How To Market Your Food Delivery App
Shubham is a renowned Sales and Accountant Manager with service experience in Marketing SaaS Sales, AdTech, MarTech, IT Sales/Business Development, Key Account Management and Marketing. He is an allround team player with strong skills in communication, planning, analytics and organization management.
Estimates suggest the global food delivery app market will reach $134.49 billion by 2023. An already hot market has come to a boil as COVID-19 lockdown measures pushed people to food delivery apps in droves. Increased competition for users means it's now critical for app marketers to know how to find their audience. Take a deep dive into the basics of app marketing, explore the best channels to convey your message and learn about paid user acquisition.
The Basics of Food Delivery App Marketing
Define your target audience - The first step in any marketing plan is to define who you will be targeting. Start by performing tests to discover your key demographic and common trends you can benefit from. You will also need to perform competitor research to determine which users are being left out by current options, and may be easier to reach.
Know your USP - Defining your unique selling proposition (USP) will enable you to develop your messaging, select the best marketing channels for your app and communicate your value to users. You may differentiate your app based speed of delivery, the type of foods on offer or pricing. Once you've established your USP, it's important to convey it in every aspect of your branding. For example, incorporating your USP into your app's name and tagline will allow users to instantly recognize why they need your food delivery app.
Must-Have Marketing Channels for Your Food Delivery App
Once you've defined your audience and know the USP you want to convey, it's time to explore the channels at your disposal and the best messaging for each.
Landing page - The most successful food delivery apps offer customers a website that can be used in conjunction with their mobile app. However, you can use your landing page to direct users to your app and ensure users get the best experience. For example, Uber Eats and Just Eat both advertise their mobile apps with large panels on their landing page.
Blog - App verticals such as fitness and fashion have obvious incentives to blog about their community, but this can be more complicated for food delivery apps - so refer back to your target audience and competitor research. Just Eat's blog focuses on charity work, posts related to nutrition and company updates. Meanwhile, Uber Eats also uses the blog to create fun content around partner campaigns such as "Love Island 2019: what we reckon so far." Fans of the popular TV show were able to claim a discount on their first order.
App Store Optimization - Like SEO, which uses keywords to bring users to your website organically, ASO is the practice of increasing installs in the App Store and Google Play Store. This is achieved through a series of best practices, such as:
• Using keywords in your name and app description
• Detailing app features, key benefits and your USP within your description
• Including useful and engaging screenshots and videos
• Localizing content will help you stay relevant across different markets
• Using primary and secondary app categories to make your app searchable by vertical.
Reviews are also important to your app store ranking. Try sending in-app messages that direct satisfied customers to rate and comment, which will then encourage others to organically install your app.
Social media marketing - Food is visually appealing and extremely eye-catching, making for great social content. Research shows 63% of customers expect brands to offer services via social media. You can even take things a step beyond status updates and ads by finding influencers to partner with. From celebrity chefs on Twitter to influential foodies on Instagram, influencers are increasingly popular. In fact, 17% of companies spend more than half their marketing budget on influencers.
Email marketing - HubSpot says "more than 50 percent of US respondents check their personal email account more than 10 times a day and it is by far their preferred way to receive updates from brands." Don't miss out on a chance to communicate with users by sending them rewards with promotional deals - to incentivize them to return to your app - and newsletter updates that help keep fans in the loop and promote your other channels. While your mailing list subscribers have actively shown interest in receiving emails related to your app, you should still A/B test your email marketing content to learn what works best.
Paid User Acquisition
Organic app installs are on the decline, so marketers have to think beyond ASO and social media - Be prepared to pay to find new users. But in order to get this right, it's essential that you analyze data and identify behavioral patterns to increase growth, retention and revenue. For this, you need accurate data that helps you understand where and how to find potential customers. Look for tools that can help you understand the needs of your customers.
Ultimately, whatever channel you use to find your audience, it's important to understand what your users truly need and fill that gap. Remember, it's not always about price: users value a great UX and will pay for the best overall experience. If you can differentiate on that basis, you just may have a winner on your hands.
