Building an application is getting easier every day. However, having an idea and implementing it is not all that the process requires. Instead, there are multiple factors that you need to consider before delving into the development process. Today, when there are many applications available online, analytics can come in handy in making your idea the next big thing.
If you are looking to earn from your application, you need to put in effort and resources to make it successful. To begin with, knowing your audience, making the UI attractive, and improving feasibility are some of the factors that can play a critical role in improving profitability. Therefore, if you dig into the analytics, you can find several metrics to use to your advantage.
How do Analytics Help?
Currently, only 0.01% of the total applications available on various app stores are profitable. That is, 99.9% of apps cost more to build and maintain than they receive back in revenue. A major reason why these apps fail is that the stakeholders fail to recognize the market demand. Analytics can provide key insights into the public dynamics. This allows the developers to shape their applications in a way that attracts the most traffic. You can leverage the information to reduce bounce rates and on-app time.
Also read: Impact of IoT on the Future of Web App Design & Development
Benefits of Using Analytics in App Development
There are a range of benefits of using analytics. From helping you improve marketing strategies to optimizing it according to the search engine, analytics can take your app to great heights. Further, they can also allow for a more personal experience. To delve into some of the advantages:
Driving ROI for Better Performance
Firstly, ROI or returns on investments is a measure used to evaluate the profitability and efficiency of your application. In the competitive setting today, each app has several competitors. Therefore, it is important that you focus on your ROI techniques to get monetary benefits. The more engaging your strategies, the better are the chances of earning money.
Many websites and social media apps utilize user analytics to improve their marketing campaigns. Recognizing and associating patterns with customers can help in designing more appealing and engaging advertisements. Further, this also allows for targeted marketing, hence, improving your chances of generating revenue.
Personalizing App Experience
Who does not like an app experience according to their preferences? Analytics help you understand your user. Hence, it gives you the opportunity to offer a one-to-one experience. The more engaging and direct your message, better are the chances of your customer staying on your app for a longer time. You can use targeted advertisements and send push messages specific to the user’s preferences. Further, the data can help you segment your customers on the basis of geographical locations, gender, age and much more. This allows for building a direct relation and also improving customer loyalty.
Gathering Data
Through analytics, you get data about your customers. The way they interact with your application and the paths they take. Therefore, all this information helps in serving the customer better – without the need to look at the feedback. You get into your customer’s minds without meeting them. This allows your algorithm to “think” like your user, hence, offering a more appropriate and engaging application experience.
Data-Driven Insights and Solutions
Lastly, analytics can help you identify bugs and pain points of your application. They can give insights into the parts of the application where the users struggle the most. Further, any UI/UX issues can also be identified easily. Through heat maps, you can identify the path your customers take in the application most of the time. The in-depth information can help you improve the overall structure of the app, hence, improving the chances of creating an “all-rounder” application.
Which Metrics Should You Measure?
There are hundreds of metrics you can measure for improving your app performance. However, this depends on the type of application you have made. To briefly overview some of them:
Day 1 Retention
Firstly, Day 1 Retention can be a critical metric. It is used to measure the number of users that will come back to your application one day after using it. This can be the basis of the trend you can expect in the future. It gives you an idea of how engaging your application is.
Average Revenue per Daily Active User
Average Revenue per Daily Active User or ARPDAU refers to how much revenue you can generate given the number of active users on your app. This can be through ads, in-app purchases or subscriptions, etc.
Lifetime Value of a User
Lastly, we combine the above two metrics to get the lifetime value of a user (LTV). It gives you an idea of how much you are expected to earn from each user over a long period of time. This can be calculated by: Day 1 Retention x 0.66 x ARPDAU.
Conclusion
Analytics is a great way of taking your application up the road to success. They can give insights into your customer base and help improve your application according to the audience’s preferences. Further, the better your app suits the customers, the more are the chances of generating revenue. Therefore, if you are developing an app, looking into analytics is important for delivering a successful application.