Mobile Apps: Make Your Users More Awesome

So out of the 239,000+ apps in the App Store (and 48,000+ publishers), active iPhone users download roughly 10 apps/month and launch an app fewer than 20 times before discarding it. What's going to make yours stick? How are you going to make your icon worth clicking on after you've gotten them to download it? The answer: Make your users more awesome (or at least more interesting). Give them a reason to mention your app when they are asked "What new apps you got?" To do this, understand that mobile users are looking for apps that provide one of three things:

1) A utility to get things done (quickly)

2) An answer to a question in a local context

3) Something to entertain their ego while they are waiting for something else

Your app should fit into one of these three scenarios. If it doesn't, it's probably not going to make the 20+ opens mark. For some examples, let's focus on one industry that all of us deal with in a mobile context - Banking.

A Utility to Get Things Done Quickly

Don't wait to release your app until it does everything. Start with building one polished feature that makes someone's mobile life easier and get it out there. Ask your users for feedback on additional features they would like to see and deliver on the demand over time. But first and foremost - stop spinning. Build a utility first - not an app.

Here's a good banking utility example - Chase. Chase allows it's users to take a picture of a check and deposit it through their app.

That is awesome. It's a mobile use case that saves its' users minutes (if not hours) a week. Forget the balance lookup or any of that other me-too stuff. I would use this app if the mobile check deposit feature was the only function it provided. That feature makes a user awesome. I envy Chase customers because of this feature.

Answer a Question in a Local Context

Mobile users are on the go and are more-often-than-not looking for local information. For a (non-banking) example check out Do I Need an Umbrella Today. Click the icon, it comes up with a yes or no answer. Local, simple, meaningful.

I'll give you a bad banking example - Citibank. I have been a Citibank customer for 15 years. I like the bank, but I always have to hunt for a Citi ATM. I want an app that allows me to quickly find a nearby Citi ATM. I'm a pretty technical guy, but I have yet to be able to get Citi's iPhone app to work for me. It requires some convoluted registration on their mobile site (which I have completed) and it still doesn't work (until I call Citi support?). The bigger question is, why do I need to register to find an ATM? Make life easy for your users on the go. Only require security on information that needs to be secure.

Something to Entertain The Ego

OK, so your user is in line, on the train, waiting for a meeting to start, etc. "Entertain me, clown!" Unless you are a game developer you have some stiff competition. My suggestion - let them check their ego. People love checking their self-worth while they are bored (i.e. comments on their Facebook wall, LinkedIn connection requests, experience points on the social RPG game du jour, etc.). In the enterprise it's opportunities in the pipeline, forecasted sales bonuses, KPIs they are managing. So what information do you have that appeals to a user's ego? Provide it to them in a mobile context and they'll use it.

In the banking context Mint allows users to aggregate all their accounts so they can get a simple snapshot of their net worth. Their iPhone app provides a solid interface to this information.

I would change it slightly by proactively polling and aggregating account balances so they are available instantly (albeit delayed), instead of performing the sync on launch of the app, but the premise is solid. Show me my chops based on the latest stock tickers.

At the end of the day, the focus of apps needs to be on limited features in a mobile context. Find a utility that adds immediate value and get it out the door quickly. Provide a channel that allows mobile users to request additional features. Make your users part of your mobile product development. They won't steer you wrong.

Comments, experiences and perspectives below are always appreciated.