points from user behavior/habits, trends, preferences and interactions, app messaging can provide the ability to draw users back to or deeper into the app at timely triggered moments. This moves the high-value levers of user retention and engagement — all the while creating a deeper connection between the user and app.” – Tad Ro, VP of Product, Pluto TV

5. Adapt success metrics for push notifications and in-app messaging.

Among the countless ways you could measure the success of your mobile app messaging program, the five that easily compare to email marketing metrics are interactions, clicks, total delivered, engagement, and uninstalls.

• Interactions — Similar to open rates in email marketing, it’s just as important to track app message views. Even if a user doesn’t click through, you can measure the interaction rate by tracking notification dismisses, too. These still indicate influence and impression. 
• Clicks — You’ll want to track how many users click/tap on and open your app message. This metric will allow you to attribute success to particular campaigns, especially if you’re sending a message with a conversion call-to-action. 
• Total delivered — Similar to email, keep an eye on how many messages are delivered with each send. Delivery failures can impact conversions, engagement, acquisition, and more—and may indicate a deeper issue.
• Engagement — If your mobile SDK allows, you should consider tracking app launches within 24 hours after a batch app message is sent. Track the amount of app launches after pushing a campaign.
• App uninstalls — The dreaded opt-out rate. It happens across every communication channel. Uninstalls can show you that your messages are perhaps too frequent, need further personalization, or that the end user isn’t making a connection with your brand. And of course, check with your growth team — not all app installs are created equal.

6. Future-fit your mobile messaging technology.

Whether you have separate email and mobile teams, or you’re an email marketer adding mobile app messaging to your lineup, technology plays a big part of your experience — and your customers’. 

A seamless flow of information between email and mobile channels will allow you to create cross-channel campaigns based on customer behavior, regardless of where and when they interact with your brand (remember that your customers are channel-agnostic). Just like with email, you should build out mobile app user segments based on events, behaviors, and demographic data. 

If you’re looking for a place to start: Cordial allows you to store data in one location, resolve contact identities across all of your channels, and make data-driven decisions that create the best possible outcomes for your customers and your business.

“The days of single-channel marketing, and of one-way customer funnels, are gone. And the days of thinking about a monolithic target customer, or even segments of customers, are also outdated. Instead, we need to think about centering each individual customer prospect and then deploying the right combination of messages and channels for that person. Some customers may respond to mobile app messaging, while others may take action after an email-Instagram combo. The possibilities are overwhelming, but the great news is that marketing technology can let you automate infinite combinations of messaging to each person while maintaining a singular brand and desired outcome.” – Kerry Bennet, Head of Marketing at Upfront Ventures

More related content on Cordial:

• Article: When to use different mobile app messaging types: push, in-app, or in-box
• Article: 5 trends having major impacts on mobile apps for brands
• Ebook: Best practices for mobile app messaging to win loyalty

Case study: How Revolve wins with mobile app messaging

Fashion retailer Revolve unified their mobile app messaging on Cordial, allowing their customer retention team to manage multiple customer profiles and drive higher engagement. 

“Cordial’s triggering features are now available for push notifications, enabling us to launch six new campaigns within a month of migration. We’ve grown our push program while maintaining email, and we’re excited to communicate with our customers across multiple channels,” says Jennifer Fan, Senior Director of Customer Retention at Revolve. “Using Cordial for both push and email provided the team greater insight while requiring much less time to execute campaigns.”

Cordial empowers your marketing team with actionable data in real time, so you can convert what you know about your customers into a personal, relevant, and emotionally intelligent marketing strategy.

We’re here to help you improve customer engagement and increase revenue across all of your messaging channels. Schedule a demo to learn more from our team.

The post How to adapt email marketing to push notifications and in-app messaging appeared first on Cordial.

For brands, push messages are a fantastic opportunity to connect with customers. Imagine being able to reach a majority of your most loyal customers in just 10 minutes. With the right push message, you can not only increase your traffic and sales, but build brand loyalty in a scalable, consistent way. To do this, you’ll need to be thoughtful about your push message strategy, or you’ll risk being ignored, deleted, or unsubscribed from. 

How to build brand loyalty with push notifications:

1. Personalize your mobile push notifications.

Like email marketing, you can segment your mobile customers and send different push notifications to different audiences. This enables you to personalize messages based on location, demographics, and behavior. You can also allow customers to choose the types of messages they want to receive, and the frequency, giving your audience more control so they only receive messages they’re interested in (read: more likely to engage with). 

