App Marketing in Nigeria: Getting People to Download and Use Your mHealth App
The dream of every business is to sell its products/services to customers.
However, satisfaction is rather derived when a customer does not only buy but uses the product or service.
As you’d know, it’s when customers buy and use your products that they can leave feedback, which, in turn, brings exciting reviews to generate referrals.
Unfortunately, most businesses today focus on just getting people into their sales funnels as the primary prerequisite for generating sales.
Regarding selling your health technology products/services, it doesn’t work that way.
I for one, fall under the category of customers that may get into your funnel, but fall off along the way.
In short, it is one thing to ignite my interest in your product or service; but, totally a different thing to get me to use it.
For example, a few months ago, I downloaded the Branch personal finance loans app.
Wanna know why?
It’s because I kept seeing ads on my phone which were getting quite annoying, sometimes they’ll pop up while I was chatting or doing something on my mobile.
I eventually downloaded the app and signed up for an account, I got the welcome email and a few follow-ups, and that was it.
Fast-forward to last week, I uninstalled the app.
Now don’t get me wrong; the app solves the problem of acquiring loans on the go. While they were able to make me sign up with them; they couldn’t stay with me through the ‘using’ process.
Most businesses face this same problem, and it cuts through every industry; healthcare, fashion, education, information technology, and others.
Particularly in the healthcare technology industry, whatever you bring to the table as a product or a service must:
Identify a particular problem
Solve the problem
Add value to your customers, firstly, and
Stay with them to win their loyalty.
Now ask yourself, is my business doing all of these?
If your answer is negative, it is time to restrategize and reprioritize.
The health care sector offers numerous business opportunities, and it is in your best interest to utilize these opportunities.
Thanks to advancement in innovation, healthcare and information technology locked in a warm embrace over ten years ago and have built a consistent relationship, with new inventions and several breakthroughs all aimed at improving healthcare services at a very affordable cost.
According to Deloitte Insights:
Rapid advances in technology are creating new opportunities as well as posing new competitive threats to Medtech companies.
According to Deloitte Insights:
Rapid advances in technology are creating new opportunities as well as posing new competitive threats to Medtech companies.
In a shift from their core competencies, many Medtech companies are incorporating sensors and software into devices and diagnostics to generate, gather, and transmit or share data.
Hence, more companies will likely need to invest in technology, talent, partnership models, and processes to collaborate and compete with non-traditional competitors.
As a business that is selling health technology, what are the significant factors that could influence your customers’ buying decisions?
For this article, I will focus on telemedicine and mHealth.
State of telemedicine and mHealth apps in Nigeria
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with an estimated population of over 180 million people.
However, the state of the health care sector is not one to write home about, and very few/none of Nigerians have assessed quality health care services.
Beyond having incubator and accelerator programs in place, the country is one of the most advanced online and fintech infrastructures in Africa and on the continent. The country is seeing a disruption of different digital health startups in the space of mHealth, AI, telemedicine, and health aviation.
Statistics showed that Nigeria had over 23 million smartphone users by the end of 2018 and this figure is estimated to reach 145 million smartphone users by 2025.
With the advancements in mHeath all over the world and its recorded success in the delivery of fast and effective healthcare services, many countries are adopting this innovation and companies are developing new and better products/services.
In an article titled “Mobile Health Technology is Key to Repositioning Nigeria’s Health System,” Sola Ogundipe identified the problem of the health sector in Nigeria and how Mobile Health technology was a pathway to solving the problem of inadequate health care facilities in the country.
Sola’s article has put us through the first step: identifying the problem.
He went further to proffer a solution, which highlighted that innovative products in this sector would produce some thriving mHealth businesses.
Thus, signifying that there is a market for your product in this health technology industry.
What’s left?
Your consumers.
How do you get them to use your product? In this case, a mobile health application?
There are over 20 major digital health startup companies in Nigeria who have ventured into developing mHealth apps, yet these apps lay barely unused in mobile app stores even though a good number of these apps have remarkable features for patients and doctors alike.
For example, the Kangpe app is a mHealth app that facilitates connection to doctors, consulting, health record keeping and in-visit bookings on a mobile phone.
Sadly, despite launching the Kangpe app since 2017, it has laid unused with only 1k downloads on the Google Play store since its launch.
Another one is the Hudibia mobile app that provides healthcare services such as consulting, connection to doctors, prescription, keeping health records, and booking appointments with a doctor.
Good enough, Hubidia has a language-translate feature for the significant languages within Nigeria. Unfortunately, like the Kangpe app, this one also has just 1k downloads on Google PlayStore, since launch in 2017.
Obviously, with those disheartening stats, there emerges the inevitable question:
If there are 23 million smartphone users in Nigeria, how come these apps have such a sparse number of downloads?
So, how can Kangpe, Hubidia, and other emerging apps similar to them (like yours) make you and I know that their app would add value to us and solve a problem?
You’re right!
Marketing!
Monthly, “wellness” alone receives about 368,000 search queries; “stay healthy” gets up to 110,000 search queries, while. “stay healthy” and “mobile health” gets up to 81,000, which is evidence that people are researching these solutions online.
Nigerian can’t be left out, too. We also seek ways to solve our health challenges, and this directly relates to why we are one of the most prominent international health services seekers.
So, to help you get the most out of your mHealth app business, while also helping end users find and use your solutions, I’ve put down strategies to apply to get people to buy and use your mHealth app.
These are researched, tested, and trusted strategies.
Before we dive in, it’s important to note that there is a difference between ‘promoting’ your apps so that users can buy and ‘influencing’ your users’ decision to make them buy and use your app.
Remember how I kept seeing ads from Branch finance app on my smartphone and eventually downloaded the app?
