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Sisyphus, the founder and king of Ephyra, was cursed by the Greek gods for eternity by rolling a rock up a hill, but every time he approached the top it would roll back down. Today, the Sisyphus of the digital realm is the app marketer. For everyone life is like Sheeshpe in many ways. Deal with app store policies, OS fragmentation, and the never-ending battle to prevent user churn. His 80% of the app’s daily active users are lost in his first three days after installation. Within 90 days, over 90% of his DAU has disappeared and less than 5% of his is actively engaged. So how can app marketers overcome this Sisyphean challenge?

Meet users where they are

Modern app users are spoiled. It’s a great tribute to the industry. Users want their app experience to work right from the start, meaning their UX is intuitive, onboarding is seamless, and the quality of support is impeccable, all while maintaining hyper-personalization. I am. According to McKinsey research, 71% of consumers expect companies to provide personalized interactions, and 76% are dissatisfied when that doesn’t happen.

Personalization is non-negotiable. The idea of ​​“meeting users where they are” requires a deep understanding of psychology and MarTech solutions that do more with less. Tools such as sentiment analysis software need to glean deeper insights from minimal information. App marketers need to take these insights and leverage several psychological effects to add value to end users. In addition to UX enhancements, it also improves app metrics. A win-win! There are several possible psychological influences here.

principle of least effort

Have you ever wondered why you’d want to instantly book an Uber with the push of a few buttons, rather than hailing a traditional taxi service? The principle of least effort. When presented with two paths toward the same goal, humans are more likely to choose the one that requires less effort.

You might think this doesn’t apply when users do something important, like banking-related queries. Assuming that is the case, a phone call is better, although it takes more effort. But that’s because traditional customer support chatbots have historically had dismal results when it comes to dealing with anything beyond surface-level queries.

But with the advent of generative AI, chatbots are more capable than ever. And as they get better, it becomes less effortful to chat with someone trained about concise and thorough source documentation. Think about when you receive multiple support calls for your case, and each time a new representative asks the same verification questions. Often they don’t even understand the full context of the problem. Smarter, more empathetic chatbots will alleviate these concerns. Phone calls will still have their place, but will be reserved for the most pressing issues like refunds, account consolidation, and billing discrepancies. Your support personnel will thank you for it, and the business benefits are undeniable.

big fish small pond effect

Apple’s Fitness app shows you your progress toward your daily goals through an “exercise ring” that gradually fills in as you reach your goal. Once completed, the app will immediately notify your friends (who also use the app) and you can also track their progress. The big fish, little pound effect occurs when users start competing with others to reach their goals faster, sometimes going the extra mile (literally). They keep coming back to the app to make sure they’re at the top of the charts within their ultimate fitness-focused niche group of friends. It’s the self-reinforcing virtuous cycle that marketers dream of.
This app takes advantage of two things: a seamless way to add friends from other platforms like social media. It also has the ability to send real-time notifications when group members reach their goals. The first is important for creating a metaphorical little pond. The other ensures that the biggest fish get the attention they deserve. Therefore, marketers should look to integrated MarTech solutions that sit across the entire app technology stack. Often the smallest delay in sending notifications can make the difference.

ikea effect

Imagine signing up for a streaming platform and answering a ton of onboarding questions about setup. Searching for content provides more data and strengthens recommendations. But after a while, the platform changes certain aspects of the algorithm (as it usually does) and the next time you simply log in, the recommendations will be turned off. You may even get the impression that the quality of the library has declined. Most importantly, it feels like the effort to curate your own algorithms is diminished.

IKEA effect: A cognitive bias that places higher value on products and services for which users have invested effort. Therefore, brands should look for ways to actively engage users with their apps. Whether it’s something as obvious as a user-customizable playlist or something as subtle as a personal “workspace” within a productivity app. Co-creation has become mainstream in the games industry, with Dreams recently serving as an example of what co-creation looks like at its peak.

The IKEA effect transforms users from passive consumers to active collaborators. This creates a symbiotic relationship where users feel proud and connected to the platform they helped build. Imagine customizable user journeys where customers co-create their own paths and interactive touchpoints that feel like personalized conversations. Gamification engagement strategies and progress tracking mechanisms ensure users always feel a sense of accomplishment and ownership through their engagement with your brand.

The alchemy of psychology and technology

The interplay between psychology and technology is essential to unlocking the secrets of consumer behavior. There are three things you need to do to make your app great. One is to focus on growing the number of users who complete key actions. The second is a product that improves over time. And third, a self-reinforcing feedback loop that maximizes customer lifetime value. The prerequisite for all of this is a robust MarTech stack that enables a high level of granularity with real-time analytics.

You can always throw money at user acquisition problems, but building a truly popular product requires a deep understanding of the psychology that drives human behavior. Combine this with his MarTech tools for comprehensive monitoring, engagement, and experimentation, and you can not only see what your users are doing, but also experiment and fine-tune your in-app experiences in real time. , you can have a winner.