Your company just shipped a mobile app. Engineering spent nine months building it. Marketing created an announcement blog post.
Two months later: 347 downloads. Mostly from employees and their friends. Sales isn't mentioning it in demos. Customers don't know it exists.
Leadership asks: "Why isn't anyone using the mobile app?"
Marketing says: "We announced it. What else do you want us to do?"
This happens because most B2B companies treat mobile apps as a product checkbox, not a distinct marketing channel requiring dedicated strategy.
Here's how to actually drive mobile app adoption and usage.
The App Store Optimization (ASO) Fundamentals: Getting Found
The problem: Your app is invisible in app store search. Nobody discovers it organically.
The reality: App Store Optimization is SEO for mobile. Most B2B companies completely ignore it.
ASO Element 1: App Title and Subtitle
Bad: "Acme - Business Software" Good: "Acme: Project Management & Team Collaboration for Agencies"
Why it works: Specific keywords (project management, team collaboration, agencies) match search terms buyers actually use.
Asana's title: "Asana: Work in One Place" - Simple brand + value prop that includes searchable keywords.
ASO Element 2: Keyword Field (iOS) / Description Keywords (Android)
Research what your buyers search for:
- Use App Store Connect's keyword planner
- Analyze competitor app keywords
- Review search terms from web SEO that apply to mobile use cases
Notion's approach: They target "productivity," "notes," "workspace," "collaboration," "wiki" - covering multiple use case searches.
Critical rule: Don't waste characters on your brand name or generic terms. Focus on high-value keywords competitors aren't ranking for.
ASO Element 3: App Icon and Screenshots
Icon design: Must be recognizable at tiny sizes. Avoid complex graphics. Strong contrast.
Screenshot strategy:
- First 2 screenshots: Show clear value prop with minimal text
- Screenshots 3-5: Demonstrate key workflows
- Use captions that highlight benefits, not features
Slack's screenshots: "Never miss a message" (benefit) showing notification feature. Not "Push notifications enabled" (feature).
ASO Element 4: Ratings and Reviews Management
Apps with 4.5+ stars and 1,000+ reviews rank significantly higher.
Review generation strategy:
- In-app prompt after successful task completion (not on first open)
- Target power users who get value (not everyone)
- Time the ask for moments of satisfaction
Zoom's trigger: Prompt for review after user's third successful meeting. High satisfaction moment.
Review response strategy:
- Respond to every negative review within 24 hours
- Acknowledge issue + explain fix or timeline
- Use reviews to identify product gaps
The Mobile App Launch Strategy: Actually Getting Downloads
The mistake: Announcing the app once and hoping for organic adoption
The reality: You need a sustained, multi-channel launch campaign
Pre-Launch (4 weeks before):
Build waitlist and beta program:
- Email existing customers about upcoming mobile app
- Recruit 50-100 beta testers from power users
- Create feedback loop for improvements pre-launch
Webflow's approach: They beta tested mobile app with 500 design agency customers. Collected feedback. Fixed critical issues. Beta users became evangelists at launch.
Launch Week (Week 1):
Day 1: Announce to existing customers
- In-app banner in web product
- Email to active users with download link
- Product update notification
Day 2-3: Content blitz
- Blog post with use cases
- Video walkthrough of key features
- Social media campaign
Day 4-5: Sales enablement
- Demo script for mobile app
- Competitive differentiator (if competitors lack mobile)
- Customer success playbook for driving adoption
Post-Launch (Ongoing):
In-product promotion:
- Web app banner: "Get the mobile app for on-the-go access"
- Email signature: Download links in team email signatures
- Onboarding flow: Mention mobile app during web onboarding
Monday.com's persistent promotion: Mobile app download prompt appears on web app for first 3 sessions. Drives 40% mobile adoption rate among new users.
The Push Notification Strategy: Engagement Without Annoyance
The tension: Push notifications can drive engagement or trigger uninstalls.
The framework: Notification value must exceed notification fatigue.
High-Value Notification Types (Send These):
Time-sensitive action required:
- "Sarah mentioned you in a comment on Q4 Planning doc"
- "Deal with Acme Corp moved to Closed-Won"
- "Your approval needed: Marketing budget request"
Slack's rule: Only send notifications for direct mentions and DMs. No channel messages unless user explicitly enables.
Important milestone achieved:
- "Your team completed 50 projects this month"
- "You've been on Acme for 1 year - see your impact"
- "10 new customers signed up from your referral link"
Personalized insights:
- "Your deal velocity is 15% faster this month"
- "3 high-value leads haven't been contacted in 5 days"
- "Your team's engagement score increased 20%"
Low-Value Notifications (Don't Send These):
- Generic feature announcements
- Marketing promotions
- Non-urgent updates
- Daily digest of low-priority activity
The data: Localytics found apps sending 2-5 personalized notifications per week have 3x higher retention than apps sending daily generic notifications.
