Where do you talk to your customers the most? When are they thinking about you? It isn’t while browsing your website. It’s not when they check their email. It’s not even when you text them—it’s when they’re in your app. 

So, it’s no wonder that in-app messaging was the fastest-growing channel in 2023, with a 187% year-over-year increase in adoption, according to our State of Messaging Report. 

You can use in-app messaging for various purposes, like onboarding, promotions, and feature announcements. But, one powerful choice is using in-app surveys to gather customer feedback. That’s how you truly build a product-led company—and simultaneously create a gratifying customer experience. 

Here’s what we’ll cover today:

• 3 ways in-app surveys support product-led strategies
• 4 in-app survey best practices
• 3 use cases for in-app surveys (with examples!)

3 ways in-app surveys support product-led strategies

For product-led companies, your app isn’t only an app; it’s also a communication channel. But in-app messaging isn’t just about pushing out content—it’s also an opportunity to hear from your customers.

Here are three ways that in-app surveys can support your product-led strategies:

1. Make customer-centric product decisions

When the customer experience is the cornerstone of your growth strategy, you’ve got to really understand those customers. Asking in-app survey questions brings in a wealth of intel: not only what people need but also when, how, and why they need it. That feeds directly into your product strategy, with the voice of the customer guiding your decisions. 

Your in-app surveys create a cycle of continuous, customer-centric improvement. You ask for feedback, improve your product accordingly, ask for more input, and then further enhance your app.

In-app surveys can also help pinpoint the problems that your target audience is facing with your app. It’s one thing to gather feedback from beta users, but it’s another to get real-time customer feedback. With in-app surveys, you can quickly identify and address pain points promptly, leading to increased customer satisfaction and retention.

Customer.io pro tip:

Microsurveys in Customer.io Journeys allow you to target your customers at precise moments so you can ask very specific questions. In-app surveys function like any other message you use in a campaign, so you can create focused segments based on people’s attributes, trigger surveys in response to certain behaviors, and more. Once you define the customer input you need to drive your decisions, you can target the right in-app survey questions to the right people at the right time. 

2. Spur engagement, action, and retention

In-app surveys provide you with valuable data, but what do customers get out of it? A chance to be heard now and, ultimately, a better experience down the line.

One of the superpowers of an in-app survey is immediacy. Say your customer has just used a new feature and encountered a frustrating limitation. If you trigger an in-app survey when people use a feature for the first time, that individual could instantly make their opinion known. Alternatively, when a happy customer receives an NPS survey while they’re actively enjoying your product, you’re more likely to receive a positive response.

Of course, this only works if you take action, too. Use feedback from your in-app surveys to discover what your customers love (so you can do more of it), where they’re getting hung up (so you can smooth the friction), and adjust your product roadmap based on the features and customer behaviors that reflect better engagement and retention.  

Customer.io pro tip:

Want to keep the conversation going? With microsurveys in Journeys, you can trigger automatic follow-up messages when someone responds to an in-app survey question. And you can even personalize the content based on people’s answers. With an in-app NPS survey, for example, you could invite detractors to talk to customer service, thank passives for their feedback, and ask promoters to review your product on the app store.   

3. Empower agile decision-making

How does your cadence for collecting customer feedback align with your development velocity? All too often, product-led companies conduct customer research in long cycles: once a quarter, biannually, or even annually. The result? Insights come far too late to influence strategy. 

In-app surveys provide ongoing insights gathered in real time as people are paying attention to the details of your app. That’s powerful intel for making agile, data-driven decisions. You can even leverage in-app surveys within iterative development methodologies, test-and-learn strategies, and agile product management approaches. A steady flow of direct customer feedback provides another dimension to the other up-to-the-minute analytics that drive your decisions.

And with a strategic approach to in-app survey campaigns, you have a secret weapon for unraveling the question no other data source can really answer: “Why?” If you’ve ever stared in bafflement at a heat map, wondering why new customers keep tapping that one weird spot on the screen with no functionality or puzzled over why the use of a previously popular feature suddenly plummeted—well, fire up an in-app survey and ask! 

4 in-app survey best practices

Like any other kind of in-app messaging, in-app surveys can help increase engagement by improving the customer experience. Try these best practices for making your surveys feel personal, relevant, and part of a coherent brand experience. 

1. Personalize your in-app surveys using Liquid

Personalization is fast becoming a core component of modern messaging strategies. In fact, our State of Messaging Report shows that 81% of brands say it’s important for their strategies in the coming year. You’re initiating two-way communication with an in-app survey, so it’s an especially valuable time to get personal! 

With Liquid, you can use many types of variables within your in-app survey to create dynamic content based on data. You can leverage any customer attribute or action they’ve taken to customize both text and images in your surveys. 

2. Create a cohesive brand experience

As a product-led organization, providing value through your app is the lynchpin of success, and a cohesive brand experience is an essential part of doing it. All of your app’s branding elements—colors, fonts, graphic treatments, voice, style—influence how your customers feel while using your product.  

When you’ve invested in creating a consistent and compelling brand experience, the last thing you want is an off-brand message popping up within it. Make sure your in-app survey tool has plenty of options for customizing colors, fonts, and graphics so your attempts to engage with customers are part of a seamless experience. 

Customer.io pro tip:

Journeys makes it easy to tailor your microsurveys to your exact brand specifications. Our in-app survey tool gives you complete control of the look, feel, and choice architecture so the survey experience blends perfectly with your app experience—you can customize them to your heart’s content! 

