You have decided to implement web push notifications on your site – great! Now you need to pick a service provider that suits your needs the best. You will be surprised to learn how many options there are for you. Which might also leave you wondering why one is better than the other. To make things easier for you, here is a checklist of 7 features you should look for in web push notification service providers.
1. Targeting
First of all – targeting. Sending a generic push message to all of your subscribers is the very last thing you want to do. In fact, it is something you should avoid doing in the first place. Keep in mind that each visitor who accepted the invitation to receive notifications from your website did it for different reasons. Moreover, each one of them have different expectations of what this decision of theirs will bring them.
Being able to tailor different offers according to different segments of visitors helps not only to create a personal connection but also gives you a greater chance to convert them into customers. Amongst the variety of targeting options, make sure web push service provider offers:
- Device targeting
- Location targeting
- URL targeting
- API targeting
All of these targeting options will allow you to create and deliver push message that is highly personalized. Satisfied customer, satisfied you.
2. Content localization
The idea of sending push messages to clients in different languages can be appealing for those websites who have clients around the world with a dominant set of languages spoken amongst them.
Sending the same messaged in a couple of different languages at once not only to saves time but also helps to boost open and conversion rates. Who wouldn’t want that?
3. Delivery schedule
Make sure it is possible to schedule push notification delivery ahead of time. It is especially useful to marketers that use different types of tools on daily basis or work with multiple markets at the same time. Being able to schedule campaigns for certain days and times of the week will also allow you to maximize the reach of your prospects and increase conversion rates.
4. Notification recovery
Push service providers that offer solutions that help to recover “lost” subscribers have a great advantage. Why?
It is important to understand that push notification engagement with users is purely dependent on one’s decision whether they accept or decline the invitation to receive push notifications in the first place. Invitation accepted – great, you have a green light to start a communication. Invitation declined – well, maybe next time…
The truth is, not all blocked push notifications are a lost cause. There is still a great potential in visitors who have blocked notifications by the accident, as well as in visitors who blocked notifications some time ago and don’t recall doing so when revisiting the website later. Do not overlook this feature as it can unlock an opportunity to reach those visitors, who you thought you’ve lost.
5. Customer support
If you have never used push notifications before, it is good to have someone professional helping you develop not only a communication strategy but also create high converting messages itself. Not even speaking about technical questions you might have. Therefore, responsive and helpful customer support will assure you are making the most of the tool they are offering.
6. Performance tracking
As with any marketing tool, being able to monitor the performance of you push messages is extremely important as it suggest possible changes to your communication strategy.
Push service providers should give you an easy access to information about your message delivery statistics. You should be able to follow such key performance indicators as number of impressions, clicks, and CTR. If you are scheduling your messages ahead of time, it would make this easier for you if you would be able to see not only message status (sent or scheduled) but also previews of these messages.
7. Price vs. Value
A distinctive difference between paid and free services is that free push notification service providers will expect you to share certain data about your website and customer. That is what such service providers make money on). Let’s be honest, exposing certain information about your business to third parties is not something most of the business owners would like to do. However, the choice is yours.
That wraps up the checklist for what to look in web push notification provider.
Keep in mind that, every business has a different marketing approach. Therefore, might be looking for different kind of features service provider has to offer. Nevertheless, there are features you are going to need to not only communicate with your prospects and customers in a highly effective way but also to achieve desired conversion results.
