What to Look for When Choosing a Mobile Notification Service

Your mobile app needs to get engagement to increase retention and grow your business, and push notifications are, by far, the best way to quickly connect with users. With reaction rates ranging from 3% to nearly 5%, mobile notifications encourage users to take more action.

But depending on your customers’ needs, you might need out-of-the-box features for your mobile notifications—but which mobile notification service is the best for your app?

With so many options to choose from, it’s worth knowing which features are worth the money. Reviewing the following 10 features can help you choose the perfect mobile notification service for your app.

1. Ease of Installation

How easy is the solution to install? Is it huge and bulky? If so, it could bloat your app’s code, leading it to perform more slowly.

Your development team will have a hard time managing an unwieldy app—and users won’t enjoy it, either—so make sure the mobile notification service is lean and streamlined.

2. Support

Of course, you hope your notification service will operate correctly 100% of the time, but problems do happen. Does the mobile notification service offer support options? Ideally, look for a solution with 24/7 support. This way, you can get expert help if there are any last-minute issues.

3. Reviews

What are other companies saying about this mobile notification service? Never commit to a provider without checking reviews, case studies, or testimonials first. Ask for examples of their work to make sure the service is a fit for your app. This isn’t an insignificant investment, so make sure you partner with a reliable notification vendor.

4. Pricing

With a mobile notification service, you often get what you pay for. If you opt for the cheapest vendor, you won’t always get the best product. Instead, look into the return on your investment: what are you getting for the money?

Compare several mobile notification services against each other, noting their different features and pricing structures. Also, sign up for several free trials to get a feel for the platforms. This allows you to see the mobile notification services in action, ensuring it’s a good fit.

5. Media

Users tend to interact more with rich push notifications that contain:

• Images
• Videos
• GIFs
• Emojis

Does your mobile notification service allow interactive media? You don’t have to make every message interactive, but it’s good to know you have the option.

6. Robust Analytics

Can you see how your push notifications are performing? Any decent mobile notification service will provide robust analytics to tell you how each campaign is doing. Ask to see an example of the analytics so you can make sure they’re detailed enough. Ensure the analytics provide the details you need, as this can identify patterns that will help you create better messaging over time.

7. Personalization Features

Did you know that personalization increases push notification reaction rates by 4x? Customers expect personalized push notifications, so make sure your mobile notification service is powerful enough to personalize at scale.

This means offering personalization in the form of:

• CRM integrations for a well-rounded understanding of the user journey
• Automated communication rules for each user, based on their behavior or shopping habits
• Language options, if your app serves international users
• Sending messages in the user’s local time
• Being able to segment your audience for more customized messaging

8. Testing

Are you curious about which push notifications are more appealing to your users? See if your mobile notification service offers split testing.

Mobile notification split tests work just like split testing for emails: test several variations of your notifications and see which version works best for your main campaign. Some mobile notification services will automatically choose a winner for you to save time, too.

9. Scheduling Features

You likely don’t want to send all of your push notifications in real-time. Ask your mobile notification service about its different scheduling options. Make sure it offers robust scheduling features, like drip campaigns and frequency caps, to personalize the user experience.

10. Interactivity

Users don’t always want to open your app to take action on a push notification. That’s why interactive push notifications are so valuable; they allow users to take immediate action without even opening the app, saving time.

See if your mobile notification service allows single-tap interactions with your users. This is a great way to reduce app deletions and speed up your reaction times, too.

Get an All-In-One Notification Inbox

Every app is different, so it’s important to choose a mobile notification service that works with your ideal user experience. Make the most of your investment by adding features that deepen your relationships with your users. When in doubt, look for these 10 factors to help you choose the best mobile notification service.

In particular, analytics, personalization, testing, and scheduling can all contribute to a better end-user experience. The better their experience, the most positively your customers will view your company, which can then lead to more orders, more positive reviews, and more referrals.

And that, of course, is good for business.

Need something more robust? Try MagicBell’s all-in-one notification inbox for your app. You could be ready to go in as little as an hour, immediately giving your business the boost it needs today.  Start your free MagicBell trial now.