3. Deepen engagement with conditional logic

Conditional branches allow you to automate campaigns based on people’s responses to in-app surveys. While a simple “Thanks for your response” message might be nice, you can make the experience more meaningful by creating a tailored follow-up message for each possible survey response. For example, you can use conditional logic in an NPS survey to create different follow-up messages for folks that fall into promoter, neutral, and detractor categories.

This approach combines two pivotal aspects of a product-led strategy: knowing your customers and improving their experience. You get valuable data when the customer responds to your in-app survey, and your follow-up message adds value to their experience with relevant content. 

4. Test, test, test!

Step one is to create your in-app survey. Step two is to put the feedback to work! In addition to informing product decisions, tracking customer responses can help you create more effective surveys in the future—and that’s as much a part of the customer experience as your app’s functionality and features. 

You can use customer response data in a number of ways to test and iterate on your in-app survey strategy. Did the vast majority of respondents pick the same answer to a survey? Maybe you need to try a version with a more nuanced question to get more insights. Did a survey get a very high or low number of responses? Evaluate what elements might have contributed and test variations to improve on success or troubleshoot causes of low performance.  

If you send follow-up messages when people respond to an in-app survey, track metrics for those, too, and test different approaches to increase engagement. 

Customer.io pro tip:

Tracking responses for microsurveys is automatically set up in Journeys. All you need to do is remember to review your results regularly!

3 use cases for in-app surveys (with examples!)

Ready to start gathering customer feedback and boosting engagement in your app? Let’s look at a few in-app survey examples to explore ways you could integrate them into your messaging strategy.  

1. Gauge customer satisfaction with NPS and CSAT surveys

Simple yet powerful NPS and CSAT surveys will give you a vital pulse check on customer satisfaction. Product-led companies often rely on net promoters to spread the word about their product organically; in-app NPS surveys let them know where they stand. And with in-app CSAT surveys, you can ensure that customers get the support they need to continue finding value in your product.

In-app survey example: Zen, a fintech company

Zen is a finance app for both individuals and businesses. They bring customers peace of mind with effortless financial management by streamlining everything from shopping to managing multiple currencies.  

As a financial services app, ensuring they maintain customers’ trust is vital, so they send in-app CSAT surveys through Journeys to check in after each customer support issue is resolved:

Sent when the support interaction is still fresh in the customers’ mind, this concise in-app survey gets right to the point: are you satisfied with Zen’s support? By monitoring CSAT scores, Zen can maintain constant awareness of trends in customer service and address issues if satisfaction levels start trending down. 

In-app survey example: SkinSupport, a healthcare company

Now, let’s say you work at a fictional company called SkinSupport. This company provides a healthcare app with a simple service: customers can take a picture of a skin issue, and a board-certified dermatologist will tell them whether it looks okay or needs a follow-up.

As you’re counting on your loyal fan base to be champions as the business grows, you can use an in-app NPS survey to monitor customer sentiment:

By specifically wording your in-app survey to focus on the “someone you love” angle, your message will resonate on a more emotional angle for the customer. That can help drive engagement and give you a more honest take on whether SkinSupport delivers on its promise.

2. Gather onboarding feedback

For product-led companies, true conversion happens not when someone downloads your app but when they find it valuable enough to become a paying customer. So you need to ensure they stick around—no easy feat when the mobile retention rate at 30 days ranges from 1.5% to 11.3%, depending on the industry (source). 

Onboarding campaigns can be the make-or-break factor in keeping new customers engaged. You can optimize yours by gathering customer feedback throughout the process.

In-app survey example: WowWorld, an edtech company

Let’s say you work at a fictional company called WowWorld. Your company offers an AR app with a mission to inspire climate change activism through environmental education. Customers can use your app’s AR to learn the names of flora and fauna in the local landscape, complete courses on dozens of ecological topics, and earn badges through gamification features. With so much to explore, customers need a high-touch onboarding journey—and you need to know if it’s working. 

By using in-app surveys at several key milestones throughout onboarding, you can actively guide customers to the most useful next stage. For example, you can start customers off with a tutorial of your app’s AR feature, then send an in-app survey to find out if the customer successfully identified a species:

By monitoring responses, you’ll gain valuable insight into how well your app’s AR is working—a spike in “Nothing” responses at this onboarding stage may be a red flag that critical functionality needs to be addressed. 

In-app survey example: Wrinkle, a software company

Imagine you work at a fictional company called Wrinkle that offers a time-management app. The app helps people reclaim up to three hours of free time a day through AI-powered calendar management. It has a ton of possible use cases and specialized feature sets for different profiles: students, employers, employees, parents, and more. 

To find out what customers want to achieve with Wrinkle, a quick in-app survey can help them get to the most relevant features quickly:

You can send a follow-up message based on the response about the specific feature that aligns with the customer’s goal. Bonus? One of the most useful data points you’ll get from this survey is the number of “I’m not sure yet” responses. That will help you learn how to tweak your messaging so people understand more about the benefits of using Wrinkle.

3. Solicit feature or product-specific feedback

Product-led companies pour much of their resources into continual iteration and improvement. But you need to know if what you’re building is adding value for your customers or falling flat. 

In-app surveys can garner feedback about particular aspects of your app, like core functionality, new features, specific elements of your interface, and more. 

In-app survey example: Pet Media Group, an online marketplace

Pet Media Group is the largest operator of online marketplaces in the pet category worldwide. They help over 1.5 million pets find a loving home every year through multiple marketplace brands in different countries. 