“If you can create a high value, personalized experience for your users, they’ll be more likely to engage with your push messages – and think highly of your brand – over time,” writes Neil Patel, New York Times bestselling author and entrepreneur. 

Personalized messaging also allows you to test different notifications to see which ones perform the best while building brand loyalty. 

2. Get to the point with your content.

If you’re looking for a platform to display long-form content, then mobile simply isn’t the channel. Depending on device size, only a certain number of characters will appear within a push message on the lock screen or notification center. 

Even though we’ve removed all text limits from our UI (so our clients are not restricted), we encourage you to come up with a message that’s as succinct as possible. Similar to SMS marketing, your push messages should persuade readers to click on the notification to learn more.   

3. Use first-party data to decide when to send push messages.

There are plenty of resources that offer data around the best time to schedule mobile push campaigns. You can use third-party data as a starting point, or you can use customer data collected by your marketing technology.

Start by asking when you want customers to receive your notifications and why. From there, test different times to see which notifications have the highest open and engagement rates. You may find that a message sent in the morning is more effective than a message sent in the evening, or vise versa. Each company and industry is unique, which is why your own data can guide you to make the best decisions for your business.

4. Trigger push messages based on customer behavior.

When you first implement a mobile push strategy, you may segment your messages based on audience demographics, and grow more advanced as your pool of data increases. Eventually, you may be able to trigger mobile push messages based on user behavior. 

Examples of this might include:

• Sending a push message when a customer hasn’t visited your store or website recently
• Reminding a customer that they abandoned items in their carts
• Alerting a customer about price drops on frequently purchased items
• Announcing new product launches to your top customers 

5. Geotarget local customers with push notifications.

Geotargeting is the process of reaching people within a set location, typically within a few blocks or miles of a particular location. Brick-and-mortar brands can set up push notifications from their apps (or a third-party app they work with) that send to a customer who enters within their set geographical barriers, otherwise known as a geo-fence. This depends on each customer’s privacy preferences—whether they’ve given your app permission to access their location data. 

As an example, Whole Foods uses push messages to engage customers who are near one of their store locations. They’ve also geo-fenced their competitors’ store locations, giving customers discounts if they walk a few blocks to a Whole Foods store instead. This gave rise to the phrase, “geo-conquesting,” or using geotargeting to poach customers from your competitors. 

Augment your current marketing efforts

Don’t let the small character count fool you: with the right push messaging strategy, you can build brand loyalty and encourage customers to visit your app or store on a regular basis. The best part is that mobile push can augment your existing marketing efforts to increase engagement as a multi-channel approach. Remember, your customers don’t think about your brand via individual channels, it’s all one customer experience. 

If you’re looking to engage app users with data-driven, triggered push notifications, we’d love to chat about your needs and help you reach your goals. Connect with a Cordial expert today.

The post 5 ways to use mobile push messages to build brand loyalty appeared first on Cordial.

To augment your email campaigns, consider using mobile channels to grow your brand’s overall engagement and reach. Keep in mind, your marketing tactics shouldn’t compete with each other, they should work together and leverage the strengths of each channel. An effective cross-channel strategy allows you to connect and engage with your customers individually, based on their preferences — whether it’s a particular device, channel, time of day, or location. 

Top mobile channels to augment email campaigns

1. Push notifications

According to research by Accengage, 44% of iOS mobile app users opt in to push notifications, along with a whopping 91% of Android app users. This presents a huge opportunity to increase engagement and deliver relevant messaging — often in a more timely manner than through your email channels. You can count on many customers checking their phones on an hourly basis, so your messages will be seen quickly, and usually directly on the device’s home screen.

To make the most of your push notifications, create a clear and strong call to action that drives customers to specific pages on your website or within your mobile app. Push messages can also be used to alert users of special promotions, or combined with geotargeting to drive customers into brick-and-mortar locations. You can also build push messages into sophisticated messaging flows so they can be triggered when other messages (such as promotional emails) are not opened or clicked through.  

2. In-app CTAs

Grow your email list with in-app messaging: encourage customers to sign up for email alerts, follow your brand on social media, and engage with your content. Your in-app promotions can also reinforce branding and messaging you’ve implemented in other channels — and if you don’t yet have one, get stats on why mobile apps are key. The “rule of seven” states that people need to see your messages at least seven times before they take action. In-app messaging, paired with other marketing efforts like email and social media, will help you interact with customers multiple times to drive engagement, brand loyalty, and repeat purchases. 

