3 Essential Steps for Ensuring Success of Your Mobile App

Celia Hoag and Kelly Watson of Merkle provide the following guest piece. Opinions expressed are those of the authors.

Mobile apps have become an essential part of our everyday lives, offering convenience and engagement that other channels cannot match. With 485,000 mobile apps being downloaded every minute, it is evident that consumers appreciate the benefits these apps provide. From ordering lunch to managing finances or tracking our health, apps have become indispensable tools on our phones.

Mobile apps have rapidly become a crucial channel for brands to connect with customers, as mobile site views make up about half of web traffic globally and users spend seven times more time in apps than in a browser. With the ability to develop deeper relationships, increase revenue, and gather first-party data, mobile apps are essential for brands. Ultimately, they are a vital part of an omnichannel strategy as customers seek personalized experiences. To create an effective app, brands need to focus on three core principles: strategy, design, and optimization.

Strategy driven by value proposition 

Crafting a strategic value proposition for a mobile app begins by clearly identifying the target audience, establishing the app's unique brand identity, and highlighting the key benefits it provides.

Target Audience: Brands must first identify the target audience for the mobile app channel, which typically consists of their most devoted customers. Attempting to cater to all users’ needs can dilute the channel’s purpose and fail to meet anyone’s needs. Superior experiences and applications concentrate on a specific target audience and develop features, messaging, and content tailored to them.

Unique Value Proposition: Once the audience is established, the value propositions must be distinctively tailored to meet the specific needs of that target audience. A clear value proposition, supported by direct differentiators, influences consumer behavior towards quicker conversions and stronger retention.

Key Benefits: The app's essential advantages must align with the strategic value proposition. Without providing useful value for specific purposes such as entertainment, health, productivity, or information, users are unlikely to download the app. Uninstall rates are highest during the first week, and if users don't find the promised value proposition and benefits up to their expectations, they will delete the app.

A prime example of this approach is Nike, which has developed a community-based strategy to foster engagement among their most active consumers. App users are rewarded with exclusive access to limited-edition releases and early product launches, delivering a sense of exclusivity and community excitement. This core benefit effectively incentivizes regular engagement with the app among this specific audience.

Human-centered design

Adopting a human-centered approach entails creating a design that is visually appealing, user-friendly, and provides an intuitive experience for the brand’s customer. To truly grasp what is "intuitive" for your customer, it is essential to conduct thorough research and discovery at the onset of the app development process. A human-centered approach hinges on several key principles for its success:

Simplified Design: Consistent colors, text, and shapes throughout the application facilitate an intuitive user experience.

Enhanced Accessibility: Going beyond legal requirements, improving accessibility benefits all users by reducing clutter and distractions, promoting clear next steps. Meeting accessibility standards also boosts brand reputation, customer loyalty, and positive user feedback.

The usability of an app is crucial, with its ability to be helpful or useful being the most important. Brands need to consider their customers' behaviors and expectations to ensure that the app meets their needs.

An excellent example of this is the Chipotle app, which was designed to be user-friendly and intuitive. It includes features such as saved favorites, personalized promotions, and a seamless experience from in-store to the app. The ordering process is designed to mimic the experience of building a meal in person, allowing for customization of any aspect of the order. Brands that prioritize human-centered design best practices have a competitive advantage.

Optimization via continuous innovation

In order to differentiate themselves from their competitors, brands should leverage mobile apps to explore new possibilities. To lead in innovation and industry disruption, brands must prioritize ongoing optimization through iteration, testing, and feedback within their apps.

Iterating on new releases is crucial for meeting user expectations. It allows mobile developers to create stable and reliable applications. Testing features and functionalities through A/B testing, interviews, and usability tests helps increase performance and user satisfaction. It also provides opportunities to refine features, remove low-value ones, and stay focused on the app’s value proposition and core purpose.

Revised

The feedback loop involving data goes beyond simply reviewing insights; it serves as an action plan for making improvements. By taking the time to understand the insights gained from data analysis, creators can enhance performance, responsiveness, and load times, and reduce inefficiencies in supporting bloated applications.

It is evident that investing in optimization to enhance user experience and set a standard in the app space is crucial for brands. For instance, Robinhood has a team of UX researchers who rigorously test the user experience and consistently provide updates with new features and improvements. Robinhood effectively keeps the app relevant and responsive to user needs without causing frustration through constant navigation changes.

Mobile devices have become an essential part of human life, and our reliance on them makes mobile apps a crucial tool for connecting with consumers. They offer brands the chance to create personalized experiences, build stronger customer relationships, boost revenue, and collect important data. By understanding the value of their app to their audience, focusing on user-friendly design, and constantly improving their app, brands can take full advantage of the benefits this channel provides.