Play Store now tells users which apps to uninstall

With only 12% people remaining active on an app even after seven days, the story of app retention has become more gruesome than ever. Solely because of the high availability of options and limited space on the mobile device, the lifetime of an app on user’s device has lowered. To add on to the misery of the app developers struggling to maintain app resonance in users’ minds, Google Play Store now prompts its users which app to uninstall when the memory starts getting full.

While you can’t stop Google from listing your app as the one that should be uninstalled, you can indeed create a lasting impression in the first seven days itself to prevent uninstallation. Let’s look at some of them here –

1. Keep a Close eye on the App Data

The marketers need to keep using data to enhance their app’s use and revenue ability. While in most cases the mobile application development company you got associated with, gives the details, in case they did not, you will have to get your hands on it. The focus should be given to - data-driven user acquisition, coarse in-app measurement for sharper segmentation and funnel optimization, uninstall tracking, cohort reporting, and other tools and method to improve engagement like push notifications, retargeting, and deep linking to update the user experience.

2. Give them the undisclosed useful

Give your users something they weren’t expecting (in a good way), you need not mention it in your list of features, surprise them. This move will make them spend more time on your app hoping to disclose some other feature.

3. Impressionable First Time User Experience

The first interaction that the user has with the app, lays the basis of the time they will stay on the app, so make it worth their short attention span. Your focus should be on offering a simple and intuitive app design. You can also add some overlay help screens to provide easy understanding of app’s interface and features. Providing a walkthrough in your app will hold the users to the app longer.

4. Give them a way out

While it pays off to get a good review or an increase in subscription, give your users an option to unsubscribe too or push out of notifications. It’s time you bring out the saying that Customer is King into action and give them control to get out of everything that bothers them.

5. Offer Rewards

Users install apps that offer high discount and rewards to them. Rewards not only keep the users happy but make them come back to your app for more, increasing app retention and getting you returning customers.

6. Fix a time to send notifications

Instead of sending notifications all the time, send them prompts when they finished an event. The chances of you getting out information from them are when you have their undivided attention. It is at this stage when you should think about doing deep linking and sending the users off to pages that would convert them into customers.

There is no sure shot way to get users hooked to your app but these six ways are time tested to have shown positive results on increasing the lifetime value of the users on an app. Do you have any other idea? Share with us -