The quest to attain brand growth: D2C brands rush to leverage app marketing automation platforms in the post pandemic world

In the era of the New Normal, the number of apps competing for user attention has reached an all together high- the figure stands at over 3 million available in the Google Play store and more than 2 million in the Apple Store (Source- Statista).  Against this scenario, there still are  mobile marketers who are spending time on repetitive, manual tasks. A 2021 joint study by PHD and WARC revealed that marketers worldwide spend 88% of their time on reporting tasks which includes monitoring performance, creating competitive analyses, and discovering audience insights. 

Mobile marketing automation has become an important mode empowering  marketers to perform repetitive tasks, right from planning and coordinating tasks to executing them based on certain parameters, at scale using innovative software.  In the post pandemic era, automation has become a necessity for marketers as they look for new ways to optimize their workflow and focus on their overall strategy. Never was it this critical for marketers to rely on automation software to perform tasks which would otherwise take manual hours to complete. Automation not only helps marketers save time but also allows them to perform such actions at a scale and speed which are often regarded to be humanly impossible. Additionally, the use of automation has become essential to stay ahead of the curve and remain competitive in any fierce market. Does it have any impact on the users? Certainly yes.  App marketing automation can significantly improve the user experience and make it easier to complete A/B tests for an app’s user interface. Automation is also being used in areas such as targeted messaging, personalized messages, and alerts to provide the best user experience possible.

The D2C market in India is expected to surpass $100 Bn by 2025. With multiple competitors flooding the market, it has become difficult to retain customers, engage with them and build long-term customer loyalty. No wonder, in the quest to attain brand growth, D2C brands are rushing to leverage app marketing automation platforms in the post pandemic world. While there are several ways app marketing automation is helpful, there are six important ways marketers can use this type of tool to complete daily operations and complete tasks at scale.

Migration

Right from the very beginning of one’s journey with a marketing platform, automation can be used to migrate data- tasks including saving offers, saving advertisers, and pushing data onto a new platform. The complicated migration process often prevents many marketers from switching to a platform that is better for them – even if that results in financial loss.  Seamless migration to a new platform is a prime reason that makes automation a critical tool. As a result, this obliterates the manual effort required to migrate and prevents a potential financial loss. Affiliate networks don’t always have their own in-house tech team or someone who can automate the migration process in their company. Partnering with leading performance marketing management platforms allows seamless migration of data from one platform to another, including all offers and advertisers, tracking links, macros, and postback links.

Segmentation

By segmenting audiences (based on certain information) marketers can test how different users respond in A/B tests. They can also use it to send messages that are personalized and hyper-relevant to their users’ interests and needs. Automating the creation of cohorts – a group defined by certain characteristics – enables marketers to dive deeper into audience analysis and identify the way these cohorts should be targeted.

A/B testing

With the ability to segment users, marketers can A/B test a wide range of aspects related to their user experience and KPIs. A/B testing is the process of creating audience groups that have the same characteristics and exposing them to two versions of an app or marketing material: The difference in behavior can then be analyzed and attributed to the changes made by marketers. This helps them identify the changes that will improve their KPIs, such as an increase in conversation rates and revenue.

Personalization

As per the findings of a global study by Dynamic Yield in 2020, 71% of consumers believed that personalized experiences would influence their decision to interact with emails; while 75% of them felt as though email content was not appropriately personalized for them. This points to a significant opportunity for marketers to benefit from automation. By leveraging app marketing platforms’ automation technologies, marketers can effortlessly customize engagements for each of their users/audience. This facilitates more substantial adjustments like choosing marketing creatives that are appropriate for a user's location and demographics, as well as minor modifications like using a user's first name for in-app messages. They can also identify when users are most likely to churn and send a personalized message to increase engagements and reduce churn.

Fraud prevention

Fraud is a legitimate issue that continues to impact the larger app marketing arena. Fraud prevention can also be automated to successfully combat efforts of fraudsters finding new ways to infiltrate marketers’ ad spends. Marketers should look to partner with leading performance marketing management platforms, some of whom also offer innovative features like an integrated click and postback shield that gives marketers full control over their traffic, including options to filter events in real-time. Tools such as this prevent fraudsters from ruining client data, ensure brand safety and lead to higher conversion rates.

Automated offers management

App automation platforms allow marketers to automatically approve offers based on the criteria provided. They can also switch off traffic sources that are not performing well. This can be automated based on an advertiser’s KPIs and used to efficiently scale campaigns.

Undoubtedly, mobile applications will continue to play a vital role in the growth of D2C brands in India.  The earlier marketers leverage app marketing automation, the more competitive advantage they will gain. 

The article has been written by Yogeeta Chainani, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Swaarm