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Recommendations are powerful tools in any mobile brand’s arsenal. If you require proof of this in action, you need only look in the direction of some of the apps you use on a daily basis:
Netflix says that 80% of watched content is due to recommendations.01
And 35% of Amazon.com’s revenue is generated by its recommendation engine.02
Which is why using CleverTap’s App Inbox in tandem with our Product Recommendations is a combination with promising potential, no matter how large your product catalog is.
But first, a refresher.
When we launched App Inbox, it was with one objective in mind: to create a more lasting messaging channel than temporary push notifications.
Since regular push notifications disappear once users interact with them, we figured mobile marketers would appreciate a way for users to access (and re-access) messages again, anytime.
An added advantage of App Inbox is it allows you to reach even those who may have opted out of push. This gives users a way to see your notifications at their own convenience, without disrupting what they were originally doing.
Meanwhile, we also built Product Recommendations to give marketers the ability to drive conversions by showing off their catalog in a personalized manner and eventually increase the CLTV of every user.
So why is this such an effective pairing? Let’s talk benefits to both users and to mobile marketers.
The appeal of the endlessly scrolling news feed is that users get a surprising number of dopamine hits as they come across the entry that appeals to them. Nir Eyal calls this the variable reward, where a randomized reward system activates a user’s sense of anticipation and calms it down when the user gets what they want. But the end result is it keeps users scrolling in anticipation of that dopamine rush.
So imagine a feed generated by your app, which focuses on providing contextual recommendations that match the user’s psychographics with actual products or services that they could be interested in. Imagine a news feed that gives them discounts on items that they have a high probability of buying. You’ll have users wanting to bookmark your notifications instead of wanting to swipe them away.
And then there’s all the extra revenue that recommendations can bring in.
If you give users hyper-personalized content recommendations, you have the ability to showcase more from your catalog and increase your AOV with cross-sells and upsells. The more you’re able to recommend to those who’ve already expressed an interest, the more products you’re able to sell.
And that’s the power of this combination.
How you use App Inbox and Product Recommendations will depend entirely on your industry and your app category. But allow us to present some sample use cases for three common app verticals.
Your ecommerce app likely already has a large quantity of products. When you customize recommendations based on customer segments, you can upsell them or cross-sell related items in your inventory.
Use Product Recommendations to generate a list of products frequently purchased together that includes high-value items for your loyal champion users. Or simply base the recommendations on items searched together + high-value items.
Then use App Inbox to send these notifications so they receive a feed of stuff they’re already interested in. Bonus points: users can return to App Inbox to find that one item you promoted last week.
Move aside, push notifications.
| Recommendation Rule | Products frequently purchased together + include high value item |
Your streaming video app may already have a large catalog of TV series that some users have never heard of or tried. It’s up to you (and our remarkable recommendation engine) to market bingeable content that other people in the same segment have enjoyed – possibly even content that is outside of their regularly consumed genres. The name of the game, after all, is to get them to spend more time inside your app.
Use Product Recommendations to serve up content that other users in the same segment have viewed together. Then use App Inbox to send them messages that entice them to spend time with the new shows.
Lights, camera, recommendation powers activate!
| Recommendation Rule | Content viewed together |
Your travel app may be selling tickets or booking travel to far off places for users. But what about related items that could be just as useful to your traveling customers?
Use Product Recommendations to serve up products or services frequently purchased together. You can then cross-sell these in the places where your user is going. Think: car rentals, spa/massage services, travel insurance, city tour rides, and more. Then use App Inbox so they can interact with these notifications and refer to them even after reading.
| Recommendation Rule | Products frequently purchased together + include high value item |
If you want more detailed info on the above rules, read our user docs: creating a recommendation.
These are just three general ways you can use the combination of App Inbox and Product Recommendations to promote your app and your brand. There are many more ways available to you.
And when you use CleverTap, there are more tools than ever to see real-time customer insights and send omnichannel engagement campaigns to your users. Contact us for a demo today.
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