In order to fulfill their mission to bring pets and people together, Pet Media needs to be sure all the processes for both buyers and sellers are friction-free. After a seller uploads a new pet advertisement, they send an in-app survey asking for a rating on that specific feature:

This allows Pet Media to keep close tabs on the most important aspects of customer experience, monitor for potential issues, and leverage the insights to determine where to focus their ongoing improvements. And it’s been going so well that they’re now finding even more use cases for in-app surveys.  

In-app survey example: Customer.io

At Customer.io, we regularly use in-app surveys to gauge customer satisfaction with new features we release or changes to the in-app experience. This not only helps us understand what’s working, but it also helps us prioritize what to do next to improve the experience for our customers.

For example, in preparation for upcoming changes to the campaign creation process within Customer.io, we sent an in-app survey to customers to double-check that we were making the right changes:

Most customers selected the smiley face, located second to the right in the image above. This let us know that what we currently offered for sort and filter options within campaigns was good—but we could do better. Now, we’re prioritizing even more user-centric changes to this feature within Journeys.

Turn customer feedback into better product strategy with in-app surveys

Every time a customer opens your app, you have an opportunity to deliver value. And when you ask for their input with an in-app survey, you’re inviting them to proactively take part in advancing your product-led strategy. They’re empowered to influence the app; you’re equipped with more insights to make your product even better. 

Have some ideas about how you could start using in-app surveys to support your product-led approach? Our in-app survey tool, microsurveys, makes it quick, easy, and intuitive. Take it for a spin with a free 14-day trial of Customer.io Journeys.

Before every household had a computer and every consumer had a phone, brands had to rely on broad marketing efforts to reach their audiences. A TV ad during a popular TV show, a billboard on a busy street…old-school tactics got a brand’s message in front of millions of eyeballs. But often, only a tiny percentage of those people were actually interested, motivated buyers. 

Now, with mobile phones in every pocket, you can target your specific customer base—and even personalize content to each person’s unique interests. This makes having a mobile marketing strategy extra important for your business; every phone is like a tiny digital billboard for broadcasting tailored messages to your audience.

As a result, brands are leaning into mobile marketing strategies more than ever. According to the State of Messaging Report, companies across the globe increased their use of every mobile channel in 2023; we saw year-over-year increases of 47% for SMS, 49% for push notifications, and 187% for in-app messages. 

Most interesting of all? Our research surfaced three particularly important trends shaping mobile marketing today: personalization, customer data, and multi-channel messaging. 

In this post, we’ll cover three ideas for capitalizing on each trend, plus tips for putting each into action:

• Strategy: Make it personal
  • #1: Segment your audience
  • #2: Reach people in their time zone
  • #3: Open a convo with in-app surveys
• Strategy: Embrace your data
  • #4: Unify data with a CDP
  • #5: Use mobile SDKs for in-app messaging
  • #6: Integrate your analytics
• Strategy: Connect across channels
  • #7: Create an omnichannel experience
  • #8: Consider the customer’s context
  • #9: Maintain consistency across channels

Mobile marketing strategy: Make it personal

Mobile marketing isn’t new, but it’s only recently that mobile marketing strategies have moved from “blast our whole customer list” to providing personalized experiences. In fact, 81% of brands surveyed for our State of Messaging Report said personalization is important in their messaging strategies—and 73% say they plan on increasing their personalization efforts in 2024.

Unlike those good old-fashioned billboards, mobile messages can be targeted at specific segments and customized for each person using customer data. Strategic marketers use this data to provide everything from personalizing mobile onboarding to asking for feedback, celebrating milestones, and providing tailored content. Instead of shouting into the void, marketers talk directly to their customers.

Pro tip #1: Segment your audience

No matter how you slice it, highly relevant messages make more of an impact. That’s where the power of segmentation comes in. Divide your audience into groups based on demographics, behaviors, product preferences, or any other attributes. 

Here are just a few examples of segmentation in action:

• New customers: send onboarding campaigns to encourage rapid adoption
• Loyal customers: send referral campaigns to help them become brand evangelists  
• Dormant customers: send reactivation campaigns to bring them back into the fold 
• Customers who use just one of your products: send cross-sell campaigns to connect them to other products you offer  

Recommended reading: 5 ways Hunter amps up engagement with segmentation

Pro tip #2: Reach people at the right time—in their time zone

A truly personalized message goes beyond inserting a bit of demographic info; it thoughtfully caters to each person’s circumstances. A small but powerful way to enact this is to customize messages based on time zones. 

Let’s say you have a ticketing app and send concert announcements based on customers’ previous purchases. Imagine one customer, Cam, bought tickets to a Bruce Springsteen show last year, and The Boss has a new tour coming up. You might send them the following push notification:

Ready to rock out, Cam? New dates for the Bruce Springsteen tour were just announced—tickets go on sale tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Eastern!

First name? Check! Relevant to their interests? Check! But wait, Cam lives on the West Coast—so now they have to do the math to figure out when they can snap up seats. That’s more friction getting in the way of engagement and a lost opportunity to personalize your mobile marketing strategy fully.

Pro tip #3: Open a convo with in-app surveys

Want to create a mobile marketing strategy that really connects? Make it a two-way street. With in-app surveys, you can collect real-time feedback from your customers. This has the dual benefit of gathering more valuable data you can use to customize messages and provides customers with an outlet to make their voices heard. 

Tailor your surveys based on people’s behavior, such as asking for feedback about a feature after a customer uses it for the first time.

