Customer Lifecycle Management—6 Main Stages for Mobile Apps

Ever thought business success could use a little humor? Well, here’s a joke: What’s a business’s favorite type of relationship? A long-term one! Alright, maybe it’s not a knee-slapper, but it’s true. The real magic in business isn’t just about making a sale; it’s about building strong, lasting relationships with customers. Happy customers stick around longer and contribute more to a company's success over time.

Enter lifecycle marketing—a strategy focused on understanding what customers need at each stage of their journey with a product or service. It’s all about creating personalized experiences and tailored communications to keep customers loyal and engaged for the long haul.

To make this idea more concrete, let’s look at a language learning mobile app.

Here's a good example. You download a new language learning app and immediately feel a rush of excitement. The app greets you with a warm welcome, helps you set personalized language goals, and offers fun, interactive lessons that match your skill level. As you work through modules and quizzes, the app suggests practicing with native speakers or joining virtual language exchange sessions, making your learning experience both effective and enjoyable.

As you get better at the language, the app nudges you to explore advanced grammar lessons or dive into cultural insights to enrich your understanding. It keeps things lively with occasional challenges and mini-games to maintain your interest.

But what if you start losing steam? No worries—the app's got your back. It’ll send friendly reminders to practice, offer discounts on premium materials or one-on-one tutoring, and suggest personalized learning plans based on what you’ve already achieved.

The app might also encourage you to join virtual language challenges or group study sessions to reignite your passion for learning. By creating a supportive and customized learning environment, this app isn’t just a tool; it becomes your dedicated language mentor, cheering you on towards fluency with genuine care and enthusiasm.

What is the Customer Lifecycle?

The customer lifecycle is the journey a customer goes through from first discovering a product or service to becoming a loyal advocate. For mobile apps, managing the customer lifecycle involves breaking the process into several stages depending on how users interact with the app: New Visitor, New Customer, Active User, Dormant User, Churned User, and Reactivated User.

For instance, consider a language learning mobile app. A user might start as a New Visitor, downloading the app for the first time out of curiosity or recommendation. Once they subscribe and become a New Customer, they transition to the Active User stage, where they engage with the app regularly to learn a new language.

However, factors like the type of subscription and natural behavior—how regularly the user needs to open the app—matter greatly at each stage. Users with premium subscriptions may have access to more features or content, which could influence their engagement level. 

Additionally, if the app requires daily practice for effective language learning, users who don't maintain this frequency may become Dormant Users. This is where personalized re-engagement strategies, such as offering incentives or reminders, become crucial to bring them back to the Active User stage.

Importance of Customer Lifecycle Management

Customer lifecycle management isn't just about ticking off boxes; it's about tapping into a goldmine of perks that can transform your business.

First off, it's like having a crystal ball into your users' minds. You get to see what they're into, what they're eyeing, and even what might nudge them to take action. Imagine knowing a user's browsing habits and offering them exactly what they need, right when they need it. That's the power of data-driven decisions in action.

But it's not just about data—it's about adding that personal touch. Nobody wants a bland, one-size-fits-all message. With lifecycle marketing, you're speaking their language, celebrating their wins, and even turning frowns upside down by tackling issues head-on. It's like having a friend who always knows just what to say to brighten your day.

And here's the kicker: by putting your users first and staying one step ahead, you're not just playing catch-up; you're leading the pack. It's about staying ahead of the curve, predicting trends, and giving your users what they didn't even know they wanted. That's the kind of magic that keeps them coming back for more, turning casual users into loyal advocates along the way.

Let's take a closer look at each of the stages of customer lifecycle management and understand how businesses use them to enhance user experience and drive long-term success.

Stage 1: New Visitor

The New Visitor stage is when a potential user discovers your language learning app for the first time. This could happen through a recommendation, online advertisement, or a feature in an app store. Making a positive and memorable first impression is crucial. For a language learning app, this means having an inviting and user-friendly interface that immediately showcases the app’s benefits.

For instance, when a new visitor downloads the app, they should be greeted with a warm welcome message and a quick tutorial that highlights how the app can help them achieve their language goals. A smooth onboarding process that includes setting up a profile, choosing a language, and setting personal goals can help hook the user’s interest. 

This stage is akin to the "ignition" phase, where the goal is to spark initial interest and get the first paid conversion, much like starting a fire that requires a lot of initial energy.

Stage 2: New Customer

Once the visitor is convinced of the app’s value and signs up, they transition into the New Customer stage. This is a crucial period where the user starts to explore the app’s features more deeply. For a language learning app, it's essential to keep the momentum going by providing an excellent first few days of experience.

The app could offer a personalized learning path based on the user’s initial inputs, such as their current proficiency level and learning objectives. Interactive and engaging lessons, initial progress tracking, and gentle nudges to complete the first few modules can solidify the user’s commitment. 

At this stage, it’s also effective to introduce premium features with a free trial period or limited-time discounts. This is part of the "ignition" strategy where sophisticated message flows support conversion goals, ensuring that new customers don’t cancel before fully experiencing the app's value.

Stage 3: Active User

An Active User is not just someone who uses the app regularly and makes consistent progress in their language learning. It’s someone who has developed a habit of using it, even if it’s just a couple of times a week. This stage is all about nurturing and strengthening that habit. 

