Push Notifications in Your App: How to Bring Customers Back
A customer installs the app, places an order or two, and forgets about it. Almost every business app runs into this. Push notifications are the most direct way to bring such users back. But when used clumsily, they annoy people and become a reason to delete the app. This article collects practical rules: the types of push notifications, how to ask for permission properly, how to write texts, choose timing and measure results.
What push notifications are and how they work
A push notification is a short message that appears on the phone screen even when the app is closed. By tapping it, the user lands directly on the right screen of the app.
Technically, the message leaves your server through the platform services: Apple Push Notification service for iPhone and Firebase Cloud Messaging for Android. For the business, though, the main thing is the admin panel, where you can write the text, choose the audience, schedule the send time and view the results.
To send push, you need the user's permission. On iPhone the app requests it separately, and newer Android versions work in a similar way. If the user has not given permission or later turned notifications off, the message will not reach them.
Push, SMS or Telegram: what and when
| Aspect | Push notification | SMS | Telegram bot message |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who it reaches | Those who installed the app and gave permission | Everyone whose number is known | Those who started the bot |
| Costs | Mainly the server and development | Payment for every message | Mainly the server and development |
| Capabilities | Image, buttons, jump to an app screen | Mostly text | Text, images, buttons |
| Personalization | High | Medium | High |
| Best for | Actions inside the app | Confirmation codes, customers without the app | Communicating with the Telegram audience |
The channels often complement each other: push for a customer with the app, a message through a Telegram bot for a customer without the app, and SMS for important confirmations.
Types of push notifications
Transactional
Order accepted, payment went through, courier on the way, order delivered. Users expect these messages themselves, so they are read most willingly, and they build trust.
Reminders
An appointment at a clinic, a class at a learning center, an item in the cart, bonuses about to expire. A reminder brings real benefit and helps finish a forgotten action.
Marketing
Promotions, new arrivals, seasonal offers. This is the most delicate type: too much advertising gets tiresome fast.
Personal recommendations
Offers based on past purchases or views: "The item you looked at is back in stock", "Repeat your usual order?" For such messages, customer data must be kept in order, and a link with a CRM system helps a lot here.
How to ask for permission properly
Many apps ask right at first launch: "Allow notifications?" The user has not yet understood why they need the app and most often refuses. It is better to do this:
- Ask for permission at a meaningful moment, for example after the first order.
- First explain the benefit on your own screen: "We will tell you the order status and when the courier sets off".
- Show the system dialog only if the user agreed.
- In the settings, let users turn each type of notification on and off separately.
How to write good text
- Short. Put the main idea in the first words: only the beginning is visible on the screen.
- Concrete benefit. Not "We have news!" but "The size you need is back in stock".
- Personal. Name, city, past purchase, wherever appropriate.
- One action. The message should clearly say what to do and open exactly the right screen.
- In the user's language. If Uzbek or Russian is selected in the app, the notification should be in that language too.
- Without overdoing it. Caps lock and exclamation marks make a message look like spam.
When and how often to send
Go by the user's local time and avoid night hours. Transactional messages are sent immediately, marketing ones preferably at a time when the customer usually uses the app. There is no universal norm for frequency: test on your own audience and cut back mailings as soon as the number of people turning notifications off grows.
Segmentation and measuring results
Sending the same thing to everyone is the most common mistake. Divide your audience:
- new users;
- active customers;
- those who have not logged in for a long time;
- by city or branch;
- by selected language.
Track results with three indicators: how many devices received the message, how many people opened it and how many performed the target action. Testing two text variants on small groups will show which approach works better.
The most effective notifications are often sent not manually but automatically: the user abandoned the cart, bonuses are about to expire, or the customer has not ordered anything for a long time. The system notices such events itself and sends a message from a ready template. Scenarios set up once save the marketer's time and fire exactly when the message is most appropriate.
Examples for local business
- Learning center: class start, teacher replacement, payment deadline approaching.
- Store: an abandoned cart, a price drop on a favorite item.
- Cafe: accumulated bonuses, a new menu.
- Clinic: appointment reminder, test results ready.
- Car service: time for scheduled maintenance.
Typical mistakes
- Identical advertising every day.
- Sending at night.
- Opening the home screen instead of the right section.
- No way to choose notification types.
- Mailings without measuring results.
UFLEX develops a push notification system together with an admin panel, segmentation and reports. More details are on the mobile app development page.
FAQ
Do I have to pay for every push notification?
Usually there is no separate charge for each message, as there is with SMS; the main costs are the server and developing the system. The exact calculation depends on the app and the volume of mailings.
What if the user turned notifications off?
Push will not reach them. So it is useful to have a messages section inside the app and alternative channels, such as a Telegram bot.
Can a business without an app send push?
Without an app, you can write to customers through a Telegram bot or SMS. Push is a tool primarily for those who have installed the app.
Want a notification system that brings customers back instead of annoying them? Leave a request or message us on Telegram, and the UFLEX team will propose a solution for your task.