Mobile marketing strategy: Embrace your data

The power of personalization lies in using customer data to its fullest potential. You have a wealth of information about your customers—from zero-party data comprised of info they proactively share to first-party data you collect about their behaviors. But when data isn’t centralized, it’s hard to make it useful: you wind up with lots of numbers and little insight. 

As the State of Messaging Report points out, over half of brands still struggle with data quality issues and a lack of a unified customer view. The investment in tools for collecting, analyzing, and activating data will make or break mobile marketing strategies now—and in the future.

Pro tip #4: Unify data with a customer data platform (CDP)

Using a customer data platform (CDP), you can pull in data from across every touchpoint to fully understand your customers. With a cohesive view of each individual, you can then send and activate data to every tool in your martech stack. Bonus? A CDP enables you to deploy that customized content in real time, reacting immediately to customer actions. 

Remember the billboard? All the information you have to work with is roughly how many cars drive by on any given day and what landmarks are nearby. But with a mobile marketing strategy powered by a CDP, you can know a lot more than that— like what content people engage with, where they’re located, and what products they’ve purchased in the past. Now, you can segment your audience and target them with messaging you know will resonate. 

Recommended viewing: Unlock your data for more personalized & impactful campaigns [Webinar]

Pro tip #5: Use mobile SDKs for in-app messaging

Mobile SDKs save developers time and empower marketers to access customer data for targeted messaging. When you know what screens they visit, the features they use, and how long they stay in your app, creating messaging relevant to what customers are doing in real time is easy.

Here are some example in-app messages you might send:

• Version update reminders: send an in-app message reminding someone to update to the latest version upon opening your app
• Subscription renewals: display an in-app banner reminding customers of their upcoming subscription renewal when they view their billing history
• Feature highlights: use in-app inline messages to offer a walk-through when someone tries a feature for the first time 

Pro tip #6: Take advantage of analytics integrations

Metrics are incredibly valuable for understanding and optimizing your mobile marketing strategy—but only if the data is presented in a way that provides actual insight. That’s why many CDPs (including Customer.io’s Data Pipelines) integrate with third-party data analytics platforms like Mixpanel and Amplitude. 

You can use these integrations to dive deep into your customers’ behaviors, identify when engagement hits the sweet spot (or falls off a cliff), and refine your mobile marketing strategies with ongoing iteration. And if your analytics platform doesn’t directly integrate with your messaging automation platform, you can send and receive data with webhooks to connect them.

Mobile marketing strategy: Connect across channels

Email has long been the cornerstone of outbound marketing, and it remains significant even as brands begin implementing mobile marketing strategies. But the most effective approach is combining multiple channels to create a seamless, holistic experience for your customers. In fact, our data shows that multi-channel campaigns perform 63% better than single-channel campaigns, with the combination of email, SMS, and push proving to be especially effective.

Pro tip #7: Create an omnichannel experience

When you create a mobile marketing strategy, it’s easy to fall into the trap of looking at each channel individually. But that’s not how your customers experience your brand. For them, every interaction is part of a holistic journey, and it needs to feel cohesive. So shift your thinking to omnichannel marketing: creating a unified experience across every touchpoint, from email to SMS, push, and in-app messaging—as well as your website, social media, and every other place you show up in customers’ lives. 

For example, you could send a follow-up email to customers who opened an in-app message but didn’t convert right away. You’re now touching them on two separate channels and bringing those two experiences together. Similarly, say a customer starts adding their billing information in-app but exits before finishing. You might send a push notification a couple of hours later to bring them back; if they still don’t complete the action, you could deliver an email the next day with step-by-step instructions. 

Pro tip #8: Consider the customer’s context

A billboard has no context except for the street it’s on. It can’t consider a customer’s unique experience, what they want to achieve, or what time of day they’re driving by. Don’t approach your mobile marketing strategy like a billboard; treat it like a human-to-human relationship. Pay attention to when customers are most likely to interact with your brand and how they’ve engaged in the past. 

For example, say you have a project management platform for businesses. Saturday afternoon is the last time people want to think about work, so save your mobile marketing messages for weekdays during work hours. And consider the context of different channels. SMS and push notifications are, well, a bit pushy. Time-sensitive or particularly important info may be welcome in those channels, but you’ll annoy people if you bombard them with non-pressing nudges. 

Pro tip #9: Maintain consistency across channels

It’s off-putting for customers when inconsistency is coming from a brand. Consistent messaging, colors, fonts, and brand voice is critical to present a uniform brand experience across every channel, from in-app to email. Having one tool to manage all your messaging makes a big difference here; when you use one tool for in-app messaging and another for email, it’s easy to create a disconnected customer experience.

Of course, the level of customization you can do will vary among messaging platforms. Make sure the tool you use allows you to edit colors, fonts, and images to match your branding so it feels like a seamless branded experience. This helps build trust, drive engagement, and make you more memorable to your customers.

Ready to evolve your mobile marketing strategy?

When you put up a billboard, you’re certainly delivering a message. But you can’t guarantee it’s the right message at the right time—or if you’re even reaching the right person. With a multi-channel mobile marketing strategy powered by customer data, you can reach people with personalized messages at the exact time and place they’re ready to engage. 

With Journeys, you have the power to build relationships with a cohesive, omnichannel strategy across email, SMS, push, and in-app—with messages that convert in the moment and keep customers coming back over the long term. Start your free 14-day trial today.

