This blog was written by Krista Chacko.
How many apps are on your phone? I counted my apps: 84 total. Before you judge my app overindulgence, you should know that on average, I only use between 6-10 daily.
The apps I use daily help me send messages, check email, catch up with co-workers not co-located, check traffic, and post photos of a certain baby eating Popsicles. Peripherally, I use another 30 apps for very specific purposes such as checking the gym schedule, listening to music, tracking a budget, reading messages about an order, updating my Amazon cart, reviewing new Costco deals, receiving breaking news updates from ESPN, depositing a check, receiving a payment from a friend who doesn’t have Chase, etc.
My personal app use behavior aligns with the market statistics. The average iPhone user has between 80 to 100 apps, and the average Android user has 95 apps. However, what we are seeing is that the average number of apps used in a month is plateauing at around 25 per user. And on average, most smartphone owners aren’t downloading more than one or two more apps per month. That means about 70% of apps are rarely used.
Except... There’s always an exception, otherwise users would delete all those rarely used apps. Most apps from start-ups are living dangerously in the “rarely used” category and are trying to move into the “actively used” category.
This is the challenge: moving from downloaded to frequently used in an increasingly crowded space. Considering the aforementioned plateau, success now means usurping your competition, not just disrupting them.
Here’s a few ways it can be done:
- Simplify your single utility (at first). Instagram started by letting users share photos within the app and then added hashtags, social sharing, and other features later. Warby Parker started with an online store offering only a limited number of frames. Zipfit Denim started with men’s jeans only. This is because social media is complicated. Brick and mortar stores and the inventory inside them is operationally expensive. And women’s jeans (and the women who buy them) are fussy and complicated. Nearly every successful startup begins with one simple idea or product.
- Be awesome at your one thing. Uber is the classic example of this. For those unfamiliar (which seems impossible at this point), Uber is an app that allows users to request taxi pickups at specific locations. Some people use Uber daily. For others, it’s only used in more unique occasions (e.g. when they don’t want to walk home from a Cubs game). Another example of being awesome at one thing is Doorman. This app works just like a human doorman except the digital Doorman doesn’t have a key to your dwelling. Doorman acts as a value-add intermediary. You request your goods to be shipped to Doorman and Doorman delivers it when you indicate you are home (thereby eliminating missed delivery notices or stolen packages). But Doorman is an app most people will use only occasionally (when they have a package delivered), not daily, however being wicked good at your one thing opens the door to more opportunities.
- Listen to and reward your customers. Finding ways to get feedback on what’s working and what’s not is crucial, and creating in-app feedback mechanisms is extremely effective. If a customer engages you on Twitter, then you should @ mention or retweet them. Share their Instagram photos. And then reward your customers for sharing content, recommending your service, or submitting a killer suggestion for improvement. Successful examples of this include Uber offering $20 per ride referral, Starbucks awarding stars for loyalty & free beverage redemption. Rewards let your customers know you appreciate them.
Following these tips gives you the best chance of increasing your app’s customer mind share.