Notification Timing Strategy:
Don't: Send at random times based on trigger events Do: Batch non-urgent notifications and send during user's active hours
Amplitude's approach: They analyze user behavior patterns and send notifications during times each user is typically active. 2x higher engagement vs. immediate notifications.
Notification Opt-In Strategy:
Default: Only critical notifications enabled Progressive opt-in: Suggest enabling specific notification types based on usage patterns
Example: After user collaborates on 3 documents, prompt: "Want notifications when teammates comment on your docs?"
The In-App Engagement Playbook: Driving Active Usage
The problem: Users download the app but rarely open it
The solution: Create habits through intentional engagement loops
Engagement Loop 1: Daily Value Moments
Design mobile-specific workflows that provide quick value:
- Check key metrics on commute
- Approve requests while away from desk
- Quick status updates from field
- Respond to urgent notifications
Salesforce Mobile approach: "Pipeline view" shows deals at risk with one tap to update. Sales reps check daily. 60% of mobile users open app 5+ times per week.
Engagement Loop 2: Mobile-Only Features
Give users a reason to prefer mobile for specific tasks:
- Voice memos instead of typed notes
- Photo/video capture for field reports
- Location-based check-ins
- Barcode/QR code scanning
ServiceNow field service: Technicians can only complete work orders via mobile app. Forces adoption but provides better workflow than desktop.
Engagement Loop 3: Onboarding Activation
Don't: Show feature tour on first open Do: Guide users to first value moment
First-session goal: Complete one meaningful action in under 2 minutes.
Airtable's mobile onboarding: Prompts users to create first base from template. Immediately useful. 75% of users who create base in first session become active users.
Engagement Loop 4: Retention Mechanics
For apps users should open daily:
- Streaks ("7-day login streak")
- Progress tracking
- Habit building prompts
For apps users need occasionally:
- Contextual triggers
- Proactive suggestions
- Integrations with daily tools
The Mobile-Specific Metrics: What Actually Matters
Vanity metrics: Total downloads, app store ranking
Actionable metrics:
Acquisition metrics:
- App store conversion rate (impressions → downloads)
- Channel attribution (where downloads come from)
- Install-to-registration rate
Activation metrics:
- Day 1 active rate (% who open app on download day)
- First session value completion
- Day 7 retention rate
Engagement metrics:
- DAU / MAU ratio (daily active / monthly active users)
- Session length and frequency
- Feature adoption by session
Retention metrics:
- Day 30, Day 60, Day 90 retention cohorts
- Churn triggers (what causes uninstalls)
- Reactivation rate
Mixpanel's benchmark: B2B mobile apps should target 40%+ Day 30 retention. Below 25% indicates product-market fit issues.
The Mobile-First vs. Mobile-Optimized Decision
Not every B2B product needs a dedicated mobile app.
Mobile-First (Build Native App):
- Users need mobile access in field or on-go
- Real-time notifications are critical
- Mobile-specific features (camera, GPS, offline) provide value
- High engagement frequency (daily or multiple times per day)
Examples: Salesforce (field sales), Slack (team communication), Expensify (expense capture)
Mobile-Optimized Web (Responsive Web App):
- Occasional mobile access is sufficient
- Desktop workflows translate to mobile
- Development resources limited
- Engagement frequency is low (weekly or less)
Examples: Most B2B analytics tools, project management for managers, financial planning software
The hybrid approach: Progressive Web App (PWA)
- Web-based but installable
- Push notifications available
- Offline capabilities
- Lower development cost than native
Figma's choice: PWA instead of native apps initially. Allowed them to ship faster and maintain single codebase.
The Uncomfortable Truth About B2B Mobile Apps
Most B2B mobile apps get built because "we need a mobile presence" not because mobile solves a specific user need.
What doesn't work:
- Building mobile app as desktop feature parity
- One-time launch announcement with no ongoing promotion
- Generic push notifications that annoy users
- Treating mobile as afterthought to web product
What works:
- Mobile-specific use cases that provide unique value
- App store optimization treating app stores as search channels
- Strategic push notifications for high-value, time-sensitive events
- Continuous in-product promotion of mobile app to web users
- Metrics-driven iteration on activation and retention
The best B2B mobile apps solve mobile-specific problems. If your app is just a smaller version of your web product, users won't adopt it.
Stop building mobile apps because competitors have them. Start building mobile experiences that solve real mobile use cases.