Optimize your customer journey in real-time through Adobe Journey Optimizer’s In-App Messaging Channel

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By : Prachi Jain & Luc Forgeron

Introduction 

Adobe Journey Optimizer (AJO) is a one-stop solution for managing all marketing campaigns, messages, offers and personalization automation. Through this blog, we are delving into the concepts of how and when to trigger in-app messages in your mobile application through Journey Optimizer. We are also going to explore using the in-app messaging channel to effectively engage with your audiences and direct them to key features of your application. 

One of the most frequently asked questions is about the differences between in-app messages and push notifications. 

• In-app messages are inbound notifications that appear within the app while a user is actively engaged with it, and the decision to show the message is made based on app usage.  
• Push messages are outbound notifications, meaning the decision to deliver the message to a client is based on a decision made at the server. The end user may or may not be in the app, such as on the lock screen. 

Use Cases: 

Some examples of in-app messages are notifications that can be used for marketing or transactional purposes, such as promoting new features, presenting special offers, abandon cart or searches, upcoming event notifications or facilitating user onboarding in real-time. 

• Promoting New Features: tool tips/feature details, where a financial services company sends an in-app message when a customer navigates to the credit score page showing how their FICO score can be checked for free in the app. 
• Special Offers: upsell/cross-sell by targeting eligible, non-card holders to engage them with a credit card offer with their banking partners. 
• Abandon Cart/Search: If a user navigates away from their shopping cart, an in-app message can be delivered to send a reminder or promotional upsell/cross-sell products. 
• Event Notification: delivering in-app messages promoting sporting or concert events in advance, along with how it can be viewed on different platforms. 
• Onboarding in real-time: Increase time-to-value for new app user registration by sending an in-app message to complete adding payment details to their account, along with next hit suppression of the message using Edge Segmentation once payment has been completed. 

Adobe Data Collection is the interface that enables the app developer or the client administrator to collect customer profile & experience data from native apps via the AEP Mobile SDK and send that data to the Adobe Experience Platform Edge Network where it can be enriched, transformed, and distributed to Adobe or non-Adobe destinations in seconds. Note that the tasks of uploading & managing app private keys and bundle identifiers have moved from this UI (previously called “App Surfaces”) to the AJO “Channels” panel. 

Technical considerations 

• Requires an install and configuration of the Adobe Journey Optimizer, AEP Assurance and Adobe Experience Platform Edge Network SDKs.  
• Experience event data at the Edge Network is required to trigger in-app messages. 
• When using Edge Bridge with in-app messages, the trigger point used to display the message comes from the client-side context data. Example: data.__adobe.analytics.contextData.[contextdataobject] 
• In the Adobe Experience Platform Datastream section, enable the Adobe Journey Optimizer checkbox for In-App messages to receive a response from Adobe journey Optimizer. 
• Inside Channels, enter the Channel configuration details by choosing in-app messaging as the channel. In-App only uses/needs the Bundle Identifier (for iOS) or Default Package Name (for Android). 
• Since the messaging extension supports both in-app and push messaging, the following settings are required to receive push notifications (Documentation Link). 
  1. Register the mobile app with Push Notification Providers (APNs and Firebase). 
  2. Send Push Registration tokens to AEP
  3. Inside Channels, create Push Credentials for Apple iOS, Android. These credentials will be used along with a push registration token, in addition a KeyID, TeamID and .p8 file to send the push notification to the app. 
  4. Schema field group- Push Notification details- These are used to ingest details like push token, mobile app identifier & app platform, which are required by Experience Platform to send out a push message.  
  5. AJO Push Profile Schema & AJO Push Profile Dataset- These are used to ingest user interaction details such as push notification clicked,useful for reporting & segmentation. 

In-app Message Channel via Campaign or Journey  

In Adobe Journey Optimizer, you can use campaigns or journeys to deliver messages through channels like "in-app" messages. A "journey" consists of a series of coordinated messages sent to users based on their actions and interactions within the app, providing a personalized and sequential experience. In contrast, a "campaign" is a one-time, targeted message sent to a specific user segment at a designated time. 

Adobe Campaign/Journey Reporting 

Some of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for your in-app messages can be evaluated via the AJO Reporting dashboard. The dashboard can be shared with Customer Journey Analytics (By clicking on Analyze in CJA button), in which essential metrics associated with your journey can be viewed with other downstream success metrics. Some of the KPI details, such as “Instances of failed individual journeys,” “Display” and “Click” trends, offer comprehensive insight into your journey’s effectiveness and level of engagement. 

Conclusion 

By leveraging the power of Adobe Journey Optimizer and implementing the strategies discussed in this blog, you can orchestrate seamless, personalized customer journeys that deliver hyper-personalized experiences that resonate with your customers and drive business growth and higher revenue. Start your journey optimization “journey” today by configuring in-app messages and watch your digital marketing efforts blossom.