Push notifications play a key role in mobile app marketing, and brands are taking note. According to our State of Messaging Report, there was a 49% year-over-year increase in brands using push to reach customers in 2023. That’s a significant leap—and a testament to the effectiveness of push notifications as a marketing tactic.

But you’ll need a deep understanding of push notification metrics to capitalize on this channel’s conversion potential. 

Unlike email marketing, push notifications can throw your usual KPI targets for a loop. For example, many marketers see much lower open rates for push compared to emails. If this sounds like you, you may have found yourself asking questions like, “Oh no! Are my messages underperforming?” Or worse, “Is my mobile SDK integration broken?!” Luckily, the answer is almost always “No.”

Instead, you simply need to rethink how you measure push notification performance. Let’s dive into which metrics you should track and how to interpret them.

Here’s what we’ll be covering today:

• Push notification delivery rate
• Push notification open rate
• Push notification conversion rate
• 3 techniques for improving push notification performance

Push notification delivery rate

One of the most important metrics to track is your push delivery rate. It’s calculated simply by dividing the number of messages delivered by the total number of messages sent. 

Delivery rate = (delivered/sent)*100

This metric is crucial for understanding if your push notifications are actually reaching your target audience. Yet, delivery rates are inexact for a host of technical reasons, mainly because mobile devices don’t always expose delivery information.

If you can see a message has been delivered, it’s likely that one of your customers has seen it and was influenced by it even if they didn’t open it. Luckily, we can measure this influence using conversions (more on that later).

Bottom line: Delivery rate alone does not paint the full picture of push notification performance. So, while it’s important to aim for a high delivery rate, the open and conversion rates are much more exact.

Pro tip: By default, the mobile SDK within Customer.io Journeys automatically tracks delivered statuses for push notifications (if they originate from our product). Otherwise, you can track push metrics with the trackMetric method below:

CustomerIO.instance().trackMetric(
   deliveryID = deliveryId,
   deviceToken = deliveryToken,
   event = MetricEvent.delivered
)

Push notification open rate

Open rates tell you the percentage of users who open a push notification after receiving it on their device. It’s calculated by dividing the number of opened push notifications by the total number sent.

Open rate = (opens/sent)*100

On average, open rates for push notifications are quite low—and that’s completely normal. In fact, the industry average open rate for push is only about 4%, according to our platform data. This mostly has to do with user behavior—and here’s why. 

Imagine you have a language-learning app and send a campaign to customers who completed the Spanish 101 course. A personalized push notification might look like this:

• Title: Way to ace Spanish 101, Susan!
• Body:  Felicidades on finishing Spanish 101 in just 4 weeks! Visit the app today for an exclusive discount: 40% off of Spanish 102.

To actually open the push, Susan must tap the notification or trigger the app. But unlike email, she gets the key message content even if she glances at the notification without opening it.

Let’s say she’s in a meeting when the notification pops up, so she quickly looks down at her phone and then dismisses the message, making a mental note to sign up later that day. During her lunch break, she opens the app and signs up for Spanish 102. The push converted, even though she never opened it. But if you’re only measuring push performance with open rates, you’ll never know the message was successful. 

Bottom line: Don’t rely too heavily on open rates to measure your push performance. Instead, conversion rates will be your go-to for performance measurement.

What’s the difference between Android and iOS for push performance? 

iOS notifications are displayed once and then moved to the message center. People see the message when it pops up but don’t have to touch the screen to dismiss it. 

On the other hand, Android notifications stick around until you manually swipe to dismiss them. While that can give customers more of a chance to engage, it can also lead to accidental opens when people try to clear their notifications.

Bottom line: Don’t put too much stock into the difference between iOS and Android open rates.

What about push notification CTR?

Unlike email marketing, push notification CTR is measured almost like an open. 

Let’s say you’ve included a deep link to your app within the push notification. When a user taps your push notification, they’ll automatically be dropped to the specific screen you’ve linked to within the message. So, in this sense, push open rate and push click-through rate are the same thing. 

Bottom line: An open signifies viewing the push notification and actively engaging with it via a click.

Push notification conversion rate

Both delivery and open rates are important, but what matters most is whether your push notifications are driving conversions. Conversion rate measures the percentage of users who complete a desired action—like opening your app or making a purchase—after a push notification is delivered. That’s why setting conversion goals for your push campaigns is super important.

Conversion rate = (conversions/delivered)*100

Let’s return to the earlier example of Susan’s unopened push notification. If she receives it at 10:00 a.m. and signs up for Spanish 102 at 12:45 p.m., you can infer that the push caused the conversion. In fact, any conversion that occurs within a day or two of a push campaign is a strong indicator of engagement. As you measure behavior over time, you might discover your customers respond within a shorter or longer interval.

Bottom line: SDKs with customized conversion goals give you far better insight into push performance than open rates.

Pro tip: To track engagement with Customer.io’s SDK, just add a conversion goal to your campaign. Conversion goals in Customer.io are fully customizable; you define the behaviors and timeframes that are meaningful for your customers. 

3 techniques for improving push notification performance

Now that you know which metrics to track, your next step is to build a strategy for optimal performance. Here are three actionable methods you can use to elevate your push notification results.

1. Always use personalization

When it comes to push, relevance reigns supreme. Customers are all too ready to opt out of push notifications (or delete your app altogether) when they feel your messaging doesn’t hit the mark.

Instead, you’ll increase the chances of engagement if you use personalization throughout your messaging. In fact, our State of Messaging report found that 63% of brands point to behavioral triggers as yielding the highest ROI. Responding to customer actions and tailoring your content accordingly is key to success. 

