Core User Actions: The Missing Link to Better App Retention

Although your mobile app has been downloaded thousands of times, only a fraction of users return after their first visit. Does this sound familiar? 

The obvious truth is that downloads don’t guarantee success. What truly matters is the users' actions within the app. Let’s explore how focusing on Core User actions can transform your app’s engagement and retention rates. 

Understanding Core User Actions

Core User Actions are the essential behaviours that deliver your app’s primary proposition to users. These are the moments that transform occasional users to devoted fans. 

For a social media app, it might involve creating and sharing content. For an e-commerce platform, it might involve completing a purchase. For a fitness app, it might involve logging a workout. 

The non-negotiable, however, for developers is core actions. They aren’t just features - They are the bridge between, user intent and satisfaction. Users who complete these actions are more likely to experience your app’s value and return for more. 

Identifying your app’s core actions

Finding your app’s core action requires more than intuition. Here’s how to identify them systematically:

First, analyse your user data to detect patterns in behaviour. Which actions correlate strongly with long-term retention? For example, social media users who connect with five friends in their first week are twice as likely to become daily users. 

Second, examine the actions that directly tie to your value proposition. If you’re a productivity app, task completion rates may be your north star. For a streaming service, it could be the number of videos watched. 

Finally, prioritise based on frequency and impact. The actions that users perform regularly and that lead to meaningful outcomes deserve the most attention in your optimisation efforts. 

Optimising Core Actions for Maximum Impact

Once you’ve identified your core actions, it's time to optimise them. This goes beyond simple UI tweaks—create a seamless journey that encourages repeated engagement. 

Start by removing friction. Every extra tap, unclear button, or confusing flow encourages users to abandon their carts. For example, streamlining your checkout process could turn abandoned carts into complete purchases. 

Next, incomplete feedback loops. Users should immediately understand the impact of their actions. When someone completes a workout in a fitness app, showing their progress towards their goal reinforces the value of that action. 

Consider thoughtfully adding gamification elements. Progress bars, achievement badges, or streaks can make core actions more engaging, but always ensure they enhance rather than distract from the main value proposition. 

The Critical Role of Onboarding

Your user’s first experience sets the stage for long-term engagement. Smart onboarding doesn’t just show features; it guides users to complete core actions quickly. 

Instead of overwhelming new users with every feature, focus their attention on the actions that matter most. If social connection drives retention in your app, make adding friends or joining a central part of onboarding. 

Consider offering incentives for completing core actions during the first week. These could be bonus features, in-app rewards, or exclusive content—anything that motivates users to experience your app’s core value proposition quickly.

Measuring Success: Beyond Basic Metrics

To optimise core actions effectively, you need to track the right metrics. Look beyond surface-level engagement data to understand the full picture:

• Completion Rate: What percentage of users who start a core action actually finish it?
• Time to Action: How long does it take new users to complete their first core action?
• Retention Impact: How does completing core actions affect your 7-day and 30-day retention rate?
• Frequency: How often do engaged users perform core actions?

These metrics tell you where to focus your optimisation efforts and help quantify the impact of your improvements. 

Taking Actions: Implementing Your Strategy

Understanding core user actions is just the beginning. Implementing an effective optimisation strategy requires the right tools and approach, and a robust engagement platform becomes crucial. 

Modern engagement platforms allow you to:

• Track and analyse core action completion rates across user segments. 
• Create targeted messaging campaigns to encourage specific behaviours 
• Design and test different optimisation strategies 
• Measure the impact of your changes in real-time 

Implementing an effective core-action strategy requires both insight and the right tools. This is where OneSignal’s comprehensive engagement platform becomes your crucial advantage. 

OneSignal’s suite of tools is specifically designed to help you optimise every aspect of your core user actions:

• Intelligent Journey Mapping: Use the visual journey builder to create personalised paths that guide users towards completing core actions. Automated triggers based on user behaviour and preferences will guide users through these paths.
• Advances Analytics Dashboard: This dashboard provides detailed analytics that track completion rates, abandonment points, and user patterns. It enables you to gain deep insights into how users interact with your core features.
• Multi-channel Engagement Tools: Drive users toward core actions through perfectly timed push notifications, in-app messages, and emails, all synchronised across channels for maximum impact.
• A/B Testing Capabilities: Test different approaches to optimise your core options, from message timing to UI elements, ensuring data-driven decisions guide your strategy.
• Seamless Integration: Our SDK integrates smoothly with our existing infrastructure, making it easy to implement sophisticated engagement strategies without complex development work. 
  

Implement OneSignal with Blueoshan

Here’s the truth about implementing core user actions: even the best strategy falls flat without proper execution. This is where having the right implementation partner becomes critical, and BlueOshan delivers precisely what you need.

BllueOshan’s hands-on implementation expertise means you can focus on your product while they handle the technical heavy lifting of setting up and optimising your engagement infrastructure. 

Optimising core user actions isn’t a one-time effort. It’s an ongoing process of measurement, optimisation, and refinement. Start by identifying your app’s most critical actions, then systematically work to make them more engaging and accessible. 

Ready to transform your app's engagement through optimised core actions? Get started with powerful tools that make it easy to track, analyse, and optimise your users' most important behaviours.