If your business has an app, now is the perfect time to think about making some updates. Social distancing measures mean more people are on their phones than ever before, and online offerings have had a massive surge in traffic as a result.
And even as restrictions start to ease, the data shows that the use of apps and e-commerce continues to increase (this is the trend we have seen across the board for our clients too).
It’s no secret that a well-designed app should help a business achieve their goals faster and more efficiently, helping their customers to get what they want, when they want it.
Thankfully, making improvements to your app doesn’t have to be time-consuming: in fact, the best decisions are often the simplest. So if you’ve been struggling to perfect your business’s app, here are five simple and effective ways to make some serious improvements.
1. Use existing data
Good user experience is all about data-driven design, so use your existing data and analytics to help inform design decisions to keep the costs down. I generally recommend starting with a prototype to validate your design thinking with key stakeholders.
Who is your most profitable customer? What features do they like to use? What pages do they visit the most? Start your design with your customer analytics, and build your visual identity around that.
2. Keep it simple
Your goal should be to have a user experience that is both attractive and effective. It’s not about creating the prettiest app, it’s about creating the most effective app. That’s not to say the aesthetic isn’t especially important – it’s your brand, after all. But you also want the app to achieve its key objectives, such as increasing sales with customers.
Mobile app users are more demanding than desktop users when it comes to engagement experience, since mobile users tend to be in a rush. With this in mind, your goal should be to have a user interface that does not overwhelm users with unnecessary content. Thankfully, fewer features also means you’ll be able to keep your costs down too. It’s a win-win.
3. Think lean
When considering updates to your app, ask yourself: ‘what problem(s) am I solving for my customers?’. If you have identified multiple answers, prioritise the most important. Your entire app should revolve around the most important answer to this question.
From there, you can drill this down to the key objectives you want your app updates to accomplish. With a lean mindset, you get sufficient opportunity to determine if your planned updates will attract customers – before spending too much on something that won’t provide a strong return on investment.
4. Utilise one-touch payments
If you have an online store as part of your app, it is essential to make it as easy as possible for your customers to spend with you. Adding a one-touch payment feature is a great way to make it easier for repeat customers to complete their transactions, by allowing the app to save payment details used in previous transactions.
Customers won’t have to fill in their details every time they make payment, making the user experience as hassle-free as possible and encouraging repeat purchases. One-touch is often cited as one of the main reasons for Amazon’s market dominance, and there’s no reason why your business can’t get in on the action too.
5. Realise the power of push
Your app should be an important tool to communicate directly with your most loyal customers. If you have announcements or important notices you need your customers to see immediately, don’t forget to maximise your app’s ability to send push notifications. Push is a far less competitive environment than other methods of communication—email, for example—and is an effective way to re-engage inactive customers
Some of our clients have increased conversion rates by over 50% through implementing similar strategies. At scale, this can create dramatic increases to your company’s revenue and profitability, which is especially important in the current economic climate.
Jamie Shostak is co-founder and head of growth at Appetiser App Development, Australia’s fastest-growing app development agency (AFR Fast Starters 2020) Its clients include Youfoodz, Pointsbet, Salvation Army and Grill’d. The company has developed apps for a broad range of uses including ecommerce, mobile safety, construction, surveying and even dating. The company has grown to a team of over 100 with offices across three continents, along with awards including the Deloitte 2019 Fast Starter, Young Entrepreneur of the Year and SmartCompany 30 Under 30.