There are over 5 million apps on the two of the most leading app stores today and this should be enough to give you an idea about the kind of competition that your mobile app faces in reaching out to the customer. With this great number of mobile apps in the market, most of the people today are presented with multiple app options for each problem that they might ever encounter or requirement that they might have.
Though there is much talk about acquiring new users and people have been looking at different ways to gain new users, it is important that you understand that the battle is barely half won once you have acquired a user. These newly acquired users need to be pampered enough with great value and deliverables so that you can retain them long enough to make use of your mobile app.
The app users today have evolved greatly and had a set of expectations from the app that they choose to use. The real technology giants today offer highly customized & flawlessly functioning apps, thus setting a high bar for everyone associated with the industry. The new-age app users today have come to expect the same kind of experience from the mobile app that you are going to release.
Penguin Apps Builder with robust combined experience in mobile app building and development has compiled a list of app users’ expectations today. This list will give you a defined headway into the world of app development and the tips or solutions would help you develop mobile apps that are sure to meet the expectations of your targeted users.
1. Seamless & Intuitive Navigation
The app that you are building must function flawlessly and it is ideally the job of the team of developers to ensure just that with their coding skills & knowledge. However, an app that has seamless & intuitive navigation is not entirely dependent on the code being written for the app. The app users today expect the app to become their guide and tell them how to reach the point where the users would like to reach within the app.
This expectation is not an unrealistic expectation but may have been ignored by most of the apps, who learnt of its importance the hard way! This can be done by incorporating a simple tooltip at the right time and space or even a relevant banner that directs the app user to the appropriate part of the app can greatly improve the users’ app experience.
2. Highly Customized & Personalized Offers & Deals
One of the strongest curse words that can be thrown at your app is ‘Spam’! It has long been established that every user hates being spammed. We have been dealing with it in our mailboxes electronic & otherwise, and now apps too!
If you are doing things right, then you have already managed to collate a whole lot of data about your app users, and it is time you used it constructively. While sending out any special deals or discounts, sending out push notifications, in-app coupons, ensure that these are sent to the right audience. This means if you have a special deal running in your home section, make sure that it is only sent to those app users who frequent this section, instead of those who rarely go there. This means offering promotions to app users based on their past browsing and purchasing behaviour.
3. Clear & Appealing Onboarding Experience
“The first impression is the only impression” indeed! This old adage is still not irrelevant because the first impression that you make on your users is going to be the most important criteria to determine the success of your app.
“According to Localytics, 24% of the app users abandon an app only after the first use”
This is huge! This means that you have just but one chance, that is your first impression to get your app users hooked!
The first interaction that the app users have with you or the onboarding experience should be a delight for them. This is where you want to deliver the most value to them, design and offer an impressive walkthrough that would give them an idea of what your strongest features are. Make sure that you flaunt the best part of your app without getting into the very details of every small thing.
4. Strong Yet Unobtrusive Communication
Though we all need communication, notifications, and any other important messages from the businesses we are interested in, there is probably nothing more annoying than obtrusive communication. This is further established by the sheer rise in the number of ad blockers. We know now positively that the digital population is not going to tolerate any kind of noise.
Once you understand this concept, there are many ways in which you can accomplish to attract the attention of the users without disrupting them. You could use a subtle highlight on a certain item, design a banner & place it in a way that it would not obstruct the screen or even a small popup. This is the moment to practice the “less is more” philosophy.
5. Perfectly Timed Notifications
The mobile app equivalent of “location, location, location” can only be “timing, timing, timing”. It is true that the right time to get in touch with your users is right when they are using your app, but it is time now to get into the details and find that exact sweet spot which will get you user attention you need.
This simply means you cannot give your users information about a deal on produce when they have already moved on to the check-out area. Chances are it will induce frustration instead of interest. Make use of all that golden data you have and figure out when would the users be most likely to respond to the notification you are going to offer them. If necessary, run some tests on different timings to gauge out their preferences.
6. Being Heard & Acknowledged
Like every other customer, the app users need to feel valued! Since the app users come with a set of expectations, they are also quite opinionated, sometimes even demanding.
Instead of becoming hot and hassled by it, you can turn it around and help it bring about success for your mobile app. Let your app users give you feedback in the app, whether it is at the end of the completion of the process, or it is at the point where user behaviour patterns indicate non-conversions. It has been observed that when the app users are asked within the app in direct relation to the activity, the chances of them responding are definitely higher.
7. Loyalty Programs & Lucrative Rewards
It is unfair to expect loyalty in this day and age of competition. There was a time when people would stick to their preferred stores and would only buy from them, come what may. Today, however, as there are a plethora of options and new businesses are entering the market every day, it is very difficult to have a loyal customer base. However, one thing to note here is that the app users are still looking for lucrative loyalty rewards & programs.
Loyalty cards are a concept of the days long gone, especially with the advent of smartphones. So now, the users are looking quite ardently for innovative rewards in exchange for their loyalty to your app and for using it consistently. It is important that the users are made aware of your loyalty program, as it is sure to increase user satisfaction.
This might seem to be quite a demanding list of expectations and might even overwhelm you, but, if you were to make your apps with Penguin Apps Builder, you are sure to surpass them all!
Do you think we missed out on the expectations your app users might have? Let us know in the comments section, we’d love to hear from you!