According to CNNIC data, the proportion of netizens using mobile phones to access the Internet increased from 90.1% at the end of 2015 to 92.5%. Mobile phones occupy a dominant position among online devices, and the mobile application market scale is growing almost saturated year by year.

After publishing 2016 email marketing industry white paper, Focussend once again discusses five APP marketing trends in 2017 through the upgrading and transformation of apps such as Weichou, Uber, starbucks and Meituan.

① The mobile application market tends to be saturated, and the user segment is the key

According to a report released by Adobe, mobile app launches increased 24 percent in 2016 compared to the previous year, but downloads and installations only increased 6 percent. Competition is heating up in the mobile app market. Most users' behavior habits are relatively fixed, and the survival rate of new mobile apps is low.

Based on this, blindly drainage, blind pursuit of a large number of users is no longer wise. Accordingly, under the user zone, the cultivation of small base and high loyalty customer base becomes the mainstream.

For example, app Wuchef can still maintain nearly 60% of the re-purchase rate when fresh e-commerce businesses are damaged everywhere. In addition to the integrated supply chain system, in the user segment, the middle class is filtered out and the precise user group is targeted at the family.

② The momentum of social and communication apps is not reduced, and the preferred marketing tool

While the mobile app market has slowed, social and messaging apps have proliferated over the years, with hundreds of millions of monthly active customers at their peak. The scope of social interaction has been opened up layer by layer, and it is no longer limited to the interaction among friends, but permeates into the interaction and participation between brands. Mobile messaging apps are even seen by brands as the best way to engage with customers one-on-one.

Most brands will start with the most fundamental needs of customers and set up a one-to-one question and answer mechanism in the form of built-in customer service in the communication APP, so as to build customer trust and provide customer brand loyalty with high efficiency and excellent user experience.

For example, in order to optimize the mobile terminal user experience, Uber launched a new version of customer service inside the App. 97% of the problems submitted by users were solved by a single reply from the customer service, and the user satisfaction increased by more than 15%.

③ Artificial intelligence synchronous mobile terminal, voice search is developing steadily

According to the data report, nearly 20 percent of people on Google Apps and Android devices use voice search. Mobile involves the field of AI assistant services, voice search accounts for a large proportion, and this kind of user base is growing year by year. Experts predict that voice search and recognition will play an important role in mobile marketing strategies in the future, as user behavior is dominated by bias.

In addition to constantly optimizing the content of voice searches, marketers also need to add specific AI scenarios to meet the increasingly personalized needs of their user base.

starbucks, for example, recently introduced a new voice assistant feature in its My Starbucks mobile app that makes it easy for users to order and pay through voice.

④ Multi-channel linkage, App, email and SMS data sharing

More than half of all emails are opened on mobile devices, according to Focussend's data. Email marketing, SMS marketing, App multi-channel linkage is still the first choice in mobile marketing.

The open and sharing of data can not only timely capture user information, promote marketing transformation, but also effectively save marketing costs and maximize user experience.

For example, in the registration of many apps such as Meituan, users' information will be improved through the collection of mobile phone numbers or email addresses, which will be used for the multi-channel user interaction in the later stage, including the push of daily marketing information and the notification of rights and interests.

⑤ Under the new retail concept, mobile terminal location marketing helps break the dilemma

Consumption experience and customized service, as two functions of the terminal, form a new form of traditional retail business. And the data shows that mobile retail apps play a huge role. Consumers and mobile devices are always bound together, which generates a large amount of data closely related to them. Precise delivery under location marketing greatly improves user experience.

Location marketing makes use of customers' impromptu purchase desire, real-time interaction, simplified operation process, and digital trend experience to truly integrate online and offline.

For example, the preferential information of nearby stores can be pushed according to the location attributes of consumers. The purchasing behavior and behavior path of consumers can be integrated into personalized information flow, so as to make reserves for the next precise delivery.

The above are the five marketing trends of mobile apps in 2017 summarized by Focussend. While accurately positioning themselves, merchants should also evaluate the situation, timely grasp the real-time user trends and hot industry trends, and hit a unique set of "one-two punch".