mobile app user insight

TechFest 2014 Mobile User Insight: Guide to App User Success – Judd Wheeler August 15,2014

Mobile User Insight

Guide to Creating a Mobile App User Success Story


Mobile User Insight

NOT • How to create the next

Angry Birds • How to beat the app store • Programming 101 • In-depth analysis on

admission ticket

IS • Give you the tools to make

informed app decisions • View of the user from

different angles • Address user needs


Financial Success Consumer Apps

Less than 0.01 Percent by 2018

Gartner


App Statistics (2013)

Smartphone App Statistics iPhone Android Blackberry Windows

Total app downloads 27,000,000,000 29,000,000,000 2,400,000,000 4,100,000,000

Percent of app users who have never paid more than $1 for an app

45 % 62 % 63 % 58 %

Average number of downloaded apps per phone 88 68 49 57

Total number of apps in store 905,000 (1.2m)

850,000 (1.3m)

130,000 220,000

(300k-400k)

Total app store revenue in 2013 $6,400,000,000 $1,200,000,000 $550,000,000 $950,000,000

StatisticBrain.com


PLANNING


Better Features <> Success • A better app doesn’t

always win • Competition can squash

your business • The app is only “nice to

have” • No word of mouth

trigger • Watch out for feature

creep.


Technology should never drive your objectives


How do you make $

• < 1% of apps are ‘Financially Successful’ • 90% of paid apps make less than $1,250/day

• $0.99 app makes < $ than in-app purchases

when free • Free: 10x the download number of paid • Free Candy Crush generates $946,788/day

Gartner


How do you make $

• 25% of businesses will have an enterprise app store within the next three years

• Enterprise apps are expected to generate around $40 billion of revenue by 2016

• 16% of worldwide developers are building mobile apps for enterprises

Vision Mobile


MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS


BASIC NEEDS Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs


Cell phone owners

Pew, January 2014

90%

58%

32% 42%

Cell Phones Smartphones e-reader Tablet

American Adults


Cell phones make things a lot easier

65%

28%

26%

To stay in touch with the people they care about To plan and schedule their daily routine To be productive while doing things like sitting in traffic or waiting in line

Pew


Cell phone addiction

84% worldwide say they couldn’t go a single day without their mobile device in their hand

Pew, August 16, 2012


The Phantom

67% Of cell owners find themselves checking their phone for messages, alerts, or calls — even when they don’t notice their phone ringing or vibrating

Pew


Activities Statistics on Mobile Device Users Data

Percent who said their mobile phone is the first and last thing they look at each day 29 %

Percent who said they need to have the latest mobile technology 18 %

Percent who check their mobile device every 30 minutes or less 37 %

Percent who said they could only go a few hours without their mobile phone 34 %

Percent who said they prefer to communicate by text message 32 %

Percent who have asked someone on a date via text 20 %

Percent who say their mobile device make them better parents 65 %

Percent who would take their mobile device to work over their lunch 66 %

StatisticsBrain.com


Activities

Percent Who Use Their Phone While Doing Another Task

Driving a car 32 %

Playing with my children 35 %

Attending a party 37 %

Eating at a restaurant 36 %

Watching TV 61 %

Riding public transportation 36 %

StatisticsBrain.com


Time on Apps

168

127

58

TV Flurry (smartphone andtablet)

Experian (smartphone)

Time Spent


Usage • As of May 2013, 63% of

adult cell owners use their phones to go online.

• 34% of cell internet users go online mostly using their phones, and not using some other device such as a desktop or laptop computer.


Changing Social Interaction Younger versus Older

• Over 90 percent in every age group made fewer than 10 calls each day

• In the over 50 group, more that 80 percent send and receive fewer than 10 texts each day

• Young adults also use text messaging as their primary method of contacting friends – over 80 percent report texting as their preferred method

• Across the board, younger adults saw text messaging as more acceptable than older adults

• This isn’t addiction - this is social interaction


Know your tablet users too The tablet remains predominantly a consumer device. As tablets are mainly used on a WiFi connection and at home, it is arguable that they aren’t a mobile device. • IDC (March 2014): 89 percent to consumers in 2013, 11 percent to

businesses. The commercial percentage is expected to rise to 14 percent in 2014.

• ComScore (February 2013): 94 percent of tablet use is via WiFi. • Consumer Electronics Association (October 2013): only 29 percent

of US tablets are 3G/4G capable, and as few as 15 percent tablet owners subscribe to a data plan.

