Smartphones and tablets have become common over the past decade, spawning a new definition of software development naming: native mobile applications, or "apps." In fact, apps completely fit into our lives now. For example, we check email during breakfast and practice foreign languages while commuting. Furthermore, we use one to exercise in the morning and another to track sleep.
In addition, apps have significantly blurred the distinction between PCs and mobile devices. The proliferation of smartphones and mobile applications has irrevocably altered how we purchase, consume media, socialize, play games, exercise, and travel. Some retailers indicate that mobile app conversions exceed mobile website conversions. If the forecasts are right, there is no question that this will become the standard in the future. For this reason, it is time for us all to adjust to the modern era.
As can be seen, the fast-changing mobile app market is tremendously competitive. In December 2021, the App Store reported 30,000 new apps in total. Therefore, to make your app outperform competitors, it must be uniquely developed since users only desire the very finest. The intricate question for beginners is that: how does one design a product that stands out in tons of apps? Simply answered, you must improve the user experience by perfecting it, making it sticky, as well as quickly and significantly boosting your key performance indicators (KPIs). For this reason, it is crucial for developers to comprehend their mobile app analytics in order to track their progress while working towards the goals, as well as conduct mobile app competitor analysis.
Recognizing the difficulties that businesses may face while using mobile app analytics, VNEXT Global, a leading mobile app development company in Vietnam, provides a comprehensive guide on mobile app analytics that enables businesses to comprehend and incorporate it into their projects.
1. What is Mobile App Analytics?
Analytics is the activity of collecting and analyzing user data in order to gain a better knowledge of user behavior and the performance of a website or service. When this method is used by mobile apps and app users, it is referred to as "mobile analytics."
Mobile Analytics tracks user interactions with apps as well as app metrics such as app installs, app launches, taps, screens, events, app versions, flows, user retention, funnel analysis, and more. Furthermore, mobile analytics, like web analytics, collects and analyses similar metrics on users, such as how many new users downloaded the app, which countries they came from, what devices and versions they used, and whether they followed a link in a marketing campaign or an app store search.
Companies use mobile analytics not just to measure and understand mobile app usage, but also to conduct business and market research, as well as to evaluate and enhance the performance of their mobile apps and services. In addition, there are other factors that developers should consider Mobile App Analytics, which are listed in the following section.
2. The reasons of using Mobile App Analytics
For a variety of reasons, mobile app analytics are critical to your development process. They provide information about how users interact with your app, the parts of the app they interact with, and what actions they perform within the app. You may then use these insights to create an action plan to further improve your product, such as introducing new functions that users appear to require, improving current ones to make users' lives better, or deleting aspects that users do not appear to use.
You'll also obtain insights into whether your mobile app's goals, whether revenue, awareness, or other KPIs, are being met, and then use the data to change your strategy and improve your app to further meet your objectives.
3. What are your Mobile App objectives?
To understand how to leverage your mobile app analytics to achieve your goal, you must first understand what your goal is. There is no single answer because each app has its own set of aims and objectives.
Mobile games, for example, tend to focus on increasing income, so their goal would be to build their user base while also pushing for in-app purchases. Meanwhile, retail apps may seek to improve store traffic and brand exposure, and video and music streaming apps may seek to entice users to subscribe to monthly or annual subscriptions. So it all relies on what you want to achieve with your mobile app and why you designed it in the first place.
After identifying your mobile app goals, you can start analyzing data with Mobile App Analytics tools.
4. How to analyze data with Mobile App Analytics tools?
Mobile analytics can monitor and examine so much that it can be intimidating at first. Newcomers are frequently intimidated by the volume of information available and have no idea how to sift and comprehend it.
It's useful to understand the many types of mobile analysis that analytics can undertake. All mobile metrics that may be tracked fit into one of four categories:
- User engagement metrics
- Client acquisition
- Application performance
- Client satisfaction
A) User engagement metrics
This data shows whether or not consumers value your app. Focus on the following metrics to get a clear picture of your app's user engagement metrics:
- The total number of downloads
- The total number of in-app shares
- Active users indicators based on days, weeks and months. The goals of an app may differ based on its genre.
- Retention of users. Do your app's consumers return and utilize it frequently?
- Mobile app usage time
We can't mention all of the important KPIs for user engagement because they are so directly related to your goal. If you have an e-commerce app, for example, focus on fundamental shopping metrics such as the number of "add-to-cart" events, purchases, and viewed goods.
If you have a game app, pay attention to how much time your customers spend on it, what levels they reach, what secret features they unlock (especially if they have to pay for them), and so on.
Remember that the most valuable users are the most engaged, as they are more likely to return, buy, and share.
B) Client acquisition via mobile app
This provides useful information about how you acquire new users, such as where they're from, demographics (user age, country of residence, etc.), and information about how and which marketing channels are driving new users to your app.
You'll also want to know the cost per acquisition (the average cost of acquiring a new user), as well as their average revenue or lifetime worth. This will be addressed later.
When analyzing customer acquisition, avoid becoming overly quantitative. For example, if you find that a specific marketing channel gets you the most users, that is quantitative data. Don't forget to provide a qualitative layer as well. Do these users tend to return? How long do they keep their employees? How involved are they? While another marketing channel may supply you with fewer users, they may be "longer-lasting."
C) Mobile app’s performance
This type of study reveals a great deal about the health of your app. As a result, it's critical for optimizing and software maintenance. It displays information about crashes, faults, and carrier/network slowness.
When examining performance data, keep the following figure in mind: according to a 2013 study, 79% of consumers will give an app a second try even if it fails the first time. If an app fails more than twice, only 16% of users will try to relaunch it. In conclusion, the responsiveness of an app, including its speed and crash rate, is critical to attracting new users.
D) Client satisfaction via mobile app
Normally, satisfied customers have the tendency to return. They're also more inclined to tell their friends, family, and business associates about your app. Even if you thoroughly test an app before releasing it, it's pretty uncommon to discover that people use it differently than expected. Only mobile app analytics solutions can display real-world user activity.
Customers will be pleased with your app if it meets their expectations and allows them to complete the purpose for which it was created. If they become stuck and upset, unsure of what to do next, they will not hesitate to move on. Mobile app analytics tools identify critical performance issues, allowing you to address them quickly and efficiently.
Final thoughts
Mobile app analytics can be a complicated aspect of app development. It can be difficult to sort through a flood of information to determine the best one; not to mention properly comprehending it.
However, the work of self-analyzing your app might be rewarding. Indeed, nothing beats watching your retention stats rise after you've implemented your analytics-based insights.
Therefore, we hope this tutorial has given you the knowledge you need to move forward with your app's analytics program. However, starting this path alone may be exhausting and frustrating. Acknowledging that, VNext Global, a top mobile app business in Vietnam that specializes in developing a mobile app and providing deep insights in mobile app analytics, may provide you with some services to help you perform better.
Author: Chi Vo - Content Marketing Executives
If you are looking for a trusted IT partner providing software testing services, VNEXT Global is the ideal choice. With 14+ years of experience, we surely can help you to optimize your business digitalization within a small budget and short time. Currently, we have 400+ IT consultants and developers in Mobile App, Web App, System, Blockchain Development and Testing Services. We have provided solutions to 600+ projects in several industries for clients worldwide. We are willing to become a companion on your way to success. Please tell us when is convenient for you to have an online meeting to discuss this further. Have a nice day!
