Successfully launching a new app
Favorey are the makers of an innovative app that helps people to find other people they can trust to do things. They asked us to help them launch the app to the public, growing app downloads and app usage.
Like many scaleups, Favorey’s focus had been on product development – building and testing the app. But as soon as they needed to build an audience, they needed a marketing team to position the brand and build an audience for the app.
We worked extensively with the Favorey team in both London and Spain, during the build, pre-launch and post launch to clearly define product messaging, positioning, refine usability of the app, position Favorey in the news, and generate interest to drive new app downloads and promote app usage, with great results.
Defining clear messaging
Having the right messaging to attract potential users was crucial. It’s hard to persuade people to download and use a new app, with no track record, so it was vitally important to communicate clearly what problems the app would solve, what it allowed people to do, and how easy it was to use. Favorey needed to stand out against potential rivals, and be clear about what the app does.
We locked in the messaging for the app, defined the headline brand, and extended this through the website and overall brand identity.
Favorey became:
‘Things you need, from people you can trust, on terms you negotiate’.
Essentially, if people need help, like a place to stay, a meal, second-hand items, or a cake for a special occasion, then Favorey is the place to find it.
We broke it down into three simple steps: Ask a favour, receive offers, agree terms.
Building an audience
The Favorey team decided to go for a soft launch, growing the user base gradually, so we put out a press release prior to the launch, then worked on multiple channels to build engagement: selling the benefits to potential users.
A major part of this was content, seeded and promoted via social media advertising to build app downloads. Blog posts pushed the benefits of the app, educated potential users, and drove downloads and engagement. These were boosted via social media, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit, and Fiverr.
We picked up on great stories of actual favours that were being done via the Favorey app, and used these to promote it further to app users.
A range of live events and stunts at student fairs, associations and institutes were also used to gain traction with the student population.
With these campaigns and a great user experience, app downloads increased 600% in the first weeks and user app posts requesting favours grew 420% week on week during the campaign.
Encouraging loyal app usage
Smooth onboarding and user experience is essential when encouraging people to download an app and grow a network of loyal users.
Before the launch to build an audience, the GrowthMinds team worked with Favorey’s developers to identify the points along the onboarding journey that would maximise conversion, tweaking and unifying language for a consistent easy-to-use experience. Together, we refined user journeys, eliminated pain points and optimised the user experience to promote great usability.
For people that were registered users, we wanted to stimulate them to keep coming back, so notifications were sent to them to promote continued engagement.
We’re proud to say that the Favorey app has an 83% retention rate (industry standard is 75%).
Ongoing experimentation and adaptation
Throughout the partnership, data insights were crucial. Through sophisticated monitoring we could see different user behaviours within the app, and where the pain points were, then work to adjust and refine these as necessary. For example, if people were falling out at the registration point then we would know about it, and work to adjust the language or the process to simplify it.