The app can achieve this by providing a variety of content such as daily lessons, quizzes, games, and interactive exercises. Regular feedback on progress, personalized recommendations, and new challenges keep the learning experience fresh and motivating. Integrating social elements like leaderboards, badges, and community forums where users can interact and support each other can further boost engagement. 

Retention campaigns at this stage focus on keeping the "fire" alive, ensuring that users remain active and continue to find value in the app.

Active User Retention Rate

Understanding the Active User Retention Rate (AURR) is important for sustaining long-term engagement and revenue growth. This retention rate measures the percentage of active users who return to the app over a specific period, typically week-over-week. AURR indicates how well the app retains its users and keeps them engaged. This rate helps gauge user engagement and loyalty over time.

Improving the AURR means that users are more likely to stay engaged over time, which exponentially increases customer lifetime value.

For instance, if a language learning app like Duolingo enhances its messaging and user engagement strategies, leading to a 10% increase in AURR, the impact on revenue can be significant. This increase is similar to compound interest, where retention improvements create a snowball effect, continuously boosting engagement and revenue. 

Simply put, this means that if AURR grows from 89% to 97%, the revenue uplift can be as high as 50%. This effect underscores the importance of focusing on active user retention to drive substantial long-term business success.

Stage 4: Dormant User

Some users may become less active over time, transitioning into the Dormant User stage. This happens when users reduce their engagement with the app due to busy schedules, loss of interest, or perceived lack of progress. For a language learning app, it’s important to identify these users early and implement re-engagement strategies.

The app can send personalized reminders and motivational messages, offer special incentives like discounts on premium content, or suggest new, relevant learning materials to reignite interest. For example, if a user hasn’t logged in for a week, the app could send a friendly reminder highlighting their last achievements and encouraging them to continue their learning streak. 

This stage requires the same patience and diligence as tending to embers, focusing on maintaining interest and preventing users from fully churning.

Stage 5: Churned User

Churned Users are those who have stopped using the app altogether. This stage represents a critical challenge for any business, as it indicates a loss of a customer who once found value in the product. For a language learning app, understanding the reasons behind churn is key to developing effective win-back strategies.

The app can gather feedback from churned users through exit surveys or follow-up emails to understand their reasons for leaving. Common issues might include unmet expectations, technical difficulties, or better alternatives. Based on this feedback, the app can improve its features and address pain points. 

Additionally, offering special incentives to return, such as a discount on a premium subscription or access to new, exclusive content, can help re-engage churned users.

Stage 6: Reactivated User

When a churned user decides to give the app another try, they become a Reactivated User. This stage is about rekindling the relationship and demonstrating the app’s renewed value. For a language learning app, it’s crucial to provide a warm welcome back and highlight any new features or improvements made since the user last used the app.

The app could offer a re-onboarding process that showcases new functionalities, improved user experience, or new content that addresses previous gaps. 

Personalized messages that acknowledge the user’s past progress and encourage them to pick up where they left off can also be very effective.

Customer Lifecycle Management Best Practices

Navigating customer lifecycle management might seem complex, but it's all about making meaningful connections and keeping your users engaged. We’ve already mentioned the importance of the Active User Retention Rate (AURR), which tells you how many users continue to use your app over time. Boosting AURR can significantly impact your app’s success by encouraging users to rely on your app to solve their problems and ensuring they keep coming back for the features they love.

Now, how can you make this process smoother and more effective? That's where tools like Reteno come in handy. Think of Reteno as a friendly companion for your app. With features like mobile push notifications, in-app messages, SMS, and email, Reteno helps you keep your daily active users and monthly active users engaged and excited about using your app. It's all about creating an enjoyable and personalized user experience that makes them want to stick around.

Reteno offers a variety of tools that make it easier to connect with your users at the right moments. For example, you can send an automated message tailored to remind users of their progress, offer special incentives, or introduce new features that might interest them. As we know, keeping your communication varied and personalized avoids the pitfalls of monotonous messaging and keeps the user experience fresh and engaging.

Another good example. Imagine your app sending a cheerful push notification celebrating a user's milestone or suggesting a new lesson just when they need it most. Cool, right? These small touches can make a big difference in how users perceive and interact with your app. 

Just so you know, Reteno makes it easy to set up these kinds of campaigns, ensuring that your users feel valued and motivated to continue their journey with your app.

In a Nutshell

Effective customer lifecycle management involves understanding your users, meeting their needs, and keeping them engaged through personalized and timely communication. It covers six basic stages: New Visitor, New Customer, Active User, Dormant User, Churned User, and Reactivated User. 

Keep in mind that depending on the use case, there can be additional stages. For instance, in an app with both Freemium and paid subscription models, the Active User stage may need to be differentiated between free and paying users.

Tools like Reteno make this process easier, allowing you to send the right messages at the right time through in-app push notifications, SMS, and email. Focusing on delivering value at every stage of the customer lifecycle can improve your retention rate, turning casual users into loyal advocates and driving long-term success for your app.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article! We’ve got plenty more insights on mobile user retention and could chat about it all day long. Let us know what you’d like to read about next!