How customer types split the budget

The three types, plainly#

New users never installed, returning users have current or recent installs, lapsed users installed long ago and left: three mindsets, three promises, three pages. Blending them in one ad group averages the message into mush that moves nobody. Apple own customer type guidance defines the segments and their eligibility rules across the exactly 4 App Store placements.

Map every campaign to one type before writing a word of copy; shared budgets across types hide which relationship funds growth. The hub view is the Apple Ads hub, with discovery context in Search tab.

New hunters: educate first#

New hunters need orientation: what the app does, who it serves, why it beats the incumbent, all inside the first two screenshots. Social proof carries weight here, so ratings, review volume and press quotes belong above the fold of the landing page. Price or subscription terms stated plainly filter tappers honestly and protect trial quality.

Landing craft for hunters leans on custom product pages and screenshot order from our screenshots guide. Technical page options sit in the developer promotion docs.

Returners: continue, never restart#

Returning users punish onboarding ads: they know the app, so show what is new, what improved, what awaits inside. Deep link past the welcome flow into the relevant content or offer, because dumping a known user on a cold landing page reads as amnesia. Frequency caps matter doubly here; nagging the loyal burns goodwill fast.

Structure returners apart per our account structure guide, and measure them on sessions and revenue, not installs. Reengagement thinking continues in our reengagement guide.

Lapsed: name the reason back#

Lapsed users need a named reason: the rebuilt feature, the new catalogue, the fixed pricing, the content drop that changes the maths. Vague we miss you creative loses to specific proof every time, so lead with the single biggest change since they left. Time windows matter: recently lapsed convert far better than years gone ghosts, so tier budgets by recency.

Prove winback economics in placement reporting before scaling, since returning installs can mask weak new growth when blended. Keep winback pages current with each release cycle.

Budget splits that stay honest#

Fund new hunters from acquisition budgets, returners from retention budgets, lapsed from winback budgets: different money, different maths, different targets. New hunters carry the highest cost per install and the longest payback; returners should show the strongest revenue per pound; lapsed sit between. Blended targets let one type subsidise failure in another.

Set the split from lifetime value per type, reviewed quarterly as behaviour shifts. Maths method in our budget maths guide keeps the bands defensible.

Revisit the split after launches, pricing changes and seasonal peaks: type economics move with the catalogue, not the calendar alone. Stale splits quietly starve whichever type grew. Seasonal splits guide the review rhythm, with hunter efficiency tracked in split reporting every single week without fail.

Reading type level results#

Read installs for hunters, sessions and purchases for returners, reinstall rate and revived revenue for lapsed: one scoreboard per relationship, reviewed side by side every month. Watch cross contamination where a hunter campaign harvests returners through brand searches; customer type splits plus careful search term reviews keep credit honest across all three lines. Quarterly, ask whether the lapsed pool still justifies its line or has run dry after years of harvesting without replenishment.

Disagreements between platform counts and ledger belong to our team for reconciliation before any budget moves.

Frequently asked questions#