
Crittercism’s Top Tips for Optimizing Your Mobile App Strategy
More and more businesses are contemplating rolling out their own dedicated app, either within their business to improve productivity or customer facing to enhance sales or loyalty. Regardless of the motive, mobile can empower an enterprise and its workforce. But before you create your own dedicated app, there are a number of considerations that a business line manager or app operations team should take into consideration. We’ve outlined 5 points below to consider when rolling out a mobile app commercially or across your organization.
1. Make an Orgnization-wide plan – A good rule of thumb is to create a strategy that includes teams across your organization including architecture, process, talent, tools and technology. App operations teams should discuss all options together, for example platforms, cloud computing and mobile to name a few. This in turn helps to streamline the process and create a more reliable roadmap. Included in this plan should also be a clear direction of what type of app will be created (native, hybrid, or HTML5). A great resource for defining what your business may need can be accessed here. Also read more from Gartner.

2. Gain buy-in from Management – Now that you’ve got your plan you need to get the green light. For example, with a customer facing app, you will want to highlight to decision makers the value that your customers will be getting and how this will in turn help to build customer loyalty and drive sales. For example, a Walgreens app might send push notifications and top tips on how to prepare for the flu season rather than just advertisements for their own branded remedies. Furthermore, for internal facing apps, app operations teams need to point out how the app will improve productivity within the business. So, demonstrating the business impact is key to getting the go ahead. However, at the end of day, the added value and sales or ROI needs to outweigh the investment.
3. Developing and deploying an app – With a whole slew of platforms and devices out there, it’s enough to make any app operations teams or organization tear its hair out. You can side step this headache by giving more thought to your intended user base. For example, if you will be primarily using mobile as a platform for workforce efficiency then iOS/iPad might be a top priority. However, if customer support is the goal, then perhaps Android is better given it has wider reach. Also, when deploying, be sure to make time for initial user testing and the Apple and Google app approval process, so be sure to build enough contingency into your roadmap. Once you take into account these items you will be well on your way to rolling out your app. Access background information regarding the different platforms here.

4. Maintaining and optimizing your app – Just like the launch itself, maintenance and optimization of your application is crucial. Without proper maintenance it will fall into disrepair, and improvements are a must to develop user loyalty and repeat usage. In general, end users appreciate even the most minor enhancements. By building in a maintenance and regular monitoring plan early and prioritizing updates afterward, you can keep your maintenance costs down, while keeping your customers satisfied.
5. Constant communication – It will be important to keep an ongoing dialogue with your users for future app upgrades and new features. Receiving real time feedback will ensure you always know how your app is performing and help you quickly solve any problems that arise, so you can keep customers happy. Sometimes, the smallest wins show users you care about their feedback, building trust that you will continue to do so. Access additional information here.

Regardless of the industry, organizations have recognized the critical role mobile apps play within their own business and with customers. With a good plan and the right tools, your business can end up looking like the smartest shop on the block. However, with new protocols, interfaces and ways of doing business constantly emerging, developing and optimizing your app can be challenging – that’s why we’re here to help. At Crittercism, we’re in the business of app optimization, so we know how to help businesses seamlessly integrate more robust mobile solutions to their platform, while ensuring success.