User Happiness in E-commerce Apps

Elevate Your E-commerce App

A Strategic Guide to Maximize Downloads and Success

Planning to dive into the game with your own mobile app for your ecommerce? Once you make that call, it's crucial to think about making your app the top choice for customers – in other words, you want it to be downloaded as often as possible.

In this article, you'll discover how to up your chances of success after creating the app because stepping into the world of mobile apps requires more insight than a regular website. Before someone enters the realm of your app, they need to download it, and that alone can be discouraging. So, you need to develop a solid strategy sprinkled with incentives to convince people to download your app.

One thing is for sure — your app needs to be really polished, providing an amazing user experience, even if it's just the MVP version. In the world of mobile apps, you won't get a second chance at a first impression. Any glitch can make a customer quickly uninstall your app. And the chance of them coming back is close to zero – unless you decide to drop prices by 90%, but that's not a very wise approach, and the tax office might start asking if you're "money laundering."

My advice? Invest first in a ‎ well-functioning MVP version ‎, without going overboard with features. However, it's worth it for even the basic version to have something that sets it apart from the competition. This will help in communication and make your app stand out.

While creating the app, remember your users, as their satisfaction increases the chances of success. Understanding their needs is key to developing a market entry strategy and an effective marketing strategy. A good marketing strategy can distinguish you from the competition, but it takes time. So, think about promotion early in the project. When your app hits the store, it's already competing with thousands of others. It's worth starting to think about promotion earlier, as acting without a plan will make your app disappear into the depths of the internet, covered in dust. The product won't defend itself; it needs promotion, which requires commitment.

App marketing is not just about reaching as many people as possible to download your app. It's a constant dance with various tactics aimed at increasing awareness, acquiring new customers, and maintaining their interest. Our actions go beyond attracting attention; we want to build lasting relationships with users, fostering a long-term connection with your app.

Creating a marketing strategy, you need to think about the customer's buying journey and understand that different customers are at different stages of this journey. Let these four words be your guide: Awareness, Engagement, Conversion, Retention.

The Four Pillars of E-commerce App Success

Awareness

Before the launch, initiate the awareness phase to make some noise. Have a well-defined communication plan, brand positioning, and value proposition. This proposition should convince users why they should download your app. Implementing the awareness phase before the launch is like warming up the atmosphere so that users are ready to explore and download the app when it finally debuts. Remember when I mentioned it's worth offering customers something innovative, even in the MVP version? Well, now is the time for that.

Engagement

This is the moment when consumers start wondering if it's worth investing in your app. They'll choose the one that meets their needs and offers tempting features for them to try out. That's why the preparation phase for the project, or Discovery, is crucial. Without understanding customer needs, you won't know what will attract them. Engagement is also about developing the app based on changing customer needs and effective communication. App development is a never-ending job because you always want more. Returning customers are important, but without new ones, you won't build a strong position.

Conversion

We're launching the "App Download" phase! Your app is already on the store, but the competition is fierce. You can't afford to be forgotten, but now you have more aces up your sleeve than before because we have a crucial moment for customers – your app's page in the store. Let's see what we can do to make your app one of the hottest hits.

Here's a list of crucial things:

Keywords and categories: Optimize your keywords in the app title and description, just like in SEO. Choose the category wisely because customers also search for apps by categories. If you have an app in multiple markets, translate descriptions into local languages. Oh, and check what's legally acceptable in each country because different places, different customs.

Reviews and opinions: Super important but a bit like a double-edged sword. Positive reviews boost rankings. But wake up from the nightmare because negative reviews can slow down your app. That's another reason why apps require more attention than regular e-commerce. I always check reviews before downloading an app, and you?

Store positioning: Make your app stand out from the crowd. Balance it with a solid description and attractive screenshots. If you want to increase app downloads, creating an instructional video is a good idea. Remember, the video should not be longer than 30 seconds and should highlight the key features of your app that will convince customers to download it.

Retention

Since uninstalling an app is ridiculously easy, you should constantly look for ways to retain customers. One way, as I mentioned before, is continuous app development based on needs. Another way could be marketing actions limited exclusively to the app. Although I don't approve of such tactics because a customer should always receive the same offer regardless of the sales channel, I know these actions can effectively discourage customers from installing the app and attract others to download it to take advantage of promotions.

Celebrating High Ratings in the App Stores

That's not all. The icon itself is important. It must be attractive and well-designed because 60% of customers avoid brands with weak branding — they simply don't trust them. Additionally, your app's icon will probably be the first thing your potential customers notice. You can't neglect that.

It's also worth ensuring that your app is not only easy to find in app stores but also on the internet, which is the first choice for users seeking solutions to their problems. Creating an effective Landing Page and blog will only help in promoting it. You can't escape creating content and then optimizing it. You can't escape SEO, but that's okay because you should already be familiar with these techniques, running your online store for some time.

Summary

App promotion is not easy, and many challenges await you. Implementing a strategy started at the very beginning of the project, following the guidelines from the article, will certainly help your app become an industry leader. Remember, a long march with obstacles awaits you, but the reward at the end is incredibly motivating.

Choosing the right, experienced partner is also crucial. A partner who will not only help you create a mobile app in an end-to-end model, from strategy to implementation but also support you in promotional activities. A good, proven partner is half the battle. Owners of leading clothing brands like 4F and Outhorn know this. Join this esteemed group and start earning on your new investment.