Arsene Lavaux, the growth marketer at way.com, wrote a methodical piece on Growth Marketing and lists actionable ways to grow mobile apps.

Arsene’s original article is linked here.

He starts by pointing out users’ high expectations on mobile and how first experiences matter for growing audiences.

Tip #1 : Product-Market fit first and foremost
Activate users as soon as possible so they understand the core benefit of your app quickly.  

The first time experience that delivers an aha moment is a pivotal moment.
Activated users are more likely to return and use your app.

Tip #2 : Get to aha without wasting the resources you don’t have
Even prototypes and apps with hardcoded data help in measuring experiences.  

Rely on tools that help you achieve just that.

Tip #3 : Be agile when you explore Product-Market fit
Use tools to leverage precise persona targeting demographic and behavioral dimensions to understand who your “must-have” target users are and what their profiles are.

Tip #4 : Extract the why from must-have post experiences
Get and learn from attitudinal data.

Ask your “must-have” users why they use your app and what they would miss, if they no longer used it.

Tip #5 : Seed your Product-Market fit for organic Mobile Growth
Create referrals that simultateously grow existing users and allow reaching new users.

Tip #6 : Jump-start organic Mobile Growth with inorganic fertilizer
Measure success, personalize and leverage all channels to feed into the organic growth of your mobile app.

Tip #7 : Use Mobile Engagement analytics early to spread the love
Rely on mobile engagement and mobile marketing automation solutions early on and continue using them to scale and perfect product-market fit.

Tip #8: Mobile Marketing Automation as a rolling snowball
Strategize as to when, how, how often and to whom you want to reach out within the flow of your mobile experience to spur further mobile app engagement, new aha moments and thereby increase your referral factor.

Create rolling snowballs.  Focus on traction.  Grow faster.

Tip #9: Use snowballs to make snowmen!
As you automate some of your growth, you not only gain actionable insight for future growth but you also understand what the next generation of your product experience for a given persona should be.

Tip #10: Iterate your onboarding if you need oil in your gear
Iterate your user on-boarding.
Do it fast.
Personalize on-boarding experiences.

Tip #11: Start App Store Optimization before you hit the stores
App Store Optimization should not be an after thought.
Start the process early.

Tip #12: Boost Channel-Market fit with Mobile Attribution
Explore fast.
Identify channel-market fit.
Find your sweet spot.

Tip #13: Connect attribution and engagement
Keep that in mind.
Connect mobile growth attribution and engagement. 

Tip #14:  Think in-person over digital
Think human.  Meet in-person.
Grow mobile stronger.

Tip #15:  Build an A-Team
Mobile growth is a team game.
You cannot do it alone.

Tip #16:  Look beyond apps
What is true in mobile growth today is most likely no longer true tomorrow.  You should look and think outside the mobile app box.
Chatbots, iMessage Apps, mobile Web, watch apps are examples.

Tip #17:  Remember Antoine
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

You can reach Arsene Lavaux on LinkedIn and read his article here.