Business Thoughts, Rants and Observations

here an app, there an app, everywhere an app app

——–

“More than 85% of CIOs and IT managers surveyed believe there’s a pressing need for them to retire apps that have outlived their usefulness.”

Paul Hyman

———

Ok.

This is about mobile apps, maybe web based tools in general, and brand loyalty.

I am writing this because of … well … let’s say two reasons <albeit I could probably come up with a laundry list>:

—-

– if I read one more thing about how mobile apps and the internet are going to kill, or kill someday, brand loyalty I am going to go postal.

—

– if I hear about one more app that will ‘change the world’ I am going to go postal.

—

Let’s be clear.

This means I am going postal.

Ok.

I almost called this “mobile apps, web and loyalty” because there is a slightly wacky correlation being drawn between the abundance of mobile apps <albeit most worthless> … the easy access to the web <via mobile> and brand loyalty.

Seriously.

Brand loyalty is brand loyalty.

And loyalty is the key word here <although trust is somewhere in there>. Someone is either loyal or they are not.

An app is not going to make you any less loyal.

Try this on for size <although it’s not a mobile app> to begin making my point.

Coke and Pepsi have taught us this for years.
In blind taste tests Pepsi always wins.

It tastes good. No debate. And people like the taste.

Oh.

And isn’t taste always rated the number one criteria in an eating/drinking consumption category?

Uh oh, but …

In same taste tests, but brands are revealed before tasting …. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm …. Coke wins.

Hands down. No debate.

So.

Uh oh.

Maybe it’s not just about taste. Maybe it’s, well, about brand loyalty more than anything else <and ‘loyalty’ affects reality thru perceptions>.

Maybe it’s about something more emotional then functional <understanding of course that it doesn’t taste like crap so it is meeting functional needs>.
Ok.

Another example.

How about a grocery store that has the same stuff as the grocery store around the corner from you … but you are willing to drive past an average three grocery stores, oh, and be willing to pay maybe $6 to $8 more for every $100 of groceries you buy every week?

Yup.

People do that.

Its call shopping at Publix Supermarkets.

And that would be loyalty my friends.

Are mobile apps gonna change that? <no>

Sure.

All of this brings me to “the app race”.

Apps are now simply a way of doing things, enhancing life and living life.

At times it seems like apps help us survive <albeit they simply make life more efficient>.

The world is an app race, but I tend to believe the day of a million apps are numbered. You have to believe only a handful of winners will emerge determined by their ability to deliver ongoing, meaningful value.

Just like any of the other technology trends – like MP3 players and daily deal sites – there should end up being few apps after the hype dies down.

Inevitably there will be a time when only the most advantageous apps will dominate the marketplace and they will enhance traditional marketing models & loyalty thinking.

But.
If there’s one thing experienced consumers have figured out, it’s making use of the online world and mobile apps and whatever to find themselves the best of the best and the cheapest of the cheapest.

And mobile apps and all the other location-based offerings available will increase temptation to new heights <inevitably making loyalty tested in more ways than ever before>.

All that said.
Mobile <and apps> is just another part of an overall brand experience.

Survey results revealed that 76% of mobile application users agree that all brand name companies and organizations should have mobile apps to make shopping or interacting with them easier.

——-

“Mobile applications are the sure fire way to extend a brand. It’s time for organizations to understand how to fully leverage the mobile channel and optimize a user-centered approach to drive adoption, as well as reinforce and drive brand loyalty.”

And the heights will be some extraordinary heights.

New research <http://mmaglobal.com/news/more-one-three-us-consumers-have-downloaded-mobile-apps> out from the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) as part of the September 2010 U.S. Mobile Consumer Briefing indicates that one in three US consumers download mobile applications, and that a quarter of all apps downloaded are used on a daily basis.

—

<note: that is a different post on ‘too many choices”>

———–

This survey more or less confirms what most business marketers already know which is the fact that mobile apps simply provide another medium within the overall mobile channel.

For example, 10% of mobile consumers who have downloaded apps described their most used app as one that can be used for ordering or purchasing products. This indicates that apps are fast becoming a consumer shopping and sales tool offering both mass-market reach and intensity of usage.

——-

“Marketers now have the opportunity to bundle fun and advertising, drama and customer service, utility and sales in a single, quarter-inch icon. To place an app on the mobile desk-top that commands consumer attention on a daily basis should be on every marketer’s “to do” list as they plan.”

Peter Johnson VP Market Intelligence MMA

——–

Some other key findings from the survey include:

• 60% of those surveyed said their “most used” app provides entertainment <note: not functional usage>

• 22% percent of respondents expect to download more apps next than they have this year, while 40% expect to download the same amount <note: people are still willing to try in the attempt to find ‘the one’>

• Over the next year, mobile users will seek new apps focusing on entertainment, restaurants, banking and travel

——

So, yes, mobile apps are quickly easing their way into everyday life and will absolutely affect purchasing behavior.

