No One Using Your App? 7 Ways to Bring it Back to Life

You’ve invested time and money into an app. You and the rest of the team think it’s pretty cool. But two things are jumping out at you: You have zero reviews, and your downloads don’t outnumber your Facebook friends.

It’s time to brush the dust off and get serious about discoverability and engagement. While it’s hard to make a living in the app store, there IS still money to be made. Here are 7 ways to breathe some life into a deadbeat app.

1. Create a User Tutorial

If you want to bring back your first time users, one of the best ways is to create a user walk-through for your app. People need to understand how to use the content that you provide before they will make a purchase. A user walk-through is one of the best ways to introduce yourself to a new audience.

2. Clean Up the User Interface (UI)

If you are not getting the download percentage that you want, you should try to make the interaction with your application easier. Cut down on the number of clicks that people need to perform in order to get something out of your app. Clean up your user interface.

3. Dazzle the Eyes

You can always make your application look better. If given a choice between two apps, all else being equal, the average person will pick the one that catches the eye. Apps are very competitive. Make sure that you have a great-looking user interface and front screen so that you can get all of the traffic that you are supposed to.

4. Give Users Value

Provide real value to the people you are trying to target. One of the best ways to keep you coming back for more and make a purchase is to save them time or money. Entertain them if this is your niche. In some way, you have to make their lives easier, or there is really no reason to come back to your offering. You should also look to provide value that your application users would not have if you were not there.

5. Be OmniPresent

Be a consistent presence in the lives of your target audience. No matter how you choose to engage, consistency is definitely a positive character trait in the marketing and in the design of your application. Get in their heads by getting in their emails. Use push notifications. You can also make use of badge notifications. You can tie in a discount or some sort of a bonus feature announcement when you do this. You actually have many different choices – connect offers in different ways so that people who come to you will not get bored with your consistency.

6. Personalize the App Experience

Look to personalize every single message that you send out into the ether. As the world becomes more digital, the customers in that world demand more personalization. This may seem counterintuitive, but it it is actually exactly how you would expect people to act. As everything becomes colder, personalization is had at more of a premium. If you are the company that provides this to them, then why wouldn’t they come back? They will definitely want to get in touch with you because of your warm countenance and inviting appearance.

7. Hone the Functionality

Lastly, you can always improve the core functionality of your app. You may not be getting the sales that you think you deserve because you have not yet provided the core functionality that your target audience is looking for. Actually, you may have this functionality, but it could be hidden behind a wall of errors. You need to constantly test your application in order to understand what is going on with it. Add new features when the time is right, because your competition will always be catching up to you if you are standing still.

Follow the seven tips above for a higher conversion and retention rate. Applications today are among the most competitive technical products on the market, so you should always look to update your value to the consumer.