All of us are customers.  As such, we can all relate to the never-ending flood of incoming messages — whether through email, social media, text, or messaging apps.  It can be overwhelming to keep up, and many simply get pushed to the side.

Companies today are faced with a problem: cutting through all the chaos.

There are many elements outside your control when it comes to your customers and getting them to engage with — or even open — your messages.  

What you have within your control is the timing and content of those messages.  And whether you’re blasting messages for the sake of getting something out or trying to make a sale (which today’s savvy customers can often see right through).  Or if you’re trying to build a meaningful relationship by sharing value and content that speaks to their needs.  

The reciprocity of giving your customers something back in exchange for their time and attention is a building block to long-lasting connections.  

Here, we’ll discuss a 3-step strategy you can use to stand out in the crowd.  And the good news is — it all begins with data you have easy access to your own experience as a customer.

1. Turn the tables

We’re all consumers and customers in our own right.  You know what works for you and what doesn’t.  Coming from that perspective, you can ask yourself:

  • What do I want or need from this mobile app?  What goals do I have in using this app?  Am I looking to be entertained?  Do I need quick access to reliable information?  Do I need to get something done fast?  
  • How would I want to feel at the end of an interaction with this app?  Empowered?  Comforted?  Inspired?  Relieved?

Looking at your app from a customer perspective gives you essential insight into creating experiences and communication that resonates. 

2. Put your customer journey under a microscope

Once you’ve started looking at the results you’re helping your users get, it’s time to take a hard look at the different touchpoints along your customer journey.  

Does each interaction foster the feelings you want to evoke in your customer?  Does it bring them closer to their objective?  In other words, are your customers benefiting in some way?

A part of this is to listen to what your customers have to say.  Even if your customers or users aren’t in an active dialog with you, they’re sending you clear messages through their actions.  

You can see what content they engage with, events they participate in, characters they chase, and bundles they purchase.  You can see whether they’re clicking on your push notifications or simply ignoring you.  Or whether they’ve logged into the app or recently made a purchase. 

With the right tools, like Leanplum’s mobile engagement platform, you can do this all in one spot.  You can combine engagement data and analytics with powerful A/B testing capabilities to identify which app elements activate your users.  

That valuable data is how you generate engagement that connects.

3. Exceed your customers’ expectations

Now that you’ve done the work of looking at your customer journey, you can see the gaps between what your users want and expect and the reality of their app experiences.   

You now have to fill in those gaps and continually improve, iterate, and fill them in some more.  This means finding ways to deliver more for your customers and users and designing an app experience that speaks to them through a deep understanding of their behavior, patterns, and preferences.   

With Leanplum, you can create optimized, data-driven campaigns to send content targeted to what your customers need when they need it most.  Advanced targeting and behavioral segmentation help you give your users personalized experiences — all in real-time.

Communication that builds relationships

Building connections that stand out from the competition and keep you relevant to your customers takes more than batch and blast messaging.  Customers expect you to listen and understand their needs to create experiences and content that addresses those wants. 

Ready to start a conversation that your customers want to continue?  It all begins with empathy and a different perspective to craft hyper-personalized content and communication.

Interested in learning more?  We’ve got resources for you:

  • Check out our extensive research and findings on personalization’s impact on Mobile Games and Subscription App engagement.
  • See practical examples of ways apps successfully incorporated personalization into their CRM strategy in our discussion panel at the App Promotion Summit.
  • Take an inside look to see how you can leverage Leanplum to build engagement through your app messaging and experiences with our interactive Product Tour.
  • See Leanplum in action with a complimentary personalized Product Demo.