Example: Say you’re using push notifications during onboarding. Consider including a deep link in your push that takes users back to the last screen they viewed. That way, they can continue their journey without interruption.

Bottom line: Personalization is critical to a sound push notification strategy. Leverage customer data to deliver a custom-tailored experience to your users and watch your engagement rise.

2. Try incorporating rich media

As the saying goes…a picture is worth a thousand words! Simple push messages typically include a title, text-only message, and your logo, but rich push allows you to create more engaging content and calls to action. You can include images, videos, and deep links that provide greater context and give you a ton of flexibility to experiment with your messaging.

Example: Say you’re announcing a new feature to existing users. You might include an image of the feature in your push notification and a deep link to the screen within your app where a user can learn more about it. This creates a more engaging user experience and will likely boost conversions.

Bottom line: Rich media can be a powerful value-add to your push notifications, helping increase engagement. 

3. Take an omnichannel approach to messaging

It’s one thing to optimize your push notification strategy; it’s another to create a unified messaging strategy across all your channels. That’s what omnichannel marketing is all about.

As the State of Messaging report highlights, 64% of brands already have a multi-channel messaging strategy. Yet, the brands that can strategically evolve from multi-channel to omnichannel will reap the rewards of higher engagement across the board.

Example: Say you’re aiming to launch an omnichannel campaign for users at risk of churn. First, you might send a “We miss you” nudge via push to drive users back into your app. Then, you might send an email with a “See what you’ve been missing” message that includes information about all the new features you’ve launched since they last logged in. Finally, once they jump back into your app, you might prompt an in-app message giving users a tour of all that’s new and exciting.

Bottom line: Omnichannel messaging creates a consistent experience for users across channels. That’s great for your users and great for engagement.

Improving push notification performance begins and ends with your customers

Once you fully understand push performance metrics, you’ll be better set to create a strategy that delivers the outcomes you want to see. Tracking your delivery, open, and conversion rates is a great place to start, as these metrics clearly show how your customers respond to your messaging. Then, you can incorporate personalization, rich media, and omnichannel techniques to improve engagement.

But remember: success in marketing never solely boils down to metrics. Instead, success hinges on the connections you forge with your customers by creating relevant, engaging experiences for them at every turn. When you do that, you foster an environment where customers are receptive and actively responsive. That’s the ultimate testament to the genuine impact of your brand—and something metrics alone can’t measure.

Ready to push your way to increased engagement? Sign up for a free 14-day trial of Customer.io today!

When your customer opens your mobile app, they’re stepping (virtually) into your company’s front door. You can leave them to meander on their own—but if you want deeper engagement, mobile app personalization is your chance to give them a VIP experience. 

Imagine a customer walking into a store or office building. They have to navigate using the signs and directories: that’s your mobile app’s menu. But it’s an even smoother interaction when a friendly greeter or receptionist welcomes them and directs them where needed. Even better, what if each customer had a personal concierge to escort them through every moment of their journey? That’s where targeted in-app messaging comes in. 

The result? Customers get more value from your mobile app, driving higher engagement and long-term loyalty.

Here’s what we’ll be covering today:

• What is mobile app personalization?
• The role of data in mobile app personalization
• 4 best practices for in-app messaging personalization
• 3 key considerations before diving in

What is mobile app personalization?

Powered by customer data, mobile app personalization delivers relevant, targeted messaging for each individual when they’re already using your mobile app—the precise moment they’re primed for deeper engagement. These kinds of personalized app experiences can significantly boost customer satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty.  

Customer data: the secret to successful mobile app personalization

So, how does your imaginary concierge walk people through a tailor-made mobile app experience? The answer lies in customer data, allowing you to segment and target your audience with timely, relevant content. Every time a customer interacts with your brand, they provide valuable intel you can use to cater to them with personalized messaging. 

But with disparate tools and a ton of data, it can be hard to turn all those data points into actionable insights. That’s where a customer data platform (CDP) can make all the difference. It pulls customer data from every source, including your website, emails, push notifications, SMS, social media, and, of course, your mobile app itself. It then feeds all this valuable data to the tools in your martech stack. 

Armed with a wealth of information on your customers, you can create a personalized mobile app experience for every person.

Customer.io pro tip

Your martech stack is most powerful when all the tools work together efficiently. Using a single platform for both your CDP and messaging automation can make it especially easy to tap into your customer data. That’s why we designed Data Pipelines and Journeys to integrate seamlessly for easier personalization across every messaging channel, including in-app. Plus, the Data Pipelines Starter plan is free for everyone!

In-app messaging for mobile app personalization: 4 best practices

Your mobile app is one place where your customers proactively invite interaction. They’ve already crossed the threshold into your virtual space; in-app messages allow you to automate how you connect with them in a way that still feels personal and customized. Perhaps that’s why there was a 187% year-over-year increase in brands using in-app messaging, according to the State of Messaging Report. Brands are starting to realize the ROI that in-app messaging can provide.

Yet, it’s one thing to send an in-app message and quite another to have a personalized messaging strategy for your mobile app. To ensure your in-app communication resonates with your audience, you’ll want each message to be timely, contextual, consistent, and segmented. Let’s dig into why. 

1.  Messaging at the right time can make all the difference

Mobile app personalization gives you the power to present content when customers are ready to engage with it. But that means you have to understand your timing and frequency. Factors like time of day, customer activity, and preferences can all change how impactful an in-app message actually will be. Even a perfectly crafted message will go ignored if you’re reaching people when they’re too busy to read it! 