And apps will certainly continue the trend of the online world offering transparency of prices, of opinions, of recommendations which consumers certainly have the opportunity to make the most of it.

This really leads to the point that even though brands may be thinking about ‘cool apps’ they need to face the fact that it is a transparent fully informed <or at least have an ability to selectively find information> marketplace these days.

All that said.

Is that killing brand loyalty? Nope.

In fact I could argue it will strengthen brand loyalty.

Those brands who run the transparency gauntlet and win in the consumers’ mind probably have built such loyalty credentials they can withstand momentary temptations that mobile apps may offer.

And that is when this transparency tyranny becomes what Trendwatching has called ‘Transparency Triumph.’

This is where transparency creates the triumph of a real brand loyalty.
It strengthens the emotional ties through transparency.

People will feel exponentially better about decisions they have made. And in fact the transparency of all this functional rational crap <truly showing that there isn’t much real difference between most shit> will help people realize that it is okay to make decisions simply because they ‘like it.’

No more reason than that.

Interestingly it may be mobile apps themselves that should be worried about brand loyalty.
Which now leads me to the second ‘I will go postal’ issue I stated upfront.

Apps … the quantity of them … the quality of them … and just too many of them.

——

“While customers seem willing to give new apps a try (perhaps due to the number of US smartphone users growing from 42.7 million in November 2009 to 61.5 million in November 2010), Localytics data reveals that 26% of the time (on average) customers never the give the application a second try.”

——

Wow.

A lot of packaged goods would be quickly out of business if it was true for them.

Oh.

And a new Harris Interactive study conducted online in October (EffectiveUI) found the majority of mobile phone users who download and use applications choose to download those apps based on recommendations and good user experience rather than the brand name company or organization that released it.

Oops <part 1>.

But 38% of Users are not satisfied with most branded Apps.

Oops <part 2>.

This means that in a survey of adults who download and use mobile apps we find that many organizations and companies are failing their users as well as their own brand.

If one mobile application is good, two may be better, but there can come a time when a business becomes buried under the weight of just too many apps.

So how many is too many—and what’s the best way to avoid mobile app overload before the problem becomes overwhelming?
App loyalty is the key metric.

But how application developers increase usage and loyalty is another question entirely.

Because … remember that 38% of mobile application users agree that they are not satisfied with most of the apps currently available from their favorite brand name companies/organizations.

And 69% agree that if a brand name mobile app is not useful, helpful or easy to use … it results in a negative perception about the brand.

Remembering this should give anyone considering ‘we need to develop an app’ pause.

Key app research figures to think about:

* 32% have told others about a bad experience with a mobile app

* 13% have avoided downloading applications from a brand name company or organization due to a previous bad experience with another app offered by that brand

Look.

As current household economics continue to squeeze people’s purses & wallets consumers are always looking for an app to not only make things easier but to make it ‘less expensive’ … and they certainly have been become more willing to forgo their favorite brands to cut household costs.

There has been a clear willingness to “trade down” to lower-priced brands over the past two years.

Another study showed less than 50% of shoppers reported purchasing the brand they want most.
In some categories, particularly household products and house wares, consumers were already more likely to buy a brand they did not “want most” even before the beginning of the recession.

I say that to suggest mobile represents a new access point for brand engagement and marketing opportunities and selling stuff.

It is another weapon to use in the battle for the consumers mind.

And, I will note, given what I just shared on ‘increasing acceptance to buy the one I don’t really want the most’ a marketer or company needs to be wielding any weapon it can.
Anyway.

If your app sucks it will die.

Shit.

Even if your app doesn’t suck it may die … it may simply get suffocated by the weight of all the app options available to people.

In the end.

I am not saying any of this to suggest companies shouldn’t explore apps … every company, large and small, thinking about creating a mobile application should take into consideration the fact that mobile is an important piece of the overall customer experience … can enhance brand loyalty and actually offer some value to people.

In fact customer research shows that if organizations DO invest in apps … they must invest more in the user experience of their mobile apps, rather than rely solely on ‘brand messaging’ or making it cool.

But simply developing a ‘cool’ app <”because we need an app” is the development catch phrase in business one should avoid> is not going to hack it <and, frankly, it is stupid> … remember … studies suggest about ¾ of all mobile apps are deleted within three weeks of being downloaded by their users.

How can this number be so high?

Because even though someone downloaded an app … they actually decide they don’t really have a need for the apps … or they find them too difficult to use and master.

I tend to believe most apps fail because many companies develop an app based on because ‘we need one’ versus having an app that people, customers, have said ‘I need one.’

Or … let me try it this way … think about it as maybe you have developed a cure for something that isn’t a disease.

Anyway.

Mobile apps are in an odd situation.

Odd in that I think we’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible in the app world let alone how to best use the mobile channel to drive increased consumer and brand loyalty.

And yet there are so many frickin’ apps already out there we have to become much much smarter about the apps we develop and how we get people to use them.

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July 23, 2014 by Bruce

Written by Bruce

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