How To Keep Excitement ‘GOing’ For Your Mobile App

What are you doing to make your app users come back for the long term?

Everyone is talking about Pokémon GO. I, personally, spent an hour in my backyard with my kids this past weekend, searching for virtual friends behind our geraniums.

But, business model aside, are we all going to stay excited about this game in the long run? That’s the question the app’s owners should be asking themselves. And whether or not you have a game or non-game app, you should be asking yourself the same. What are you doing to make your app users come back for the long term?

‘Cool Factor’ Not Just For Games

Being cool isn’t a right reserved for gaming. Your retail, travel, telco, groceries, booking and even a finance app can have cool elements in it, too. They can increase the likelihood of users becoming more active, providing these elements are used in moderation. It is also important they are used in a way that aligns with your brand’s identity and respects your customers.

For example, if you published a fun quiz in your app that was related to your product or service, you could win both your users’ attention and an opportunity to collect some data about them that could serve your long-term business goals.

Alternatively, you can use personalized messages in your app that are both informative and entertaining, or fun visuals that make your app more lively and dynamic. It doesn’t have to be finding a virtual friend lying on your beach towel, either. We’re all human, and any bit of fun can stir up positive feelings toward your brand.

What’s New?

No matter how great your app may be, at some point (probably sooner than you think) your users will begin to wonder what’s so new about it.

Enterprise apps offer a wide range of functionality, so it is important to serve your users with “what’s new in the app” messages, tips, or videos in an appealing, contextual, and friendly way. Yes, users expect your app to evolve over time, but they also expect you to take them by the hand at the right mobile moment and provide them with a deep link leading them directly to your new offerings.

The Holy Grail: Loyalty

Once you’ve passed the hurdle of getting users to download your app, use it, and come back for more, you can give yourself a nice pat on the back. But it is no time to rest on your laurels.

Pokémon GO has made people skip work, trespass, get in car accidents–all so they could play the game. This type of obsession will probably not happen with your app, but no worries: Crazy love has greater chance of fizzling out fast. What you really want is for people to develop a long-term devotion to your app.

How can you make that happen? By constantly and relentlessly providing users with value.

While it may not be as exciting as Pokémon GO, if you wrap your app functionality with personalized and contextual messaging, offers, guidance, and, yes, a bit of entertainment, you can convert more people into loyal users. When users have good experiences in your app and believe that someone understands their needs, desires, and motivations, they will come back for more.

Your app isn’t a trend. It is going to be an ongoing effort to continuously stay relevant and loved by your users, but it’s no different than with your website or brick-and-mortar store. In fact, the app opens up many more possibilities to get close to your audience. Use those possibilities well, and you might just be the next app to break the churn stats.