3. SMS alerts and messages

If your campaigns rely on customers taking action quickly, SMS alerts (text messages) are one of the strongest tools in your mobile marketing arsenal (or one of the largest areas of opportunity, if you’re not there yet!). Research by Gartner has found text message open rates can reach up to 98%. 

Because of their high open rate, SMS messages can powerfully impact a marketing campaign. While your email messages can reach customers at the start, SMS alerts can call customers to action with a high degree of relevance. Check out our comprehensive guide, Communicate Cordially with SMS Marketing to learn how to get started building an effective SMS marketing strategy.

4. Social media

Although not strictly a mobile channel, it’s worth including social media in your cross-channel marketing strategy (since many social media users are on mobile devices). According to data from Facebook, customers who engaged with social media ads and email messages were 22% more likely to make a purchase. Facebook ads also extended email reach on average by 77%. Combining social media with your email channel will allow you to segment target audiences that actively engage with your brand. 

You can use Cordial’s integration with Facebook custom audiences to develop a target group of specific users and retarget them via Facebook for Business. Then, build similar lookalike audiences to find additional high-value customers. Taking it a step even further, these custom audiences can also be used across other channels, like Google Ads or retargeting channels. By reaching the same high-value audiences across different channels, you can maximize your budget and extend your reach to people who may not otherwise find your brand. 

Engage customers on their time

Mobile marketing is a powerful tool to augment your email marketing efforts, especially when engaging with customers on their time, and on their personal devices. If you’re interested in learning more about mobile channels and cross-channel marketing strategies, we’d love to set up a demo and show you how we can help your brand send personal, relevant messages to your customers.

The post Try these mobile channels to augment your email marketing strategy appeared first on Cordial.

Push notifications are the most engaging way to ensure users have the latest information on new features and functions within your app, get personalized recommendations that can deep link them directly to specific products or sections and give them timely information about their specific status with your company. Since the average consumer has ~80 apps on their cell phone, your push notification marketing strategy should remind them to open your brand’s app when it’s most relevant to them. The first 90 days after a customer downloads your app are the most critical. If you devise a strategy of frequent, relevant messaging during this time, you can increase retention from 2x – 10x. The four most important things to note about your push strategy should be that messages should be timely, relevant, actionable, and personal.

Timely

A push notification at the right time is much more likely to get engagement. The first example below was sent at the average time this user logs a meal in MyFitnessPal. The second example was sent immediately based on in-app behavior. Other common examples of timely messages: the dreaded flight delay from your airline app, or the more exciting notification from Netflix that your favorite show is streaming a new season. 

Relevant

A push that responds to specific user behavior is more likely to be read, not dismissed as with unsolicited notifications. The Lyft example is great because many ride-share apps already have an understanding of your location patterns. Receiving a message like this after a long day can feel like a friend offering you a ride home. The second example is user-specific, letting them know the status of their individual order. With the rise of online shopping and two-day shipping, consumers are likely anxious to know exactly when their order has hit their doorstep. 

Actionable 

One of the best ways to increase the stickiness of your app is driving users to open it regularly. In the mix of your messaging campaigns, include tactics that require users to come back for a specific reason. In the first example below, OpenTable sent a push notification about three hours after the user’s reservation time, reminding them to leave a review while the meal was still fresh on their palate. In the second example, Hotel Tonight sent a push immediately after in-app browsing with helpful advice to secure the best pricing. Both of these notifications drive users back to the app right now to perform an action that benefits them—and the brand.

Personal

There’s nothing like feeling that technology is talking to you like a friend, not a machine. Apps are designed to work for the consumer, not the marketer. In the first example, Bandsintown does a great job of reminding the user that they’re in charge; giving them an opportunity to control when and how many messages they receive, within the app. In the second example, Netflix knows exactly how many hours you’ve spent watching cooking documentaries and makes a suggestion for new content based on that behavior. This is what getting personal looks like in push.

Have we inspired you to create a customer-first push messaging strategy for your brand’s app? Request a demo of Cordial and we’ll show you all the ways you can take your mobile marketing to the next level.

The post Using push notifications to push brand loyalty and customer engagement appeared first on Cordial.