Use case: Consider a mobile banking app as an example. Friday is the most common payday, and you see a spike in app activity that day. It seems like a good time to send in-app messages, right? But imagine a customer hasn’t opened the app in three weeks. If they log in to check their balance and are greeted with a message promoting a free personal finance planning tool, the timing could be confusing and off-putting. Mobile app personalization based on customer behavior and timing avoids this pitfall.

Customer.io pro tip

Journeys helps you deliver the right content at the right time. But the “right time” might not be the same for everyone. With time zone matching, you can localize your in-app messages so your customers aren’t receiving a “good morning” message at 3:00 p.m. their time.

2. Context sets the stage for a positive user experience

Understanding the context of a customer’s journey means you help them accomplish what they want to do within your mobile app. It also ensures you don’t interrupt important moments for your customers. By using the intel you have about your customers’ interests and communication preferences, you can easily adapt the in-app experience to what each individual is trying to accomplish. 

Use case: Say you have a mobile banking app offering bonus cash when a customer refers a friend. If someone is in the midst of making a deposit, don’t distract them with a pop-up touting the offer while they’re trying to complete their transaction. Instead of enticing them, your message will get in the way of their ability to use your mobile app effectively. Wait until they hit the transaction complete screen to serve up your in-app message, or deliver the offer via email or push instead. 

Customer.io pro tip

With Journeys, you can direct how and when a customer sees your in-app messages. For instance, when the info is particularly important, you could use a persistent in-app message to keep it up until they take action or it expires. You can also choose to show the message on multiple pages. For example, if you’ve made changes to your billing page, you might want to show the message upon login and on the billing page itself. 

3. Consistency in messaging builds trust

Think of your mobile app as your brand’s digital building and your in-app messages as brand ambassadors; everything should have the same look and feel. If the fonts, colors, graphics, and tone of messages don’t reflect the rest of your app, the result is discordant. Whatever tool you use for sending in-app messages, be sure it allows you to customize the style so they feel fully embedded in the customer’s experience. Craft your copy to reflect the voice used throughout your mobile app. 

Use case: Let’s go back to that example of a customer using a mobile banking app. The brand has worked hard to build a compelling visual style using navy and red, simple and elegant illustrations, and a serious, authoritative voice. While using the app, the customer suddenly gets a pop-up that says, “Get that bread! 🤑 Open a savings account ASAP to earn $200 bonus cash!!” in bright pink font. Not only is it a jarring experience, but the disjointed branding can undermine the customer’s trust entirely.

Customer.io pro tip

Journeys enables you to fully customize the design of your in-app messages to match your branding so your communications feel like they’re authentic to you and don’t look like a generic, off-the-rack solution. And because Journeys also supports email, SMS, and push, it’s easy to retain consistent branding across every messaging channel. 

4. Segmentation drives engagement  

Segmentation moves people into and out of campaigns based on the needs and interests they’ve signaled by their behavior—giving them what they want before they even ask for it. These segments are built based on various attributes, including activities, preferences, demographics, etc. How you define your segments is limited only by the data you have, your goals, and your imagination. 

Use case: One great use case for mobile app segmentation is onboarding. Mobile app customers bounce quickly, so the first seven days after someone downloads your app are crucial (source). By creating a “new sign-ups” segment, you can deliver in-app messages that walk them through prioritized content, setup, and onboarding as they begin using your mobile app. 

Customer.io pro tip

Mobile SDKs allow you to create mobile app personalization based on device platform, screen views, and custom event tracking. Essentially, you can react directly to the content your customer sees. This is great for mobile onboarding, as well as providing additional instructions or details for a specific page. For example, you can use screen information to provide an in-app message with the next steps on a billing page.

3 key considerations before you dive into mobile app personalization

Each in-app message serves a pivotal role in shaping your mobile app personalization strategy. As you craft your campaigns, keep these three fundamental elements in mind.

• Keep space constraints in mind. Customers usually read your in-app messages on tiny phone screens; even using a tablet, there’s little real estate. That means you have limited space to work with, and maximum character counts restrict how much you can pack into a communication. Focus on the info that’s truly important for a customer to know in the moment; you can always follow up with an email expanding on the content. 
  
• Ensure consistency across devices. With different devices, versions, and even phone settings, how your customers see and interact with your in-app messages can vary wildly. Testing is your friend here: put every message through its paces on multiple devices and operating systems. You can also review your customer data to assess which devices your customers use to customize your messaging accordingly.
  
• Set conversion goals. Unlike an email or push, the open rate is irrelevant with in-app messaging. In fact, all that really matters is engagement: whether customers take the desired action after seeing a message. For every in-app message you send, set a conversion goal and measure if your mobile app personalization strategy produces the results you want.  

Craft tailor-made experiences with mobile app personalization

The moment your customer opens your mobile app, they’re already in your building, eager to engage. Now, you just need the right tools and strategies to execute mobile app personalization that deepens engagement and loyalty. 

Instead of leaving customers to meander through menus on their own, leverage personalized in-app messages to act as a personal concierge of the customer experience. When you do that, you’ll help your customers get where they want to go, keep them informed, and build a relationship that makes them feel like a true VIP whenever they walk through the door. 

See the difference mobile app personalization can make with a free 14-day trial of Journeys. 

Things are constantly changing in marketing. What might be a best practice one year has completely changed the next. That’s one of the reasons marketing is such an exciting field to work in. When you look at marketing trends year-over-year, you can see how innovation leads to disruption, action, and strategic transformation. 

