Analysis: Working harder for app loyalty

Chroma Sports CEO Paddy O’Clery on why you need to make your app work harder to keep users coming back for more

There are signs that users are not as willing to download new apps as they have previously been. A report by Deloitte in August 2014 found that almost one in three smartphone users in the UK do not download any apps in an average month, an increase from just one in five a year earlier.

This means that it is more important than ever for operators to make their apps work harder, and build loyalty for their mobile products. Traditionally, offering innovation and being first-to-market had been the ways in which companies developed their mobile approach. This continues to be hugely important yet, in such a crowded market, making apps work harder is a strategy often overlooked.

Loyalty is becoming the key factor in app strategy. When a user finds a product that works for them, whether it’s news, sport, betting or another, that user develops their behaviour around the product accordingly. A relationship is formed between the company and their customer which is tough to break, once established.

It is crucial that app designers and developers look to medium and long-term product roadmaps to nurture those behaviours, and secure the continued success of their established apps. When launching a new app, designers need to think about those aspects that will keep users coming back to their product.

At Chroma Sports, we have been involved in developing apps for large companies in the world of sport and betting, such as Racing UK, Unibet, the Jockey Club and Channel 4. We’ve witnessed the end of the disposable app – gimmicks that hold attention for a day and then are gone forever.

LASTING EXPERIENCES

We’ve looked to offer a more complete, lasting experience that maintains users’ attention and affection. In our work with Racing UK on Android, iPhone and iPad, we developed and integrated interactive services, tipping products and a combined live video feed all linked to their subscription service, Racing UK Anywhere – all aspects that offer in-depth content that fulfils needs of users, but which also guide them to further rich content.

In the betting and gaming world, we’ve found investment in building user relationships to be even more important than in other sectors. We have found that an influence on betting habits can be made from long-term investment in usability and quality of service.

Design is important, particularly in the development of a brand across multiple platforms, such as online, print marketing and mobile. A strong brand, look and feel will bring people to the app in the first instance, but if the usability isn’t up to standard then customers will soon move on.

We see content planning as core to developing an enduring product lifecycle. We design and create engaging content for sports fans which draws on rich data, paired with compelling editorial. Subsequently, the challenge is to keep that data, editorial and imagery constantly updated, offering new reasons for users to build their relationship with the apps.

Users are happy to abandon brand apps if the service is simply regurgitating repetitive or irrelevant notifications. Irregular updates also put users off – it’s inconsistency which comes from poor mapping of the product lifecycle, and a lack of understanding as to what an app can offer as it matures.

And as the market continues to expand, with more apps launching on more devices to more people and with more interactivity, it’s going to be increasingly vital for companies to have more forethought in their app strategy, and go for that all-important, goldenegg – user loyalty.

This analysis first appeared in eGR Mobile Intelligence issue 20 here