The matter of designing an app that delights its customers may seem like something to be handled by a master (or at least, a more knowledgeable) hand. However, through trial and error and the passion of countless developers who have spent years developing apps, we’ve found some best practices that can help you design an app that delights your users.
Start with a customer problem.
If you’re thinking about how to design an app, it’s important to start with the customer experience. Know the problem and then find the best way to solve it.
The first step in designing a better user experience is understanding your users’ needs and motivations. The key to creating a great user experience is understanding exactly why people want this new product or service. If you can’t identify a genuine need in your customers’ lives, you probably shouldn’t build the app at all.
Use a customer journey map to create your app experience.
When you’re creating an app, it’s easy to get caught up in the details. You might be so focused on making sure the user interface is perfect that you forget to consider how users will feel once they’ve downloaded and launched your product.
That’s why it’s so important to create a customer journey map. This tool helps you see how customers interact with your company — and where they might encounter roadblocks or frustration. It also helps you see where they may need additional support along the way or opportunities to upsell them on other products or services.
Prioritize the most important features of the app.
When you’re building your app, you should have a list of the most important features that will delight your customers.
For example, if you’re building an e-commerce app, the most important feature is probably a user experience that makes it easy to find what they want and check out quickly. If you’re building a video game app, the most important feature might be multiplayer capabilities.
If you can’t decide which features to prioritize, ask yourself “what would delight my customers?” and then prioritize those features accordingly.
Make smart use of visuals in your app.
A picture is worth a thousand words, and your app can benefit from this principle.
Visuals are a great way to engage users in your app. For example, you can use images to explain the benefits of your product or service, which will give customers a better understanding of what you offer.
Section: Optimize for ease of use.
Optimize for ease of use that delights your customers Ease of use is a powerful driver of customer loyalty. It’s also a major factor in determining whether customers will recommend your brand to others.
According to research from Bain & Company, “82% of consumers say they have stopped doing business with a company because it was too difficult to complete a transaction or get a question answered.”
Takeaway:
Delighting customers is hard, but designing a great app is a start. However, if you don’t have the time or don’t want to get your hands dirty with all the coding, you might want to think about looking for a app developers who can help you produce a decent version of your app idea.