• Google (August 2012): tablets are mostly used at home as an entertainment device

http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp;jsessionid=E1AB8756AD2584D5133571D43D2FBEE9?containerId=prUS24716914

http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press_Releases/2013/2/comScore_Releases_the_2013_Mobile_Future_in_Focus_Report

https://www.ce.org/News/News-Releases/Press-Releases/2013-Press-Releases/Only-Half-of-3G-4G-Tablet-Owners-Pay-for-Data-Plan.aspx

https://www.ce.org/News/News-Releases/Press-Releases/2013-Press-Releases/Only-Half-of-3G-4G-Tablet-Owners-Pay-for-Data-Plan.aspx

http://tabtimes.com/news/ittech-stats-research/2012/08/31/google-tablets-are-primarily-used-home-entertainment-and


Great Product

5% Rule


UX/UI - Design

• Sweat the small stuff • Never be cool for the sake of cool • Easy flow of navigation


Kill the Baby: Less is More


Animate with Class

http://www.fiftythree.com/


Touch is Magic


UI/UX

• one handed—49%

• cradled—36%

• two handed—15%


UI/UX

Users Switch How They Hold a Mobile Phone

“The way in which users hold their phone is not a static state. Users change the way they’re holding their phone very often—

sometimes every few seconds.”


UI/UX

“The 49% of users who use just one hand typically hold their phone in a variety of positions.” • right thumb on the

screen—67% • left thumb on the

screen—33%


UI/UX “Cradling is the term for using two hands to hold a mobile phone, but using only one hand to touch the screen or buttons.”

Cradling—with a • thumb on the screen—72% • finger on the screen—28%

Cradling—in the • left hand—79% • right hand—21%


UI/UX “We traditionally associate two-handed use with typing on the QWERTY thumbboards of devices like the classic Blackberry or on slide-out keyboards.”

Two-handed use—when holding a phone • vertically, in portrait

mode—90% • horizontally, in landscape

mode—10%


SAFETY Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs


Security

• Data integrity • Privacy • Spam • Info only necessary for user’s experience


Quality Code Matters

The user doesn’t care if there is a good reason why the app crashed


Support


How To


BELONGING Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs


Build Connections

• Social • Shareable • Viral


Understand Your Customer

• People • Not all users are the same


Track Everything

• Analytics is not a crystal ball

• Data, data everywehre

• Wash, rinse and repeat

• Consistency is key


Metrics

• How many users? How many new? • Where? • What hardware/software are they using • Does any segment stand out • When are my app users most active • Which features are the most used? • Are users finding the features they need?


Metrics

• Is the new version of my app used longer than the previous one?

• Ratings? • Reviews positive? • Are users sharing my app with their peers? • When is my app being installed the most?

Why? • Do we have bottlenecks and timeouts?


Metrics

• Which users are impacted most by quality issues?

• Should I fix the problem now or wait for the next version?

• Should I focus on improving the features used most?

• Are there features nobody uses? • When should I stop supporting legacy OS

versions


ESTEEM Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs


Make it Personal

• Flexibility • User preferences • Navigation history


Build in a Feedback Loop

• Suit their growing needs

• Throw away pre-conceived notions


Gamification

• Project management • Loyalty • Business goals


SELF-ACTUALIZATION Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

“What man can be, he must be.”


Short Bursts


WOW Factor

• Unique • Memorable • Spontaneous • Fun


App Discovery

• Incorporate into the usability of the app • Use app data to optimize app discovery • Solve a problem


Dynamic

• Continual updates/upgrades • Iterative improvements over breakthrough

innovations • Give users a reason to keep checking your app


What separates apps that make money and those that don’t?


What separates the fortunate from the failed?

• Developers whose apps earned at least $50,000 spent an average of – 14% of their total work time on publicity – average marketing budgets of $30,000.

• More than half the overall group (failed) – earmarked nothing for marketing – used less then 5% of their time on that aspect

of the business

App Promo


Marketing • Start early

– Huge launch is critical • Make friends • Build buzz • Get featured • Pitch the press • Intelligence gathering • Brand awareness - social • SEO (backlinks)


App Store

90% of app installs

10% of the apps


App Store • It doesn’t matter how good or original the app is,

it’s very likely only a few people will discover it and install it

• App rankings are based on install velocity, – so to rank high your app must generate a lot of

installs in a short amount of time.

• Being in the rankings can guarantee a quick burst of installs, – it won’t guarantee long-term success


App Store

• Snappy description

• Grade-A screen shots

• Optimize for search in the stores

• Ask friends to review

• Read and answer reviews


CHECKLIST


Checklist – Basic Needs

• Is your app simple? • Does it solve a problem? • Does it have one clear function?


Checklist - Safety

• Do you keep your user’s information private? • Do they feel secure? • Do you provide help?


Checklist - Belonging

• Can users communicate to other users? • Can they share their status? • Can they ask for help?


Checklist – Self-Esteem

• How well do you understand your users? • Is the app personalized to the user? • Do you measure/track everything? • Do you have achievement levels set up?


Checklist – Self-Actualization

• Is the app unique? Memorable? Spontaneous? Fun?

• Do you have an update/upgrade plan? • Is there a sense of discovery?


WRAP UP


Judd Wheeler

[email protected] in/juddwheeler @juddwheeler

mailto:[email protected]

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