Estimates suggest the global food delivery app market will reach $134.49 billion by 2023. An already hot market has come to a boil as COVID-19 lockdown measures pushed people to food delivery apps in droves. Increased competition for users means it's now critical for app marketers to know how to find their audience. Take a deep dive into the basics of app marketing, explore the best channels to convey your message and learn about paid user acquisition.
The Basics of Food Delivery App Marketing
Define your target audience - The first step in any marketing plan is to define who you will be targeting. Start by performing tests to discover your key demographic and common trends you can benefit from. You will also need to perform competitor research to determine which users are being left out by current options, and may be easier to reach.
Know your USP - Defining your unique selling proposition (USP) will enable you to develop your messaging, select the best marketing channels for your app and communicate your value to users. You may differentiate your app based speed of delivery, the type of foods on offer or pricing. Once you've established your USP, it's important to convey it in every aspect of your branding. For example, incorporating your USP into your app's name and tagline will allow users to instantly recognize why they need your food delivery app.
Defining your unique selling proposition (USP) will enable you to develop your messaging, select the best marketing channels for your app and communicate your value to users
Must-Have Marketing Channels for Your Food Delivery App
Once you've defined your audience and know the USP you want to convey, it's time to explore the channels at your disposal and the best messaging for each.
Landing page - The most successful food delivery apps offer customers a website that can be used in conjunction with their mobile app. However, you can use your landing page to direct users to your app and ensure users get the best experience. For example, Uber Eats and Just Eat both advertise their mobile apps with large panels on their landing page.
Blog - App verticals such as fitness and fashion have obvious incentives to blog about their community, but this can be more complicated for food delivery apps - so refer back to your target audience and competitor research. Just Eat's blog focuses on charity work, posts related to nutrition and company updates. Meanwhile, Uber Eats also uses the blog to create fun content around partner campaigns such as "Love Island 2019: what we reckon so far." Fans of the popular TV show were able to claim a discount on their first order.
App Store Optimization - Like SEO, which uses keywords to bring users to your website organically, ASO is the practice of increasing installs in the App Store and Google Play Store. This is achieved through a series of best practices, such as:
• Using keywords in your name and app description
• Detailing app features, key benefits and your USP within your description
• Including useful and engaging screenshots and videos
• Localizing content will help you stay relevant across different markets
• Using primary and secondary app categories to make your app searchable by vertical.
Reviews are also important to your app store ranking. Try sending in-app messages that direct satisfied customers to rate and comment, which will then encourage others to organically install your app.
Social media marketing - Food is visually appealing and extremely eye-catching, making for great social content. Research shows 63% of customers expect brands to offer services via social media. You can even take things a step beyond status updates and ads by finding influencers to partner with. From celebrity chefs on Twitter to influential foodies on Instagram, influencers are increasingly popular. In fact, 17% of companies spend more than half their marketing budget on influencers.
Email marketing - HubSpot says "more than 50 percent of US respondents check their personal email account more than 10 times a day and it is by far their preferred way to receive updates from brands." Don't miss out on a chance to communicate with users by sending them rewards with promotional deals - to incentivize them to return to your app - and newsletter updates that help keep fans in the loop and promote your other channels. While your mailing list subscribers have actively shown interest in receiving emails related to your app, you should still A/B test your email marketing content to learn what works best.
Paid User Acquisition
Organic app installs are on the decline, so marketers have to think beyond ASO and social media - Be prepared to pay to find new users. But in order to get this right, it's essential that you analyze data and identify behavioral patterns to increase growth, retention and revenue. For this, you need accurate data that helps you understand where and how to find potential customers. Look for tools that can help you understand the needs of your customers.
Ultimately, whatever channel you use to find your audience, it's important to understand what your users truly need and fill that gap. Remember, it's not always about price: users value a great UX and will pay for the best overall experience. If you can differentiate on that basis, you just may have a winner on your hands.