Several other apps are using the ‘in your face’ marketing strategy. However, that only promotes the app and maybe drives download but do these people use the apps eventually?
You guessed right. No!
So, below are some proven strategies to employ in getting your mHealth app into the hands, hearts, minds, and wallets of your target customers.
7 App Marketing Strategies in Nigeria
1.App Store Optimisation (ASO)
You need to know your ASO.
It is pertinent to optimize your app in any store you’re launching it on so that once people perform searches related to the problems it solves, as well it the solutions it offers, they’d find it quickly.
Also, good app optimization ensures that your application would receive relevant suggestions to people who may likely download and use it by the algorithms on these app stores.
40% of app downloads on Android take place through Google PlayStore, so you may want to prioritize that.
Although the search functions on Apple store doesn’t function properly, Google store is riddled with errors while the Windows 10 store is drowning in disaster.
You somehow need to make the best out of all of these.
The bottom line is that you must optimize.
You need to know your potential customers and be abreast with the keywords they are putting in while searching for apps. Consider exploring services such as Sensor Tower, App Annie, or Mobile Action.
When describing your app, be sure to include such keywords in your title/description that highlights the benefits of your app instead of its features alone.
Also, ensure your keywords are short, precise, and human-sounding.
Humans are the ones downloading and using the apps; you need to make your title legible and attractive.
2. Write a Blog
No.
I don’t mean just any blog.
With so much blog contents circulating the internet, readers already have their plates full.
Thus, it would be best if you wrote a blog that makes people throw all they’ve got in their hands and immediately grab all the value your blog is dishing.
Wondering how to go about that?
Pick a unique feature of your app and write a captivating blog that ends up not just adding value to your readers but influences them to check out your product.
It is also imperative to include links to your landing page in the blog and your bio, which means that even though what you have is a mobile app, creating a single page website is essential.
To spur you on the importance of writing captivating blogs that don’t just discuss app features but it’s benefits to potential customers, in the first year of its existence, Buffer added 100,000 users through staffers writing blog posts and contributing to other blogs and publications.
3. Seek Press Coverage
In Nigeria, press coverage has proven to influence public opinion and decision making to a great extent.
Good for you!
There’s nothing better than a third-party endorsement for your app.
Imagine having reputable publications such as ThisDay, The Vanguard, or The Nation writing about your app.
How is that possible?
Identify a journalist, who has published an article similar to what your product is about and pitch a brief detailing of why your app deserves a story.
For an mHealth app, Therrie Eduoh, Sola Ogundipe; have an interest in mobile health technology and has emphasized on the need to adopt mHealth in Nigeria’s healthcare.
They (as well as others) could key into your app.
PR works well in Nigeria, so this would drive attention to your app, not just visits but downloads.
4. Offer Referral Rewards
If you are familiar with the Nigerian society, you’ll know Nigerians love ‘Awoof.’
They love bonuses and rewards on whatever product/service they buy.
mHealth apps cannot be an exception.
How about you offer a free consulting session on your app after someone downloads the app?
Not only would motivate anyone to download and use your app, but it would also demonstrate the usefulness of your app, as well increases the chances that they would keep coming back for more.
What’s more?
You can give also give free consultation as a reward for referring the app to friends. Something you can do by sharing personalized codes for already registered users.
Take a leaf out of Wriggle’s book. They offer users £3 to refer friends; it’s a small cost to you, but word-of-mouth marketing can be very powerful.
It offers an incentive to your early adopters, too — the ones who often download the app but don’t install it, or install it but don’t use it, or use it for a while and then forget about it.
5. Explore Social Media Channels
Do not neglect Social Media Channels.
Your prospective users are on one platform or the other, and they would gladly follow your page the moment you are offering something that they relate with.
For instance, so many people are talking and reading about health and wellness on every social media platform.
It would be best if you were advertising your mHealth app on every channel too.
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are very suitable places to run targeted ads for a mHealth app, especially if you’re targeting the millennial demographics.
6. Invest in Intelligent Marketing
Marketing that is done intelligently is very important.
Have you considered marketing offline?
The Nigerian health sector is still growing, and people need to be adequately sensitized on the convenience of mHealth apps so just running ads and promoting your app online may not be enough.
This is where traditional marketing comes in through other stakeholders in the health care sectors.
Visit the Hospitals, too.
Of course, before the advancement in technology, which has birthed mHealth, telehealth, and the likes, hospitals were the first thing that comes to mind immediately a health issue arises.
Have you sought collaboration with hospitals?
You need to discuss your app with doctors and possibly include them regarding recommending it to patients.
Patients would value an app that helps them stay in touch with a health care provider via mobile and doctors can access patient records and track patients progress as well as deliver consultation via mobile.
7. Use Word of Mouth
Without any doubt, word of mouth remains the best way to create traction for your app. It won’t only drive traffic, but it creates a viral effect.
People would trust your product when they listen to people give positive reviews about their personal experience with your product.
Word of mouth works very well in the Nigerian business space, and it would work well for getting people to use your mHealth app.
To get people talking to others about your app, I recommend you concentrate on adding the most value and solving the problem it says it solves most efficiently.
Good products sell itself; invest a better part of your strategies in bettering your product and adding only features that improve the lives of your end users.
There you have it!
Be sure to put these strategies to work.
Use them to build credibility and influence your potential customers’ decisions before they even get to your app download page.
The mHealth sector will soon be popularised in these parts of the world; you want to be on the minds of every health care provider and beneficiary when that time comes.
Still uncertain about which mHealth app would sell better?
Check out my article; ‘Seven Most Attractive Health Sectors for mHealth App Companies’.
Struggling to identify your ideal customers or market your app?
Contact us at Therrietory Health Tech Consulting — We use engaging stories to create content that brings you closer to your potential customers.