Mobile messaging is a trend that continues to drive the marketing field forward. And as we move into 2024, this channel is poised for an even greater impact.

Here, we’ve compiled a list of mobile messaging trends for next year and the years to come. We analyzed internal data from our platform and synthesized insights from brands across various industries. 

The results might surprise you.

Let’s dive in.

• A look back at 2023
• A look ahead at 2024 (and beyond)

A look back at 2023

Last year, brands predicted the following three mobile messaging trends would impact their marketing strategies in 2023. Let’s see how these trends played out.

Mobile messaging prediction #1: Brands will experiment more with in-app messaging

Unlike the crowded inbox, in-app messaging capitalizes on a user’s engagement within your tool. Brands can take advantage of the high engagement rates of in-app messaging to deliver personalized and timely messages to their customers.

Where we stand today: This trend continued to grow throughout 2023, with more brands incorporating in-app messaging into their overall marketing strategy.

Within Customer.io, the number of accounts sending in-app messages grew by 187% from 2022 to 2023. That’s a gigantic leap and a testament to the effectiveness of in-app messaging! Yet, our data shows there’s still room for growth. Only 12% of total customer accounts are sending in-app messages today. 

The takeaway? In-app is growing as a mobile messaging channel, and there are a lot of opportunities to leverage it further in 2024. Hint? Personalization will be key (and we’ll cover why below).

Mobile messaging prediction #2: Brands will adopt no- and low-code solutions

The need for efficiency and agility drove this trend prediction, as no- and low-code tools allow brands to quickly adjust their strategies in response to changing market conditions. Plus, the lower cost of these tools compared to traditional development methods makes them an attractive option for businesses of all sizes.

Where we stand today: Instead of focusing on low- and no-code solutions, brands told us their primary focus is more on budget optimization for efficiency gains. In fact, 79% of brands forecast little to no increase in their marketing budget year-over-year. This means businesses are looking for technology to help them make the most of their budget while driving impact. Tool consolidation plays a key role here.

The takeaway? Cost efficiency is a top priority for brands today. As we move into 2024, businesses will likely continue seeking technology to help them streamline their processes and save on costs. After all, time is money!

Mobile messaging prediction #3: Brands will shift their focus to omnichannel marketing

Omnichannel marketing has been a buzzword in the industry for some time now. Brands predicted that in 2023, they would focus more on creating seamless customer experiences across all channels. Mobile messaging is a critical component of that strategy.

Where we stand today: This trend gained substantial traction in 2023. In fact, 64% of brands integrated messaging across multiple channels for a unified omnichannel strategy. 

A combination of channels proved fruitful. Campaigns that combined at least two channels performed 67% better than those that used just one—and campaigns that used three performed 244% better. 

Yet, while combining in-app and push was the most popular choice among marketers, pairing these two channels with email was the way to go. This trio converted at a whopping 913% higher rate than email alone.

The takeaway? Omnichannel marketing isn’t just a buzzword—it’s an essential strategy for businesses looking to deliver personalized, unified customer experiences.

A look ahead at 2024 (and beyond)

Now that we’ve taken stock of the trends that shaped mobile messaging in 2023, let’s turn our attention to the future. Here are three emerging mobile messaging trends that marketing leaders should watch in 2024.

Mobile messaging trend: Email strategies must—and will—move towards mobile

While brands are committed to keeping email as a primary messaging channel, mobile optimization lags behind. Only 16% of brands reported that a mobile-friendly email experience is a key strategy for improving engagement. Compared to 66% of customers who primarily open email on their phones, there is a clear divide between brand priorities and user preferences.

In 2024, we expect forward-thinking brands to adopt responsive and mobile-first email design. Why wouldn’t they? It’s the perfect opportunity to gain an advantage over the competition.

Mobile messaging trend: Personalization will (continue to) take center stage

With increasing demand for personalized experiences, businesses must find a way to use data within their messaging campaigns. Leveraging user insights to deliver timely, relevant messages across all channels will be critical.

Our data reveals that 81% of brands acknowledge the paramount importance of personalization in their messaging strategy. And guess what? 73% said they were planning to increase their personalization efforts in 2024.

The driving force behind these intensifications is rooted in the power of customer data. To deliver personalized messaging at scale, marketers need technology that can precisely segment and target audiences. In 2024, we expect more brands to invest in customer data platforms (CDPs) to help them achieve their engagement goals.

Mobile messaging trend: SMS will lead the pack—especially for brands without a mobile app

In 2023, over half of brands used SMS as a messaging channel, demonstrating its increasing popularity and effectiveness. And for brands without a mobile app, SMS will continue to be a critical part of their mobile messaging strategy in 2024.

Alternatively, refining their in-app messaging efforts will be just as important for businesses with a mobile app. While in-app messaging adoption increased in 2023, only 3% of brands conducted more than half of customer interactions on this channel. Translation? We foresee brands optimizing their in-app communications to boost customer engagement in 2024.

Wrapping up: The future of mobile messaging in 2024

These trends provide a glimpse into the landscape of mobile messaging—but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. 

To gain a comprehensive understanding of what the future holds for your messaging strategy, check out The State of Messaging Report.

Packed with a wealth of insights, predictions, and detailed analyses, you’ll learn how mobile messaging is shaping the world of customer engagement. You’ll then be able to translate insight into action for your own campaigns in 2024—and beyond. Happy sending!