According to Statista.com, the first half of 2023 saw 77 billion app downloads, which is more than 74.4 billion mobile app downloads in 2022. Talking about the retention rate, e-commerce apps have a retention rate of 19% on day one of installation, which reduces to just 5% on day 30. These statistics say that the app retention benchmark beyond 2023 can be more challenging.

So, what’s next for entrepreneurs who want to launch their multi-service apps in the coming weeks or years? Well, the answer is super simple! They have to work hard to acquire users and retain them.

User acquisition and retention can be challenging for a lot of entrepreneurs who are stepping into the competitive market for the first time. Even if you’re launching your first app, you still need to master the skills of acquisition and retention of your mobile app users.

Let’s learn some of the best practices you can use to gain more customers and retain them on your platform to get repeat business!

What is User Acquisition and Retention?

The term user acquisition, or UA, means gaining new customers via the multi-service app. User retention refers to keeping the existing users active on the platform and getting regular sales from them.

Acquiring new customers is understood, but why are businesses so engrossed in retaining them? That’s because:

• It helps to get repeat sales through the platform.
• You will be able to gain more profits.
• It’s easier to sell services to existing customers than new ones.
• Existing users show a higher probability of purchasing a new product/service.

Now that you know what user acquisition and retention are, you should also keep in mind the challenges these processes come with:

Challenges of user acquisition

• High competition: the app market is crowded, thus making it harder for new entrants to get the attention of their potential customers.
• High acquisition cost: advertising and marketing costs are high in today’s digital market. So, if you have a small or limited budget, it gets difficult to reach a wider audience.
• Finding the right target audience: you must target the right audience to get the results of your marketing efforts. Getting notice from people who are not interested in your app can take a toll on your hard work.
• Gain your user’s trust: you have to gain people’s trust to convert them into paying customers.
• Ensure your app’s discoverability: Apple App Store and Google Play Store are filled with millions of users. Therefore, you need to implement the correct strategies to make sure people notice you and download the multi-service app.

Challenges of user retention

• Lack of user engagement: keeping your customers engaged is a challenge in itself. Once people lose interest in your services or use your app, you can fail to retain them.
• Early abandonment: if your onboarding is complex, people may soon lose interest in using your multi-service app like Gojek and may shift to your competitor’s platform.
• Keeping up with changing user needs: once you acquire users, you have to keep analyzing their buying behavior and implementing the changes in your app.
• Monotony: if you provide your multiple services in a monotonous way without changing a bit, people can soon lose their excitement and leave your platform.
• Frequent technical issues: if you don’t maintain your app and people face regular bugs, crashes, or slow performance, it would be hard to retain them!

How to Acquire More Users on a Multi-service App?

Want to know the secret to acquiring more and more customers? Well, here’s how you can get more customers onboard with your multi-service app.

App Store Optimization (ASO)

ASO refers to making your mobile app visible on the app store, be it the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Make sure when people look up a multi-service app on the app store, the name of your app shows up!

To improve your app’s visibility in the app stores, you must:

• Include relevant keywords in descriptions.
• Adding a short video can increase your ranking.
• Choose the right app category when submitting your app to the app stores.
• Track your ASO KPIs to learn about the app’s performance on the app stores.

Paid Advertising

Paid advertising is one of the most efficient ways to promote your Gojek-like multi-service app. You can promote your app on social media platforms or other popular apps through third-party in-app advertising.

These are the best advertising tools you can use to promote your multi-service app:

• Facebook ads
• App Store search ads
• Promoted tweets
• Cross-promotional networks

Email Marketing

Email marketing is traditional but one of the most popular and effective ways to acquire new customers. It’s a 1:1 way to engage with new customers, tell them about your apps, and get them onboard!

For instance, you can use emails to send a download link for your application, redirecting them to the app store page. Also, you can use them to create the first impression of your brand and let them know what you offer.

Other effective techniques that you can use to acquire more customers on your multi-service app include:

• Directing your website traffic to mobile app
• Offering freemium model
• Using influencer marketing
• Referral marketing

How to Retain More Users on a Multi-service App?

Use the following ways to retain more users on your application and get the most from your online business.

Simple Onboarding Process

A simple and easy onboarding process can do wonders for your multi-service business! Since you have about 20 seconds to impress your customers, you need to think creatively to retain them when they first download your app.

To keep users interested in using your app, you have to introduce the best features right at the beginning. Also, tell them all the benefits your multi-service app will provide them. And the best advice is to keep your sign-up process as simple and short as possible.

Personalized User Experience

When you provide a personalized experience to your users, they can be assured that you’re valuing their needs! Moreover, this way, you can retain them and get more loyalty from the users.

Most apps fail to make their users’ experiences out of the box; however, make sure you don’t make the same mistake. How can you provide the best user experience through a multi-service app?

• Your app must have an intuitive design.
• Provide recommendations to users based on their preferences and choices.
• Your app should load fast.
• Offer excellent and quick customer support.
• Have a clear and direct feedback mechanism
• Set clear communication channels through your app.

In-app Messages and Push Notifications

Through in-app messages, you can send targeted messages to your customers while they are interacting with your multi-service app.

For instance, you can send a “welcome message” as a popup on the app or an app feedback popup right after their booked service ends. In short, with in-app messages, you can easily interact with your customers without interrupting their activity for a longer time.

On the other hand, push notifications are usually displayed on the notification bar or lock screen of the user’s device. When sending these push notifications, you have to be very careful about their timing. If you don’t want your users to treat these notifications as spam, make sure you personalize them.

Wrapping Up

By now, you will have mastered the core things you need to acquire users and retain them. After all, you can use these easy methods to make your online presence even stronger. Also, you would be facing a lot of challenges when it comes to grabbing the attention of a large audience and retaining them on your multi-service app. It can include a lack of engagement, working with a small advertising budget, a communication gap with the users, and so on.

Prepare yourself for these challenges and build a strong business plan so that you can tackle these problems smartly! However, when it comes to building a smart and intuitive multi-service app, you need professional help. You can get expert assistance by approaching a white-labeling firm that provides you with a ready-made Gojek Clone app, an Uber-like app, or solutions like other popular multi-service apps on the market.