Chasing mobile app loyalty: Strategies for early stickiness

 Published on July 3, 2015

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Peyush Agarwal
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Design Thinker and Experience Strategist

Here’s some unsurprising news - app loyalty is at an all-time low. According to Localytics, a
quarter of apps downloaded were abandoned in 2015, an increase from 2014 when only
20% of apps suffered the same fate. The number of apps opened 11 or more times also
dropped to 34% from 39% a year earlier. Economies with dynamically changing user
demographics are seeing even higher numbers - in China the app ‘use-once-and-throw’ is
37% vs that of 19% in the USA!!

So what’s an app publisher to do? How do you track so many concurrently important factors
such as problem space, competition, marketing ability, usability, production quality etc. to
figure out what levers to move in which combination so as to give you some customer
loyalty? Every app has some aspirations even if not seeking to be the next Myntra. So is
there some method to this madness, some signal in this noise?

I think there is, particularly for non-gaming apps.

1. What’s your problem!

Yes its worth belaboring the obvious because the app stores are full of apps that are
confused on what exact problem are they solving. Search for Hyundai or ICICI and
you’ll get my point. There are so many results of apps that look similar but unable to
articulate what exactly they do different from the others, you wonder what are they
thinking listing them all here.

2. Pare down the problem space

The mobile device is a very constricting environment, it does not tolerate clutter.
Translation - make sure you are solving a unit-problem, not a cluster of problems. For
example if you want to develop tools for the construction industry, focus first only on
 developing a unit converter, don’t go after the spirit-level + distance measure + unit
convertor + quotes management etc.

3. Its all about NFRs

NFR = non-functional requirement. A great app idea is only the tip of an iceberg. And
what you can’t see can sink you. This is particularly true in the apps world. On any
app project, prepare to allocate a third to half of the resources on ensuring bug-free,
scalable, performant, secure, and usable system.

4. User experience
This can be topic of its own post. As far as the user is concerned, UX is the app! For
all the engineering, all the ideation is encapsulated within, what the user experiences
is what you are selling. Given that there are n number of apps that result from any
search, it is so important that those who select you over the others feel they were
justified by experiencing a top-notch app which does what it promises in a way that
makes sense to the user. Remember #2, and use the opportunity to design a great
deep (as opposed to wide) app that does one thing, and does it very well. Once you
have following, you can release more functionality later.

5. Presentation is key
Spend time and energy to think about pre-download details. Scan your competition
and work on an app icon that is a standout. App users can totally tell amateur work
from the rest. Ensure the short descriptor really sums up the app appropriately. You
don’t want to fail when the user is trying to figure out whether your app does what
they are looking for. Write good copy on the app page, put up nice screenshots of the
screens, take the pain to develop an infographic if you’re selling a solution where the
customer will want to understand how it works.

6. Reward early adopters

Most people who install your stuff really don’t have many expectations of you apart
from the quality of your product. Surprise them - by replying to all comments,
responding to error reports, critiques etc. With millions of apps around, users are
looking for well supported apps because they feel even if the app is not perfect now,
it will get there if someone’s updating it regularly.

So introspect on your apps (again!). Can you say that you’re doing all of the above well? If
not, try them. You might be pleasantly surprised at the results!
Are there other things you’ve done successfully to improve app loyalty? Please share
- I'd love to hear!