Seven App Sins

Seven App Sins

If you are getting an app made, or working on your existing app to reduce uninstall rate or improve engagement, here’s a list of typical app mistakes that you might be making and your app suffering the fallout.

The seven deadly app sins are:

1. Your on-boarding process fails to make a connect with the user or worse, you don’t have an on-boarding process.

Your on-boarding process is the brand’s first personal rendezvous with the user, your first impression. This is also your golden opportunity to initiate the user to the brand, make her comfortable and establish a strong connection with the brand. Neat and soothing visuals, clear-cut instructions, highlighting key features and taking appropriate permissions consists of a good on-boarding experience. A great on-boarding experience will have customization of app content as per the users preference. Without establishing that connect, user might not relate to the brand as much, and if she does not understand the app the first time she uses it, there are changes might not return to the app or might not use it frequently.

2. Your app has lengthy registration/check-out process

The very raison d’etre of an app is making life simpler and easier for the user. An app that tends to complicate the registration process or the checkout process, and if the user finds it rather easier to buy the product/ register service request/ get help fro some other channel, the very rationale of having an app is lost. This is the reason many brands make users register through social ids or email ids. But again, not all users are on social media, so giving users the option to register through various channels is a wise move.

3. Your app is exclusive, not really intertwined with other channels

An app has to have a distinct personality, it cannot be a copy of the website, but the app cannot be excluded from other channels of the brand. For instance if there’s a portal for registration of local businesses, sort of digital yellow pages. If a customer posts an opening through the website, and later downloads the app, the updates for that posting should automatically reflect in the app as well. If the two platforms are not connected, why would the user return to the app?

4. You are being too pushy with Push notifications

Push notifications are a great marketing tool but used too frequently, it can be a turnoff for the user. On the other hand using too little of push can actually make your brand lose out on the opportunity to sell, directly hitting on your bottom-line. Based on an analysis of the general profile of users, their orientation, spending capacity, and analysis of individual profiles for specific likes, attention days and time, etc. can lead to a strategically calculated rate of push optimum for the brand.

5. You are stalking the user

This, of late, has become a major concern for users. Many apps have permissions to access contacts, location etc. of the user, and then use these features to send push notifications that rather scares the user away. For instance, many apps use location locator to send geofencing messages, but many users term it as stalking. There has to be a line at which brands stop eating into users’s personal space.

6. Your app has bugs

If your app doesn’t function properly, it will most likely be uninstalled. Users have very limited patience with apps. Make sure you fix all your bugs and errors before you start marketing it. Because even if you make relevant changes and relaunch it in the market, a user who has uninstalled it is very less likely to re-install it.

7. Your app fails to engage users

Engaging users is a tricky concept. It includes customization, Personalization of discounts, deals and other offerings, optimized push notifications, intuitive marketing etc. The trick is to keep the user coming back for more.

Apps combine the best of all worlds - convenience of online, Personalization of in-store and responsiveness of customer support. Optimizing all of these will ensure your app adds a strong channel that contributes to the bottom-line and brand loyalty.