The COVID-19 pandemic skewed our sense of normalcy to a great extent. From going to concerts to enjoying weekend getaways, all our elaborate plans had to be tossed away. Even going to the supermarket to get essentials felt nothing short of a military operation. Perhaps, one of the only things which didn’t go through a complete overhaul was ordering takeaway from our favorite restaurants.
Food tech apps have seen exponential growth in the past 5 years. Despite the pandemic and the economic slowdown, the outlook for the food tech industry is pretty upbeat. With restaurants being closed, many table-reservation platforms like Eatigo have pivoted their business to food delivery. The global market size for food tech is estimated to reach a value of USD $342.52 billion by 2027.
While the food tech industry is rapidly growing, not all food tech apps are equally successful. A typical consumer for food brands has at least 10 apps to choose from at any point in time.
The secret behind apps that get chosen versus apps that don’t? Successful apps focus on the entire app user lifecycle.
The 5 stages in the app user lifecycle are:
- Awareness and acquisition
- User onboarding
- Engagement and monetization
- Re-engagement and retention
- Re-installation
Table of Contents
Stage 1: Awareness and Acquisition
When customers search for a food app, they use keyword combinations like ‘food delivery’ or ‘takeaway food.’ App marketers need to optimize their app for the app store by having an engaging app description that includes those keywords. Additionally, they need to highlight key features, have compelling images showing off the app’s benefits, and feature user reviews. These are all part and parcel of app store optimization — the process of optimizing an app’s presence in an app marketplace — and are crucial steps to making users aware of your app.
Stage 2: User Onboarding
Successful user engagement begins with successful onboarding. And the best onboarding introduces the user to all the benefits offered by the app without information overload. By using a combination of an interactive interface, push notifications, and in-app messaging, food tech apps can walk new users through the most relevant features.
The apps that ace user onboarding welcome the user and keep the onboarding process fairly easy. In-app prompts can show users where to access the features. Or app marketers can nudge the user to enable push notifications at the time of sign-up, which gives them an efficient way to bring users back to the app after their first session.
Another crucial element of successful onboarding is by tailoring the app experience to the user’s location. By asking for the user’s approval to access device location, app marketers can easily localize the experience and the messaging of their campaigns, making it highly relevant and contextual.
Stage 3: Engagement and Monetization
Successful food tech apps make judicious use of actionable data to personalize the app experience. If a user likes Italian food, it wouldn’t make sense to send the user recommendations for Chinese or Mexican cuisine in that area. By using user data from previous sessions, marketers can personalize the app experience based on restaurants previously browsed, food items ordered, and average order value.
Drive user action by using in-app and push notifications to encourage action from the user — get them to browse nearby restaurants or use discount codes while ordering.
Once the user places an order, use in-app notifications, push notifications, emails, and SMS to confirm user payment. And don’t forget to send push notifications to keep the user updated about their order status.
Stage 4: Re-engagement and Retention
Most apps lose 80% of users within 30 days of acquisition* and the food tech industry is not exempted from this fate. Timely re-engagement is the key here. If you see that your user’s favorite restaurant is offering a festive discount, let your user hear this great news from your app! Hyper-personalized and contextual messaging can get inactive users to come back to the app.
Ask users for feedback by using a combination of push notifications and in-app notifications. Make it really easy for users to share feedback by using an in-app popup that encourages users to rate your app.
Stage 5: Encourage App Reinstall
Despite an app marketer’s best efforts, there are chances that users may uninstall the app. Target these churned users by sending personalized emails that lead them back to the app. Offer them an incentive in the form of free delivery or a discount.
While there are thousands of apps competing for your users’ attention, it is important for app marketers to keep their existing user base happy. Engaging and retaining your existing customers is easier and more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.
Leading food tech apps like Zomato, Eatigo, Dineout, and Faasos have partnered with CleverTap to engage with users across every stage of the customer lifecycle. With a seamless onboarding experience, timely, contextual, and personalized messaging, CleverTap helps leading brands build authentic relationships with their users.
