Almost 80 to 90% of the applications downloaded onto a mobile device are opened just once, before being completely uninstalled. Over the years, the way that users interact with their devices and technologies has drastically changed. The web no longer uses static images; page views and traffic are no longer the sole metric to determine user engagement. Rather, retention has transcended to becoming a highly objective metric to measure how users find your product or service. Further analysis of user behavior can shed insights in segments that need improvements, thereby improving the rate of user retention.

What is Retention?

User retention forms one of the three core challenges faced by an iPhone or web application development company. The other two challenges include acquisition and monetization. Retaining users is somewhat tougher than acquiring them, as it requires the implementation of effective engagement models to keep the user interest intact over prolonged durations of time.

Market research suggests that even a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to increasing profits by 25% to 125%. There is a 60 - 70% probability of selling to existing customers while that of a new prospect is just 5 - 20%.

How do you calculate customer retention for absolute consumer engagement?

Customer retention can be calculated both as a relative and absolute entity that determines the effectiveness of the capabilities of an application to hold the user's attention. An iPhone app development company calculates user retention as the number of users at the end of a timeframe, users at the time of launch and users acquired over the time lapsed in between.

Mathematically,

CRR = ((CE – CN) / CB) X 100

CRR = Customer Retention Rate

CE = Customers at the end of the timeframe

CN = Customers acquired during the launch till the end of timeframe

CB = Customers at the start/ launch of the app

Why should it matter?

1. User retention should matter because it is expensive to lose even a single consumer. According to a report from KISSmetrics, businesses incur up to 7x more in acquiring a new customer than in retaining a current user.
2. User retention should matter because consumer/ users associated with a product or service for a long time are likely to evangelize for the particular products or services. They can turn out to be your advocates if the particular product is an inherent part of their weekly routine by taking it to the workplace or talking to their friends.
3. User retention should also matter because it has the possibility of enhancing the Lifetime Value (LTV) of the customer, which in turn opens up a plethora of possibilities for applying other acquisition methods.
4. User retention should matter because research has found that 61% of the consumers take their business to a competitor if the existing partnership ends.
5. User retention should matter the market cap for a lost customer costs a business $243 on an average.

A web application development company empowers clients in formulating and implementing effective strategies for businesses in acquiring as well as retaining users for their mobile or web applications.