The Key Elements Of A Solid App Strategy

Despite what others tell me, I suspect I’m not that unusual... in most ways anyway.

Almost every weekday morning, literally the first thing I do (after three rounds of hitting the snooze button) is to check the BBC Weather app.  This is what then helps me to determine, in my still half-asleep state, what I shall wear to work, including footwear - can I get away with shoes that give me unbearable damp socks when there is the slightest hint of precipitation or do I need my rainproof boots?

And at the end of the day it’s the same – the last thing before switching the light off is usually doing my turn on Words With Friends (basically Scrabble) in the four games I am simultaneously playing with one of my best mates.

As well as bookending my day, I use a number of apps throughout the day for one thing or another, be it for communication, entertainment, or functional reasons: WhatsApp, City Mapper, BBC iPlayer, LinkedIn, Yahoo Mail, and so on...

This, like I say, is probably not that unusual.

Are You Using Apps For Almost Two Hours A Day?

Recent research from eMarketer suggests that in 2015, UK adults spent an average of 2 hours and 24 minutes on “non-voice” mobile activities per day – a surprisingly high figure, only beaten by TV with 46 additional minutes.

 Five years ago, in 2010, it was a completely different story – only 18 minutes per day was spent on “non-voice” mobile activities. How times have changed.

If we drill a little deeper, we uncover that one of the more interesting developments is the split between mobile web and app usage. With the arrival of smartphones, most noticeably the iPhone, and associated app stores, there was a change in behaviour – no longer did users need to navigate web browsers on their phones to find what they wanted.

Instead, they could access key functionality through a little icon on the home screen of their phone - through an app. Based on data from comScore MMX MP and Mobile Metrix (March 2015), 81% of time on mobile internet was via an app as opposed to a mobile browser. Applying that to the 2hr24 above, that equates to 1 hour and 55 minutes per day spent within apps!

What’s Causing The App Universe To Expand?

Given that over 38m individuals or 58.7% of the UK population were expected to use a smartphone at least monthly in 2015 and additionally just over half the population with tablets, that’s a lot of time spent on apps. And the figures are predicted to rise further in 2016. So what does the future have in store for apps? Well, here are a few thoughts.

• Smarter and more intuitive – as voice recognition, intuitive search, and other such technologies continue to develop, apps will adopt more of these features, delivering users much more personalised functionality through simpler, user-friendly interfaces.
• Categories in growth – some of the key categories that will experience a surge will be those related to business productivity, the Internet of Things (with increasingly connected devices), and finance. Retail will also mature as m-commerce becomes more and more embedded in everyday life – according to Barclays, mobile will be the fastest growing retail sales channel over the next 10 years and by 2019, it predicts that £32bn of UK retail sales will be made directly from a mobile device, rising to £53.6bn by 2024. In addition to these, there will be continued developments in the already established areas of social & messaging and video & content.
• Widespread integration – apps will become easier to discover and find through app indexing and deep-linking, and furthermore they will start appearing in search engine results pages. Following the acquisition of Agawi, Google announced in November 2015 that they will start to show “app-first” content (that without a web-based counterpart) and that users will also be able to stream certain apps straight from their mobile results pages.
• Download and revenue growth – the global app eco-system will continue to expand, especially with increased adoption of smart devices in high-growth economies such as China and India. And app store revenues are expected to exceed $75bn in 2017 – up from about $45bn in 2015.

So What Are The Key Elements Of A Solid App Strategy?

Given all of this positive news, it would be easy to assume that success in the world of apps is almost a given. This is clearly not the case – especially when you consider how many apps are produced and then subsequently fail to get traction. In fact, it is estimated that a quarter of all apps are used just once before being deleted.

So, if a company decides it needs an app (and please bear in mind that not all companies do), what should marketers think about when developing their app strategy? With apps, the devil is in the detail, especially since their primary function is to make it easier for people to interact with them than with a mobile site.

• Focus and do it brilliantly - the crucial thing is to focus on what the app is intended to do and make damn sure it does it really, really well. User experience is absolutely centre stage and given that the key benefits of using an app over mobile web are functionality, usability and immediacy, whatever the app does - be that entertain or provide some form of utilitarian function - it has to do that supremely well.
• Test, evaluate and refine constantly - a rigorous and systematic programme of re-evaluation and fine-tuning is essential to ensure that bugs are ironed out and user feedback is incorporated into new versions – little things can make a huge difference to the level of usage and engagement an app has, and therefore its success. Incorporate new and useful functionality into the app to enhance it - and not just because you can - to keep the app fresh and the user experience optimal. Understand where and how people use the app and ensure that what is done in terms of development meets the apps objectives, be that time spent in-app, frequency of use, average order value, etc.
• Use push notifications intelligently – rather than spamming users, send them relevant push notifications to encourage them to do what it is you want them to do. Incentives or very specific reminders tend to deliver the best results. Use analytics from the data held about users as well as in-app usage behaviour, and use this to create campaigns and CRM strategies for custom segments.
• Promote the app effectively – once the app is built and on the app store, it can’t be expected to just take on a life of its own. It needs to be seeded and promoted, however this should not only be to drive downloads but also re-engagement, through the smart use of deeplinks to the most relevant parts of the app. As with any form of promotion, tailoring the message to the audience is fundamental: this can be based on whether users have already downloaded the app or not and the mobile operating system they’re using. If possible, cross-device remarketing should also be employed to drive further traction amongst the target audience.

There’s no doubt that the role that apps play is becoming more and more significant as they further embed themselves into people’s lives as essential tools to carry out day to day activities. Marketers need to understand what their audiences want from an app and make sure they deliver on this really well – if not, the people they seek to engage with will almost certainly go elsewhere to get what they need. A solid, well thought-through and on-going app strategy is therefore absolutely critical – this is what is going to give marketers and brands the best chance of success in the weird and wonderful world of apps.