Mobile apps have become central to our daily lives, whether it’s for gaming, meditation, daily planning, or other recurring tasks.

But given how many apps now exist, app businesses need to ensure the best possible customer experience (CX) so that they remain their customers’ chosen platform. However, this can be easier said than done – particularly for ad-supported apps. And this is because, unfortunately, the world of digital advertising as we know it is broken.

Recent research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) shows that US consumers are increasingly opting to ditch traditional in-app promotions. I’m struggling to blame them as today’s ads have become largely ineffective. Far from being a means of conversions, they’ve garnered a reputation for being irrelevant and annoying, with a series of products and services being pushed to the wrong people.

If consumers are turning away from apps cluttered with irrelevant advertising, then app developers are in for a huge monetisation headache. Fixing this means they’ll need to adapt with relevant, engaging adverts that put the customer first, or risk falling behind.

Making this happen requires a viable means of audience targeting, but that’s harder to realise due to the App-ocalypse. The removal of IDFAs and incoming cookie deprecation, combined with increased regulation and privacy-conscious consumers, has led to a situation where running targeted campaigns is almost impossible. This fact isn’t lost on app developers, as according to our research, 61% of them are losing sleep over this marketing catastrophe.

How you’ll lose by getting CX wrong

Digital marketing is hard enough even without bungling CX, but it gets far worse when you fail to deliver relevant promotions. If consumers continue to choose ad-lite or even ad-free apps, it’ll mean they have less opportunity to discover new services and experiences that matter to them. Ultimately, this means the decline of digital ads and app businesses by extension, with our research revealing that 27% of apps are expected to shut down due to the App-ocalypse.
Developers are now embracing alternative monetisation schemes, but these aren’t the best for CX either. For example, mobile game developers are turning toward microtransactions, a long standing annoyance for many gamers that’s attracted concern among US lawmakers

This ongoing decline hasn’t escaped the IAB, who’ve highlighted the need to deliver the best ad-supported experiences possible. As far as they’re concerned, ads need to be an aspect of the “more flexible, iterative, agile and an “always-on” part of how companies consider and engage with consumers for a more holistic and value driven experience.”

Why you need to get CX right

Providing a good CX is the key to bringing digital advertising back from the brink. By providing the kind of promotions that consumers find valuable and engaging, app marketers stand to make the good on their budgets and marketing KPIs, whether it’s click-through rates (CTR), return on ad spend (ROAS), or conversions.

That said, app businesses still need a viable means of targeting, and terms like “personalisation” have been shown to exacerbate privacy concerns. Sourcing consumer data has always been risky business, as many believe marketers covet any form of data that’s available.

That’s why marketers need to figure out what kind of information is relevant to their platform and forget the rest. In doing so, their platforms stand to be seen as privacy-friendly, enhancing the user’s experience, while avoiding any regulatory concerns.

Good promotional content and respect for personal limits are the kinds of things that’ll prevent businesses from going under, with increases in user retention, positive reviews in app stores, and better word-of-mouth marketing being a natural follow-on.

App businesses need to embrace marketing innovation in order to realise this sweet spot between the interests of the consumer, the interests of the business, and embracing less intrusive data practices.

Boost CX with Purchase Behaviour Targeting

App businesses need to move past viewing consumers as currency, and toward value exchange where the best customer experience is paramount. That means offering users relevant promotions by focusing their campaigns via the right forms of information. Here’s where Purchase Behaviour Targeting comes to the rescue.

This revolutionary form of advertising has already powered campaigns on Facebook for over five years, and has now arrived on TikTok. Purchase Behaviour Targeting ​provides app businesses with valuable transactional information, delivered as customised audiences that’ll target campaigns at those most likely to buy, based on what they’ve already bought. Access to this targeted advertising method is possible via payment management platforms already possessing the rich data providing key purchase insights.

Utilising this transactional data won’t be hindered by crumbling cookies, IDFAs, or other forms of conventional tracking. Moreover, Purchase Behaviour Targeting only requires data that’s commercially relevant, which means there’s no need to enquire into anyone’s personal characteristics, presenting a major win for privacy.

The benefits of this targeting aren’t just theoretical. App marketers are becoming increasingly intrigued by purchase data, with our research finding 61% consider Purchase Behaviour Targeting an effective means of user acquisition.

Ultimately, improving CX and delivering value doesn’t need to be an apocalyptic affair. With Purchase Behaviour Targeting, app businesses will be enabled to provide relevant promotional content, avoid privacy concerns, and facilitate better experiences that’ll ensure they survive the App-ocalypse.