4 Mobile App Metrics your Startup Needs to Know

Developing a high-quality iPhone app is just the beginning of the battle; once your iPhone app hits the Apple App Store, fine-tuning the product management side of your startup becomes the name of the game.

For design-minded iPhone app developers, this is easily the hardest part of the growth process. How do you know if your product is on the right track?

Here are the four most important metrics to have a handle on once your app is released.

1. Customer acquisition cost

Customer acquisition cost isn’t just the pay-per-download rate for your advertisers of choice. The figure you track for customer acquisition costs should be the entire cost of a marketing campaign divided by the number of paying users that result.

2. Conversion rate

As of 2015, well over 90 percent of iPhone app developer profits in the Apple App Store came from freemium model apps. Assuming your app is also pursuing this tried-and-true pricing strategy, tracking the rate at which free-tier customers upgrade to paid memberships is vitally important. If possible, your product managers should be running analysis on what drives conversions, and how to make the process easier for your users.

3. Support ticket frequency

One of the first signs of trouble with freshly-launched iPhone apps is a high volume of support requests. Don’t stop at breaking down what percentage of customers eventually require support — also track how the reasons they need support change. Is it a usability problem that could be fixed with a UX/UI design upgrade, or an actual bug that needs to be crushed by your iPhone app developers in the next update? Find your most common issue and prioritize it above all else.

4. Churn

Churn is hands-down the biggest problem facing Los Angeles iPhone app developers in today’s mobile app marketplace. As of 2015, 58 percent of iPhone app users became inactive within the first month of downloading an app. That’s more than half of your userbase right off the top!

While high churn rates are unfortunately the norm for iPhone app developers, highly variable churn rates are a red flag for more serious problems. Monitor your churn rate closely for changes, as that could indicate bugs with a new iOS, competition in your niche, or a host of other issues.