HOW BIG IS DATA? RISE OF THE DIGITAL CONTEXT COGNITIVE TECHNOLOGY FROM BIG DATA TO BETTER DECISIONS BIG DATA IN B-SCHOOL EDUCATION

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1 JUNE 2016 VOLUME 55 ISSUE 6 PAGES 92 r60 FROM BIG DATA TO BETTER DECISIONS RISE OF THE DIGITAL CONTEXT HOW BIG IS DATA? BIG DATA IN B-SCHOOL EDUCATION COGNITIVE TECHNOLOGY

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3 It is no longer just push or pull. It is about relevance. ANAND JAIN, CLEVERTAP MOBILE MARKETING Scale the apps The smartphone industry is registering exponential growth. By 2017, approximately a third of all Indian mobile users and half of all smartphone users, globally, will own a smart device. According to an emarketer study, 6.2% of India s population owned a smartphone in 2013, with Google s Android the most widely used operating system, and this figure is expected to rise to almost 22% by Gartner s 2010 study revealed that approximately 2.52 billion apps were downloaded worldwide in 2009; their 2013 study predicts this number to rise to billion by App analytics and market data experts App Annie calculated that the global mobile app revenue in 2015 amounted to $41.1bn, and it is projected that consumers will spend more than $101bn on apps in At any café, restaurant, college, or workplace, you will see people staring at their smart devices all the time. The amount of time we engage with them for convenience, entertainment, or work is increasing by the day. The astonishing fact is that most of the mobile activity typically happens within a user s frequently used apps a Forrester Research study suggests that out of every 10 minutes spent on a smartphone app, nearly 8 are spent on the top five used apps. The Indian market is a tough battleground there are businesses of all kinds trying to make a mark. The easy availability of smartphones, teamed with cost-effective mobile internet plans, is allowing businesses to cash in on mobile audiences across all segments. To give their business an edge over competitors, companies are now increasingly taking the app approach. For example, ecommerce businesses are trying to lure users by offering discounts, adding credits, or giving away free gifts or services against app installs and first purchases made on apps. With an internet-enabled smart device, you have the world at your fingertips. There is an app for almost everything; just think about I NDIAN MANAGEMENT JUNE

4 Result-oriented, targeted anything and there is a high marketing can be possibility that an app for it exists in the app store. All possible with the help businesses no matter how big of data derived from or small, whether dealing with analytical metrics. education, transportation, Data-driven analysis will healthcare, home services, professional services, payments, help focus marketing travel, banking, food, gaming, efforts where they are entertainment, or tutorials, needed the most. have an app presence. With smartphone users spoilt for choice and multiple apps trying their best to outdo their competitors, the consumer is certainly in a commanding position. Businesses are facing new challenges trying to drive downloads and keep users engaged. Businesses are leaving no stone unturned to market their apps to their target audience, and are employing every marketing tool to keep users engaged. Conventional, oldschool marketing tools like s, or random generalised push notifications and messages can only go so far. What businesses really need is a mobile marketing strategy that is relevant and effective in encouraging the users. Sending Shutterstock.com aimless reminders and updates not relevant to individual customers will not help. A 2013 Compuware study estimated that 80-90% of apps that are downloaded are used once, and then deleted. If you do not want your app to land in that pile of unused or uninstalled apps, it is essential to build in targeted, personalised messages and user experiences to drive repeat use. Push notifications, in-app messaging, and all drive engagement back to the app. Besides these, deep linking, re-marketing on social media networks, and re-engaging users that have uninstalled an app are additional strategies to help make your app successful. The user s interaction with an ecommerce app can be broken down into four stages: Installing Finding and viewing products Adding to cart/wish list, or sharing Purchasing the product Marketing then should be targeted according to the user s position in this cycle. Advertising app to drive downloads Push notifications about relevant/searched products Notifications about availability of products/ services searched Discounts/freebies/offers available on products in cart/wish list Result-oriented, targeted marketing can be possible with the help of data derived from analytical metrics. Data-driven analysis will help focus marketing efforts where they are needed the most. It helps reveal user behaviour patterns when using the app, keep a track of new users, including their first transactions, repeat transactions, and uninstalls. Tracking user behaviour also provides insights on how to improve the app overall. Apps need to engage and retain users with a proven platform that scales with your business. For example, CleverTap allows you 76 INDIAN MANAGEMENT JUNE 2016

5 MOBILE MARKETING In addition to the number to understand consumer of downloads, the number behaviour down to the individual, in real time, and of daily and monthly reaches each user in the active users determines moment as they interact the app s success. with your app to deliver personalised messaging with push, in-app, web, , or retargeting campaigns. Accurate and actionable analytics keeps a track of where users drop off, and new and repeat users; observes app usage trends over time; optimises your campaign spends across channels; and measures how many new users come back to your app. Focusing on growth metrics can conceal engagement metrics. Old and inactive app user numbers can be overshadowed by impressive engagement metrics of new and active users. Cohort analysis can segregate and sort growth metrics from engagement metrics, thus providing authentic and genuine data that aids relevant and targeted marketing. The success of any app is measured not just by the number of downloads. Long-term success is measured by the number of repeat visits and sales that the app generates. In addition to the number of downloads, the number of daily and monthly active users determines an app s success. If your app is useful enough, it will figure on the homepage of the smart device and fetch repeat and frequent visits. Customer engagement with the app is an essential yardstick to measure success. Therefore, an app cannot afford to neglect loyal users while competing to get new ones aboard. Marketing efforts should be directed towards retaining old customers along with acquiring new ones. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anand Jain is Co-Founder, CleverTap. Shutterstock.com INDIAN MANAGEMENT JUNE