What is lifecycle tracking?

A user’s lifecycle indicates the various stages a user experiences throughout their lifetime as a customer. Each user goes through very different experiences depending on the touchpoints and engagement factors they are exposed to, and everyone forms their own interpretations of an app. It is important to monitor these variables and understand the overall pattern of what leads users to an optimal user experience. Lifecycle tracking is the process of monitoring such behaviors and analyzing the user’s shifting needs and interests. It involves tracking user engagement, from the moment they install the app to their interactions and activities during app usage, up to the point where they churn or become loyal, returning users. With this information, marketers can identify the behavioral trends of their target audience and craft strategies that can maximize the user experience at every stage of their lifecycle. 

The stages of lifecycle marketing 

Awareness → Engagement → Evaluation → Purchase → Support → Loyalty

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• Awareness: The awareness stage is when users first learn about the app after being exposed to ads, content, social media, etc.
• Engagement: Once aware of the app, users start interacting by subscribing to the newsletter or following the social media to learn more about the app’s offerings.
• Evaluation: At this stage, users seek more detailed information to compare the app’s features and pricing with its competitors’. Providing the right product information and customer reviews can be important here.
• Purchase: The purchase stage is when users have successfully converted, installing the app on their mobile device. The purchase experience should be smooth and seamless.
• Support: It is crucial to provide users with support post-installation. This includes answering questions, addressing issues, or even providing new in-app features to retain them. Keeping existing users active is much more valuable than acquiring new users.
• Loyalty: At this stage, users are furthest down the funnel in which they are loyal advocates for the app. They can be a benefit to the app’s marketing efforts by spreading positive messages through word-of-mouth (WOM) and being active on the app.

Why is lifecycle tracking important?

Examining the lifecycle of users can provide substantial metrics for refining strategies in user retention and engagement, which are the two main pillars of success in mobile marketing. It also facilitates the entire marketing process by keeping marketers updated on user behavior changes and preferences, which are valuable insights for resonating with users and driving conversions. 

Driving user retention 

By tracking the long-term behavioral changes of users, marketers can pinpoint the exact stages at which user churning most commonly occurs. Marketers can build new strategies to implement at those stages to prevent churn and find solutions that can overturn this recurring pattern, which will ultimately lead to higher user retention rates and a more engaging user base.

For example, let’s say that all visitors to an amusement park are required to download their mobile app to access their day pass. It is most likely that they will uninstall the app once they leave the park and reinstall it when they revisit. This will show high conversions but low user retention, which isn’t accurate as users are constantly uninstalling and reinstalling the app. Taking these lifecycle patterns into account, marketers can offer deals like special discounts for annual memberships or fast pass tickets, so that users have a reason to keep the app installed. This can prevent user churning and ensure that the user retention is maintained. 

Driving engagement  

Every user’s stage in the lifecycle varies, and delivering generic ads and messages that aren’t relatable may drive users away. As lifecycle tracking allows marketers to monitor the journey of each user and understand which stage they are in, they can provide personalized messages and offers that are tailored to each user’s needs and preferences. This can help users feel more valued and connected with the app, increasing the chances of user engagement and loyalty. 

For example, let’s say that you are running a mobile e-commerce app and notice there are users in two different lifecycle stages. The first user recently installed the app, while the other user has left their cart abandoned for three days. For the first user, you can offer a limited-time discount to expedite their initial purchase, while you could nudge the second person by reminding them about their cart and offering free shipping deals. As such, tailoring each message to the user’s status quo is crucial for driving engagement and sustaining relationships with users.