In-app messages, gamification and boosting promocode redemptions
In-app messages.
Alongside push notifications and emails, these ‘app’ versions of website popup windows are one of the main channels in the Retention Marketer’s toolbox; providing a messaging format capable of communicating a significant amount of data at the point a customer is most engaged with the product i.e. when they are using the app.
Major mobile CRM tools like Braze, Hubspot and Urban Airship offer pre-defined templates. Even more interestingly for the marketing technologist however, is the ability to create custom templates with HTML/CSS/Javascript.
This opens up a world of possibilities; ranging from designing brand-matching communications to collecting customer feedback. Another fun and interesting use case is gamification. With a few lines of HTML and Javascript, it’s possible to create simple games and deploy them in an in-app message.
Why create an in-app game?
Google ‘gamification statistics’ and you can find a million articles with the benefits of using gamification in marketing strategy.
1 Source: https://venturebeat.com/games/verizon-wireless-gamifies-its-site/
2 Source: https://optinmonster.com/gamification-in-marketing/
3 Source: https://financesonline.com/gamification-statistics/
4 Source: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/deloitte-review/issue-11/the-engagement-economy-how-gamification-is-reshaping-businesses.html
Rather than parrot these well-established points, I’d like to focus on an under-discussed use case of gamification: promocode utilisation.
Many companies send discount promocodes to acquire/retain customers via email, in-app or other channels and it’s equally easy to find online material highlighting the benefits of these. Quick example: promocode users will spend 47% more than normal shoppers.
Yet the majority of promocodes offered are not even redeemed.
In fact, less than 20% of promocodes sent via apps are used on average. Increasing promocode usage rates will unlock more user engagement and ultimately, revenue.
Gamified in-app messages can help here.
Offering a promocode as a reward for good performance in an in-app game can offer a statistically significant uplift in redemption rates*. Simply put, when a promocode is earned, it has more perceived value – and is more likely to be redeemed.
From a Marketing Technologist’s perspective, in-apps are an attractive channel for this use case. It’s possible to code the template with access to existing tools and doesn’t require any support from your engineering team. Segmentation and any personalisation is taken care of by your CRM tool.
For a step-by-step guide on how to set up a fast tap in-app game, please check out this follow up post.
*Apologies, but this finding was taken from a test I ran some time ago and was not published publicly. Unfortunately I can’t reference the exact expected uplift. If anyone has run a similar test in the past, I’d love to hear about it in the comments 😉
